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By Pat Moore, CBCP FBCI
Past disaster history has shown people all over the world
that they cannot wait until the disaster hits to determine what critical
belongings or information they need to take with them when they evacuate
an area or facility. A national catastrophe, such as Hurricane Katrina,
is an example of how important ''individual and family' preparedness is.
No one can depend on any government entity to always save and restore
their lives and belongings. Every person, and every business should be
pre-determining possible evacuation methods and routes, as well as what
critical information they need to take with them or need to store offsite
or protect long before any type of disaster occurs. In addition, they
need to understand that whatever they have stored offsite, if it is in
the same geographical area where the disaster occurs, those items stored
offsite may be lost or unavailable as well.
Individuals and businesses also need to pre-determine what
information they may have in their immediate possession will be necessary
to save and take with them for post-disaster use. Emergency contact information,
irreplaceable photos or memorabilia, or other vital records, e.g. prescriptions,
medical records, family records and information, critical financial documents
such as stock certificates, and an availability of emergency 'cash' etc.,
may well be as important as critical business records when a disaster
happens. Most individuals within the area affected by Hurricane Katrina
had done no such planning, did not have the resources or methods available
to them, or were not in a situation where they could activate their plan,
especially if they did not heed the earlier warnings to evacuate the area.
Where there is potential or possible salvage of items such
as vital records, the information contained in this article should be
of help in understanding what is taking place with these vital records
and some procedures that may assist you in possible restoration. The second
part of the article will address important facility restoration issues.
With major water damage, vital records can become a total
loss very quickly. For example, chilled-water systems in facilities often
contain glycol, which can adversely affect certain types of paper and
magnetic media. Different types of documents, photographs and vellum items,
as well as magnetic media, need immediate and extra-special
care. In dealing with paper in moist, humid conditions, you have about
48 hours before damage-inducing mold and mildew grow so you can
well see what kind of damage Hurricane Katrina has done to paper, bound
volumes and magnetic media.
Peter Waters, retired Conservation Officer from the Library
of Congress, states " Every effort should be made to reduce high temperatures
and vent the areas as soon as the water has receded or been pumped out.
Water-soaked materials must be kept as cool as possible by good air circulation
until they can be stabilized. Obviously this has not been possible in
most facilities affected by the hurricane.
As long as books are tightly shelved, mold will develop
only on the outer edges of the bindings. No attempt should be made in
these conditions to separate books and fan them open. Archival files,
packed closely together on shelves in cardboard boxes, or in metal fire
cabinets, are the least affected. As a general rule, damp books, located
in warm and humid areas, without ventilation, will be subject to rapid
mold growth. Archival files, which have not been disturbed, will not be
attacked so quickly by mold. As they begin to dry after removal from the
water however, both the bindings and the edges of books, will be quickly
attacked by mold, especially when in warn, unventilated areas.
A different problem exists for books printed on coated stock,
since, if allowed to dry in this condition, the leaves will permanently
fuse together. Coated papers must not be permitted to begin drying until
each volume can be dealt with under carefully controlled conditions."
Freezing and then storing documents can buy you time to
finalize arrangements for proper recovery procedures. Although freezing
itself is not a drying method - and does not kill mold - it definitely
controls its growth if done properly. How many individuals and companies
had a contingency plan for protecting, retrieving and restoring critical
records and 'work in progress' from major water damage, including a relationship
with a document and vital records restoration and recovery resource who
have the necessary equipment such as freeze-drying chambers and freezer
truck available to help them?
Certain procedures such as washing away accumulated mud,
sewage, and dirt must also be completed, prior to freezing, to
avoid additional damage. When removing wet documents from file cabinets
or shelving that is still in place and available to you, do not attempt
to pull them apart while wet. Remove all documents in blocks, if possible,
so you do not increase deterioration. Leave a space about the size of
your fist in the packing box for proper air circulation.
Once the documents are frozen and/or in cold storage, the
next step is choosing the proper drying method. Freeze-drying is
the most effective way to restore water-soaked documents. This procedure
involves freezing the documents immediately (if possible) to prevent any
further damage to the paper, and then placing the documents in a freeze-drying
chamber where they will undergo a process known as sublimation.
Sublimation changes the frozen water in the documents to
a vapor, bypassing the liquid state. The frozen water in the water-damaged
documents then passes from the frozen state to a gas or vapor without
returning to the liquid phase. Additional sterilization and use of a fungicidal
buffer can help documents resist future mold growth.
If the documents are not soaking wet, air drying through
dehumidification can be effective as well. In dehumidification,
you introduce dry air, (by using either desiccant or refrigeration dehumidification
equipment), into the moist environment where the documents are located
and the water vapor is absorbed into the dry air.
It is important to point out that, depending upon the degree
of water damage and volume of documents, both processes can require substantial
time (generally a minimum of 7 - 10 days, but obviously in the case of
Hurricane Katrina - much, much longer. Typically, freeze-drying costs
are priced per cubic foot of records, and you will only want to freeze
dry those items that are of importance to you, your family or your business.
The successful recovery of vital records stored on
magnetic media will require many of the same considerations as
hard copy documents. These emergency mitigation procedures of immediate
and proper damage assessment, climate control, and proper handling and
cleaning are extremely important due to the sensitivity of magnetic
media. Water can erode through the substrate, causing loss of magnetic
material and destroying data in the process. To be effective, proper recovery
procedures, such as restoring a relative humidity below 50° F and
utilizing proper drying and cleaning protocols must be employed within
72 - 96 hours of damage. These restoring timeframes are undeniably impossible
in cases such as Hurricane Katrina where even access to the affected area
is restricted for a minimum of seven days or longer.
The cleaning and drying methods will also depend on the
type or degree of damage incurred. Water damaged floppy diskettes,
for example, are normally opened and dried, using isopropyl alcohol, and
then inserted into empty jackets and copied onto new media. Depending
on the situation, magnetic tapes can either be freeze-dried or machine-dried.
While cartridge tapes must be freeze-dried, open-reel tapes can be dried
on tape cleaning machines. Tape drives, with recovery software, can then
be used to recover and copy the information onto new media, however tapes
must be dry and clean before any attempt is made to copy the data.
Improper handling of wet microfilm, such as allowing
it to dry on its spool can result in data loss as well. In most cases
it is best to leave the microfilm in water until it can be properly packed
and sent to the appropriate recovery location.
Flood waters containing hazardous materials such as sewage,
which can contain bacteria such as typhoid and cholera, are rampant throughout
the Gulf Coast and therefore the proper health and safety procedures must
be performed during retrieval and recovery of your vital records. Where
previously made plans allowed for protection and removal of vital records
in the event of a disaster, there is some hope that these documents and
records could be salvaged, but unfortunately - where there was no planning
for protection, retrieval and recovery with a specialized restoration
resource, most will be lost in Hurricane Katrina.
The very recent horrific flooding situations throughout
the Gulf Coast exemplify how disastrous extreme water damage can be. Along
with the tragic loss of life, came almost irreparable physical property
damage. Residents and businesses are still (at this writing) denied access
to their homes and facilities which house their lives ,core business operations,
vital records, electronic systems, critical work in progress, and production
capabilities.
Until the water is pumped out and/or recedes, a proper and
thorough site/damage assessment cannot be performed. This assessment is
necessary; not only to facilitate recovery of bodies, but also to determine
the extent of the damage, potential recovery time frames and costs, but
also to ensure the safe and healthful entry requirements
for personnel entering into this damaged environment.
Water and silt, associated with floods, are typically carrying
contaminants such as bacteria including e-coli and cholera, heavy metals,
pesticides, PCBs and hydrocarbons. In some cases, metals, including lead,
chrome, cadmium, barium and mercury, along with maintenance chemicals,
oils from mechanical rooms, waste oil storage or fuel oil tanks, paints,
solvents, and house-keeping chemicals may also be present. When these
and other unknown chemicals are found, specific procedures such
as taking a complete physical inventory of each container found can be
necessary. Product segregation according to Department of Transportation
(DOT) Hazard Class specifications should be performed, when necessary,
by certified, trained, hazardous material technicians. The water and silt
must be tested and analyzed so that the proper health and cleaning protocols
can be employed.
The affect of the water and silt upon the facility and its
contents can be extremely detrimental. Mr. Ian R. Chin, SE, AIA an external
consultant to BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association), states
that "Many buildings affected by water infiltration can be exposed to
loading conditions that they have never seen before, and possibly were
not designed to withstand. After the water is pumped out, all structural
walls, beams, and columns should be investigated to determine if water-related
forces have adversely affected the structural capacity and serviceability
of building elements. When existing conditions have been evaluated, the
structural engineer should design repairs to provide immediate intervention
for stabilization as needed, and to provide long-term measures to address
distress conditions. Structural intervention must be coordinated with
measures to address architectural, mechanical, electrical and environmental
concerns in areas affected by water."
For example, the water's ionic content, acidity, suspended
solids and organic content should always be analyzed. Inorganic salts
from building materials and atmospheric particulate matter can be deposited
on exposed circuit boards. It is also important not to let the sediments
in water settle on the equipment and then dry. When addressing water damage
in a facility and upon contents of that facility(s) you need to review
all the water variables that could exist such as total alkalinity (pH),
total dissolved solids (TDS), suspended material, dissolved gases, pathogens,
organic material, microorganisms, electrolytes, oil and chemicals.
For example, this is especially critical in pharmaceutical
cleanrooms where organic material is being combined to make drugs. Total
alkalinity (pH) of the water needs to be monitored because it changes
from a low pH (base) to a high pH (acid) as the water content decreases.
Neither condition is desirable in the presence of sophisticated electronic
equipment. Also, pH levels affect conductivity, as does the decay of organic
materials."
In most cases, de-energizing electronic equipment before
exposure to water allows for successful restoration of equipment In a
wet environment, electricity can be a greater threat to electronic equipment
than water. Electronics, as well as finished products, should always be
carefully examined and, if necessary, tested by experienced technicians
to make sure they still meet the manufacturer's original operating and
performance specifications, as well as general cosmetic appearance. If
this equipment remains in a moist, humid environment, severe corrosion
can occur within 48 - 72 hours so you can easily imagine the damage from
Hurricane Katrina. Ideally, you would be able to clean all of the
equipment at the same time, and remove the contaminants, but factors such
as the volume of equipment, decisions on restoration Vs replacement, insurance
coverage issues, re-certification requirements and even gaining access
to the equipment itself, can delay the complete cleaning process. Emergency
restoration procedures, such as removal of standing water, facility dehumidification,
and corrosion control are crucial loss recovery factors in reducing damage
to critical components of the facility.
It is possible to remove hundreds of gallons of water from
thousands of square feet in a facility over a 24 hour period by dehumidifying
moist air through the use of high efficiency refrigeration or desiccation
techniques. It has been said by many restoration specialists that dehumidification
equipment that is used in conjunction with overhead fire sprinklers and
fire detection sensors can provide the maximum protection for an expensive
telephone switch or electronic data processing environment.
In addition, where you have had standing water or moist,
humid conditions in a facility for more than 24 - 48 hours, you must be
concerned about the development and growth of mold and mildew spores,
already very obvious from Hurricane Katrina. This affects not only the
structure, HVAC systems and critical contents such as documents and magnetic
media, but can produce sick building syndrome as well, where the
building is even left standing. Highly elevated humidity and temperature
levels, for example, over 50% relative humidity and 75° F, in moist
humid conditions can produce an environment conducive to mold and mildew
growth, extremely obvious along the Gulf Coast.
Mold growth will typically be visual around baseboards,
on ceiling tiles, light fixtures, supply registers, upholstery and porous
surfaces such as paper documents. Two types of mold growth are active
growth and dormant growth. A wipe sample will provide you with
evidence of CFU's (colony forming units). Where you are not sure within
a building that is even left standing from Katrina, samples, taken from
different areas and contents in the facility, should be sent to a qualified
laboratory, specializing in health and environmental issues. Their analysis
will tell you the type and volume of mold spores growing. Active growth
can be killed by using special EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recognized
biocides.
Dormant spores are more difficult to deal with because when
the humidity and temperature levels in the facility return to normal ranges,
e.g. 50% relative humidity and 75 F ambient temperature, active growth
will become dormant. In moist, humid conditions, when the temperature
and humidity levels rise again, the dormant spores can again become active.
There are varied approaches of source removal for dormant spores.
Again, in facilities even left standing or considered possibly
tenable in the future, a proper and thorough damage assessment, performed
by a certified industrial hygienist and decontamination of the HVAC Systems
is critical in ensuring that the building will be returned to the proper
criteria of clean for re-occupancy. In many cases, rather than replacing
the ductwork, the application of the proper EPA recognized biocide
through various fogging and cleaning applications can be performed. In
compliance with local and state regulations, follow up clearance sampling
is necessary as the final step in returning the facility to a safe
and healthful condition.
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