[NHCOLL-L:4664] RE: Gas Detectors (ethanol fume sensors)

Thu Jan 7 16:07:08 EST 2010

Gabriella,

Here, at the Natural Heritage Building of the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Gatineau, Quebec, we had to meet the same requirements when our building was built in 1996-97. Each of our 28 fluid-preserved collection rooms that contain ethanol and the one room that contains formaldehyde are monitored electronically with such fume detection system.

Since the building is always occupied by at least one security agent, the fume detection system is monitored by our security desk and is not connected to any external fire protection services. 

We did have a small number of false alarms at one point a few years back but it was traced back to a crack circuit board which was subsequently replaced. Our detectors are working well and are serviced/checked on a regular basis; very few false alarm now and mostly due to the normal aging of the detectors.

It seems to me that with a large volume of potentially toxic and flammable chemicals in a room, it makes total sense to have a remote-sensing system to detect fumes before anyone gets unknowingly exposed to them. I have worked with storage areas without such detection systems and I wouldn't want to go back to that.

The problem you are facing may be multifaceted (and I may not have all the information) but may not have to do with regulations and requirements; it may simply be faulty equipment and bad alarm communication design. So what you are really facing right now is limited resources to fix this ill-designed, defective system and an overwhelming sense of frustration. I can appreciate that.

Before jumping to any conclusion, I would suggest that a risk & cost analysis may help; not to circumvent exiting regulations but to demonstrate to your institution/administration that something has to be done and resources allocated. It worked for us.

I hope this helps. 

Jean-Marc

Jean-Marc Gagnon, Ph.D.

Lead Organizer of the 2010 SPNHC & CBA-ABC Joint Conference (www.spnhc-cba2010.org <http://www.spnhc-cba2010.org/> ) 

President Elect of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (www.spnhc.org <http://www.spnhc.org/> ) 

Chief Collection Manager / Gestionnaire en chef des collections

Invertebrate Collections / Collections des invertébrés

Canadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature

P.O. Box 3443, Stn "D" / C.P. 3443, Succ. D

Ottawa, ON Canada K1P 6P4

T: 613-364-4066 / F: 613-364-4027

E/C: jmgagnon at mus-nature.ca <mailto:jmgagnon at mus-nature.ca> 

http://www.nature.ca <http://www.nature.ca/> 

P Thanks for thinking of the environment before printing! /

           Merci de penser à l'environnement avant d'imprimer! 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Hogue, Gabriela
Sent: 6 janvier 2010 11:58
To: NHCOLL-L at LISTS.YALE.EDU
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:4660] Gas Detectors (ethanol fume sensors)

I am posting this for my boss, Wayne Starnes.  Please respond to him at wayne.starnes at ncdenr.gov

Thanks!

Here at NCSM we are currently required by the NC Dept. of Insurance to maintain gas detectors (ethanol fume sensors) in our collection ranges.   These have proven to be a gigantic headache in terms of not only being able to conduct occasional routine tank work in the ranges but, especially, the source of frequent rashes of false alarms, including often in the middle of the night (twice last night alone).  These are wired right into the fire alarm system monitored by the NC State Capital Police and thus bring the police, fire dept. and facility management folks on the scene, unless someone is actually on the premises to alert them to the false alarm in time to call off the dogs.   The sensor heads are extremely expensive and apparently have a rather delicate constitution and relatively short effective lifespan.   One or more occasionally "go rogue" on us, become hypersensitive and/or start tripping for no apparent reason, sometimes on days/nights when no one has been working with alcohol anywhere nearby for several days.    We keep the collection ranges tightly temp & humidity controlled and thus we don't suspect any significant off-gassing from jar or tank seals as being the problem.

How many, if any, of you are required by some regulatory body to maintain a similar alarm arrangement?   As far as I know this is not an OSHA requirement but rather stems from within our state government.   As the system ages, it's presented an increasingly onerous burden on our operation and personnel but the current state budget situation doesn't permit a wholesale replacement or other comprehensive solution to the problem.  The relatively reasonably priced original sensors are no longer manufactured and the available replacements cost 3-4 times as much.

In this light, I'm trying to get a feel for how many other collections are required to use such a system.  Currently, we feel that the safety benefits derived from this system are negligible at best and are outweighed by multiple negative consequences.  We'll appreciate your comments.  

*** Please Note: E-mail has recently changed to: wayne.starnes at ncdenr.gov ***

                             <º }}}}}} ><     <° }}}}}} ><    <° }}}}}} ><    <° }}}}}} ><   <° }}}}}} ><

 Wayne C. Starnes, Ph.D., Director of Research Lab & 

  Research Curator of Fishes  

E-mail: wayne.starnes at ncdenr.gov <mailto:wayne.starnes at ncdenr.gov>  ;  Ph.:  919-733-7450 x760; Fax: 919-715-2294; Websites:  Museum -- http://www.naturalsciences.org/; NCSM Collections on Line -- http://collections.naturalsciences.org/

Postal mailing address: North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Research Lab - MSC #1626, Raleigh, NC 27699-1626 USA; Courier/Shipping (FedEx, UPS) address: NC State Museum Research Lab, 4301 Reedy Creek Rd., Raleigh, NC 27607 USA

Adjunct Faculty Appointments: Department of Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh;

Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, SC; College of Veterinary Medicine, NCSU, Raleigh

E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

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