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November 14, 1998
CONTENTS:
- writing a dissertation on stolen cultural property
- Staff at Paris museum strike over packed art show
- More Sprinkler System Thoughts (William A. Heidecker)
From: "ArCNet" acranwell@clara.net
Subject: writing a dissertation on stolen cultural property
Ton,
I too am writing a dissertation on stolen cultural property, however I am
examining the situation from a more markets based approach combined with an
analysis of current prevention methods. I am currently trying (albeit
unsuccessfully so far!) to obtain statistical information on the amount of
illegal imports / thefts / arrests / lost revenue and so on of antiquities.
I am aware of the new Illegal Antiquities Research Centre at Cambridge, UK
(thanks to much help from the Archaeology Data Service at
www.ads.adhs.ac.uk/adhs) but have yet to contact them. I was wondering
whether any of your subscribers would be able to assist me in finding the
above statistics (if any exist.)
A copy of my dissertation abstract is available from www.acranwell.clara.net
and I can be contacted from there too.
Thank you very much,
Andrew Cranwell acranwell@clara.net
Staff at Paris museum strike over packed art show
PARIS, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Staff at Paris' Musee d'Orsay art museum
staged a one-day strike on Thursday to protest against working
conditions during a sold-out exhibition of paintings by Vincent Van
Gogh and his mentor Jean-Francois Millet.
Unions have complained that long queues to reach the show and
limited space for its 85 paintings led to stress, conflicts and
overcrowding at the elegant Left Bank museum.
"The decision to set up the Millet-Van Gogh exhibition in the heart
of the Musee d'Orsay has resulted in a significant worsening of work
conditions for all staff," unions said in a joint statement.
Unions have demanded a bonus of 1,600 francs ($285) for employees
dealing directly with the crush of visitors and 1,000 francs ($178)
for other workers there. They also want three days additional
holiday for all museum employees.
Staff have threatened to hold fresh walkouts if their demands are not
met.
The "Millet-Van Gogh" show, opened by President Jacques Chirac in
mid-September and due to run until January, traces the influence
Millet's rural scenes had on Van Gogh's paintings of peasants, wheat
fields, churches and starry night skies.
Copyright 1998 Reuters. All rights reserved.
From: "William A. Heidecker" heideckerwa@worldnet.att.net
Subject: More Sprinkler System Thoughts (William A. Heidecker)
With all due respect to David Wexler, I would like to file a
dissenting opinion with regard to his comments on automatic sprinkler
systems.
With regard to Halon, I must admit that I have never been a Halon fan
and I am even less a fan of the substitutes. Gaseous fire
extinguishing systems have very limited application to situations
involving Class A fires. The NFPA defines a Class A fire as those
involving "Fires in ordinary combustible materials, such as wood,
cloth, paper, rubber, and many plastics."
ANSI/NFPA-12A, Standard on Halon 1301 Fire Extinguishing Systems
requires "Where Halon systems are used, a fixed enclosure shall be
provided about the hazard that is adequate to enable the specified
concentration to be achieved and maintained for the specified period
of time." Note the reference to "enclosure." Halon, originally used to
extinguish fires in aircraft engine nacelles, generally is not
effective in unenclosed areas despite what the salesman may have told
you.
NFPA-12A also requires that "An effective agent concentration shall
be achieved and maintained for a sufficient period of time to allow
effective emergency action by trained personnel. This is equally
important in all classes of fires since a persistent ignition source
(e.g., an arc, heat source, oxyacetylene torch, or "deep-seated" fire)
can lead to a recurrence of the initial event once the agent has
dissipated." The need to achieve and maintain the concentration of the
agent is often overlooked or ignored.
Inadequate dispersion of the gas (i.e., inability to achieve the
required concentration in the area of the fire), failure of the
complex automatic detection-actuation systems, or inability to
maintain the concentration of gas for the time required for complete
extinguishment can nullify the effects of the system. Halon and the
substitutes are touted as high-tech solutions to a simple problem. The
problem is that too often high-tech can also mean low reliability and
that is the worst indictment for a fire extinguishment system.
With regard to the automatic "on/off" sprinkler heads, these heads
have been available for at least twenty years and are available from
most of the reputable sprinkler manufacturers (e.g., Viking, Automatic
Sprinkler, Grinnell, etc.).
With regard to the chains through the control valves, the purpose of
the chain is to deter persons from prematurely shutting off the valves
before the fire is extinguished and to deter vandals from shutting off
the system before they set a fire. But it does not take the fire
department thirty minutes to get the chain off. Every pumper and
ladder truck carries a heavy bolt cutter that is intended for this
purpose. The fire department is not going to be looking for a key;
they simply cut the chain.
Without getting into the fine points of fire protection, I also want
to note in passing that a dry-pipe system is not the same thing as a
preaction system. The most significant difference is that a preaction
system requires that the automatic sprinkler system be interconnected
with an automatic detection system.
With regard to sprinkler pipes that "are subject to leak, break,
drip, crack, or otherwise cause a water problem sooner or later," I
must note that the instance of leaks in sprinkler system is almost
nil. There is a far greater chance of leaks in ordinary plumbing
systems providing water for lavatories, drinking fountains,
janitorial closets, kitchens, etc.
I am not insensitive to the problem of water damage, but a cynical
old fire protection adage is that there have been no complaints of
water damage in buildings that are completely destroyed. Consider
this: If the Halon/Halon substitute system does not work, the fire
department will be walking through the front door dragging a hose
that is designed to discharge (as a minimum) 125 gallons per minute
at a nozzle pressure of 85 psi or more. A properly designed and
installed automatic sprinkler system, connected to a UL-certified
central alarm office, provides a level of protection that is far
superior to a gaseous system that is expensive, unreliable, and
inappropriate for the application.
William A. Heidecker
Severn Risk Management, Inc., 645 Oakland Hills Drive, Apt. A-3,
Arnold, MD 21012. Phone 410-974-4082. E-mail
heideckerwa@worldnet.att.net
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