A contractor employee, working for Hazardous Waste Management, was contaminated with a slurry of Raney nickel and water when the cap on a hazardous waste container blew off. About 60 grams of the material was released, spraying the ceiling and wall of the area above and next to the worker. As a result of this release, some of the material came down onto the back of the worker's head and collar. The worker was preparing waste containers for shipment to an off-site waste disposal facility, and added water to the container as required by the disposal site. It is believed that the water reacted with the Raney nickel, releasing hydrogen and pressurizing the container.
Raney nickel is known to generate hydrogen when the dry powder is mixed with water.
The contractor added water to the container to stabilize the Raney nickel for disposal, but did not wait long enough before tightening the bottle cap. The incident is still under review, but investigators have determined that the contractor did not stop work and request a safety analysis before adding water as required by the procedure. Investigators believe that when water was added to the Raney nickel, hydrogen gas was generated. Because the worker capped the container tightly too soon after adding the water, the container pressurized causing the cap to blow off. Perform Work Within Controls.