Hydrogen buses and safety at airports

[Simon75]

On another thread someone said Hydrogen buses could be a security threat at airports. Is this true or not ?

 

[edwin_m]

Any vehicle can be a security threat at airports, either by carrying explosives or by just being driven into people. I don't see that a hydrogen bus would be significantly worse.

 

[GusB]

On another thread someone said Hydrogen buses could be a security threat at airports. Is this true or not ?

It would be helpful if you would quote the relevant post from the other thread.

 

[Busaholic]

'Fire risk' is a rather less hysterical term than 'security threat', I feel.

 

[busesrusuk]

"thought about Hydrogen but then Heathrow maybe a bit nervous having what many perceive to be a mobile bomb driving under their runway 8 times an hour for most of the day(!)."

Probably the above comment made by me in the London Buses thread. I agree that fire risk is appropriate but many people do have a perception that hydrogen is "dangerous" and hydrogen fires are quite dramatic. In writing what I did I was thinking more about the potential disruption of closing the main tunnel should anything happen, not any deliberate terrorist threat.

Heathrow is classed as a "medium risk" tunnel according to Gov.UK but its not clear as to what restrictions (if any) are in place as a consequence of being graded such.

 

[Hophead]

As I type, a Hydrogen bus is en-route to Gatwick Airport - one of Metrobus's batch of Wright Hydroliners, of which more are expected next year, so there is clearly no problem here. These buses don't have any Heathrow style tunnels to navigate, just an underpass and the A23 under the South Terminal.

 

[InOban]

AIR during the 2012 Olympics there was a hydrogen taxi service between Heathrow and the Olympic site, and its refuelling point was at the airport.
Hydrogen is safer than you might think - because it's so light any escaped gas rises and disappears, whereas propane /butane etc form an explosive mixture at ground level.