Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 39. (1986)
Archive Buildings and the Conservation of Archival Material. An Expert Meeting, held in Vienna, Austria October 30 - November 1, 1985 - THOMAS, David: Architectural Design and Technical Equipment for the Physical Protection and Conservation of Documents
Architectural Design and Technical Equipment 249 use of automatic extinction systems is increasingly advocated. None of the currently available methods is ideal. Carbon dioxide installations operate by reducing the amount of oxygen below the level needed for combustion. They are only suitable for small, totally enclosed strong rooms; the plant requires a great deal of space and when the House of Lords Record Office in London was considering this option it was felt that too much of the repository area would have to be given up to the required equipment. The other danger of this gas is that it reduces the oxygen content of the air below that needed to support life and it needs to be combined with automatic warning devices and other safety procedures”). Halon gas can be used as an alternative to carbon dioxide. It too requires a sealed vault; it operates by inhibiting the reaction between fuel and oxygen. The gas ist relatively non-toxic to humans, but it can generate small quantities of halogen acids at high temperatures which could damage materials. Because of its cost it is rarely used to protect whole buildings, although a few libraries in the USA have chosen this option77 78 79). The cheapest automatic extinction system is provided by water sprinklers. They have traditionally been disliked by archivists who fear accidental flooding. There are a number of reasons why they should not be rejected without serious consideration. Firstly, they are the only economical way to protect large collections. Secondly, modern sprinkler equipment is not very liable to emit water by accident. Systems are available in which the branch pipes are not filled with water until a heat detector senses a rise in temperature. The head releases water when a fusible link melts; as the temperature falls the flow of water is cut off, but will resume if the fire flares up again. An American Library Association survey of 257 incidents of water damage in libraries made no reference to flooding caused by sprinklers. Finally, these may actually reduce the danger of water damage. Because they can respond quickly, sprinklers can reduce the amount of water used; 43% of fires are extinguished by one sprinkler head, while 70% required at most three heads. The effect of sprinklers can be far less devasting than the use of high pressure hoses,9). Whichever automatic extinction system is chosen it should be supplemented by suitable hand-held extinguishers as recommended in national standards, as well as wall mounted hose reels. If sprinklers are chosen, additional protection could be provided in the form of water detectors. 7 Apart from the considerations I have outlined, there are a few points which should be considered by those involved in the planning of archive buildings. 77) Ibid. 60; Bell Archival Accommodation 361—362. 78) Thomson The Museum Environment 151-152; Morris Protecting the Library from Fire 53. 79) Morris Managing the Library Fire Risk passim and Protecting the Library from Fire 52-55; General Services Administration, Advisory Committee on the Protection of Archives and Records Centres Protecting Federal Records Centres and Archives from Fire (Washington 1976) 11, 18, 26-27.
