<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">"One important consideration is that in case of a large spill, floor
drains must not drain to the municipal sewer system, but go into a
dedicated holding tank. I don't know how that would handle water in case
of sprinklers going off as well."<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Not all jurisdictions require you to have a holding tank. Depending on local regulations and the water and drainage systems, in some places it is preferable to wash the alcohol down the drain so that it becomes diluted in the storm water system. Particularly if you have a sprinkler system for fire control, it often makes more sense to dilute runoff and wash it away than to concentrate it in a holding tank.<br><br>"Our main alcohol
storage (offsite) has a CO2 fire suppression system..."<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">I do not recommend gas systems in general and particularly not for fluid preserved collections. There are several drawbacks to gas systems, including:<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">1. When the gas runs out, the fire protection also runs out. If the fire has been suppressed, you're fine, but if it flares back up or did not go out you are toast. With a sprinkler system, the water keeps flowing until the flow is stopped, providing better protection and fire suppression, as well as a means to dilute alcohol.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br>2. The gas system has to be activated for the entire room. With most sprinkler systems, the heads are individually triggered by heat from the fire.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">3. The cylinders for storing the gas take up a lot of room.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">4. The cost for re-charging a gas system can be extraordinarily high.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br>"...and no
storage below grade.
Does your HVAC have bottom draw air returns?"<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">This is an important point because alcohol fumes are heavier than air and thus accumulate at floor level.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">I recommend looking at "Fire Program Management" by Bryan L. Stemen (Chapter 3 in "Health and Safety for Museum Professionals," edited by Hawks et al (2011).<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Ultimately, Andy's advice is excellent--you need to establish a good working relationship with whoever functions as the fire marshal for your institution (could be a state, city, or university person). Sit down with the fire marshal and explain what you do with fluid specimens, what safety measures you take, and so forth so that a good compromise can be reached that satisfies local regulations, safety requirements, and your need for easy access to the collection. Keep in mind that every container of alcohol rupturing at the same time is not a likely worst case scenario, but tipping over a cart full of jars probably is.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">As Andy mentioned, there are no tests to show what happens when a fluid preserved collection catches fire. However, if you google the photos of the fire that destroyed the fluid preserved specimens at Butantan institute in May 2010, you can see that the jars did not explode, they shattered sitting on the shelves.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">I will attempt to attach a PDF of a few pages from "Fluid Preservation: A Comprehensive Reference" that addresses fire safety. If the PDF does not come through, contact me off-list and I can email it to you.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Good luck!<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">--John<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">John E. Simmons<br>Museologica<br>128 E. Burnside Street<br>Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010<br><a href="mailto:simmons.johne@gmail.com" target="_blank">simmons.johne@gmail.com</a><br><a href="tel:303-681-5708" value="+13036815708" target="_blank">303-681-5708</a><br><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.museologica.com&d=CwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=--tQ7zQyLstlt0TujHagBLKxSptIKY977NPaMV8gWg4&s=CtAAZqaKfGUmXYuIZjR6oWlcsn-uoWTrBaDOMfI3WgU&e=" target="_blank">www.museologica.com</a><br>and<br>Adjunct Curator of Collections<br>Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery<br>Penn State University<br>University Park, Pennsylvania<br>and<br>Instructor, Museum Studies<br>School of Library and Information Science<br>Kent State University<br></div></div></div></div></div>
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