Core Preservation Administration Interest Group

I'm looking for some examples of peer institutions that have installed clean agent fire suppression systems relatively recently (within the last 10 years). Please let me know if you have a system and could share which clean agent you're using and, if you know, why you went with that particular product. 

We're going to be replacing a Halon system in a special collections room, most likely with a modern clean agent. Examples from the field will help us think through our options. 

Any info you can offer will be appreciated. 

Thanks,

Andy

Andrew Hart

MacDonald Director of Preservation

University of Pennsylvania Libraries

andyhart@upenn.edu

215-746-2520

(he, him)

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Andrew Hart
MacDonald Director of Preservation
University of Pennsylvania Libraries
(he, him)
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Hey Andy,

We installed a clean agent system during our recent renovation (2017 project start, 2020-ish system install). The clean agent we went with (Novec 1230) was partially chosen because it was not scheduled for phasedown or phase-out, had a smaller climate impact, and the infrastructure would work with our somewhat challenging physical space. But your question led me to poke around and now I see that 3M is getting out of Novec 1230 manufacturing by 2025... so I guess I need to look more into what that means for us in terms of future suppliers.

If you're interested, we have a decision matrix I can share. We were considering some different approaches, but ultimately the variances required and the infrastructure impacts left us with limited reasonable options.

-jessica bitely
boston public library

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Jessica Bitely
Preservation Manager
Boston Public Library
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Thanks, Jessica. It seems like clean agent options have narrowed a great deal, some phasing out due to global warming impact and others because they contain PFAS. Yes, I'm interested in your decision matrix, if you don't mind sharing. 

Since the particular space we're addressing was outfitted for Halon, it should be viable for an inert gas system and I think that's probably what I'll recommend. But I'm still interested in examples from the field, whether they reinforce the inert gas direction or suggest other possibilities. It's also possible that we'll discover some obstacle for inert gas (cost, engineering limitations, ...), so it's best to have some backup strategies in mind. 

--Andy

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Andrew Hart
MacDonald Director of Preservation
University of Pennsylvania Libraries
(he, him)
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jul 05, 2024 11:23 AM
From: Jessica Bitely
Subject: Clean agent fire suppression

Hey Andy,

We installed a clean agent system during our recent renovation (2017 project start, 2020-ish system install). The clean agent we went with (Novec 1230) was partially chosen because it was not scheduled for phasedown or phase-out, had a smaller climate impact, and the infrastructure would work with our somewhat challenging physical space. But your question led me to poke around and now I see that 3M is getting out of Novec 1230 manufacturing by 2025... so I guess I need to look more into what that means for us in terms of future suppliers.

If you're interested, we have a decision matrix I can share. We were considering some different approaches, but ultimately the variances required and the infrastructure impacts left us with limited reasonable options.

-jessica bitely
boston public library

------------------------------
Jessica Bitely
Preservation Manager
Boston Public Library
------------------------------