I only know a few details of the seed vault. However, the flammability of the materials used in storing the seeds as well as other support components need to be considered. I would also assume that seeds are constantly being added or replaced to keep up with the evolution of the plants from atmosphere and exposure changes. What would be the impact of fire in this facility? Potentially cataclysmic if the seeds are ever needed and they have been destroyed.
My thought is that a double interlock pre-action system would be appropriate, but how would you provide water that is adequate and doesn't freeze or get contaminated? I would be hesitant on any chemical systems because of their potential impact. At 07:13 AM 3/12/2010, you wrote: >It can be interesting to show people how >one guesses. A priori guessing is honest, because >no one can say " he said that because he had >hidden info... ". truth is, to your question, I >just don't know. > >this is about as serious as it gets. >saving seeds, so we can reseed life > in the aftermath of an apocalypse-- > that does not claim all of us. > >sprinklers? >water and seeds, on call for all of just-short-of- > eternity, does not sound to me to be, > a great mixture of ingredients. > I don't ration my passion for sprinklers, but > as Chris Cahill said, " there are about 8-12% > of building inventory we should really pause and > think about before we put sprinklers in. this is one of > those, in my opinion. > >I would say, don't put sprinklers in this facility. > >If the seeds are stored hermetically, > (an obvious possibility), then they won't be damaged > by the rare smoke coming from a rare fire. Perhaps > in this facility, under as tight security as it must be, > it is better to TRY to maintain control on the fuel load. > seeds are probably in metal drawers/bins. I would further > subdivide bin storage areas into small fire compartments, > so a fire in one area, could not damage the other areas. > >What kind of damage could sprinklers do? Probably, >the facility is way underground, to protect from nuclear >events and also reduce stellar EMR. So, while this facility probably >could get away with wet systems...if a main broke, >that would be a lot of water to potentially hose our >future--a future we quite possibly will need to reseed. > >Regarding low-oxygen atmospheric "passive systems" for >this application. It sounds >like a great application, until we think, "seeds have >(according to one theory) evolved through millions of years >of exposure to oxygenated environments". If we change that, >what will be the unknown impact on seed viability from storing >these seeds for scores (or more) years in low oxygen environments >for fire prevention? Maybe the effect will be good, because lower >oxygen concentrations is lower exposure to an oxidizing atmosphere. >But to bet the farm on Low-Ox when I don't got the facts (maybe >Svalbard or the US National Agricultural Library in Beltsville has), >seems like unduly risky business. >_______________________________________________ >Sprinklerforum mailing list >[email protected] >http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum > >For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] > >To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] >(Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) Todd G. Williams, PE Fire Protection Design/Consulting Stonington, Connecticut 860-535-2080 www.fpdc.com _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
