[MSN] Building leak puts church archives at risk. A leak in a neighbouring mechanical room has once again put the archives of the Anglican Church of Canada at risk.

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Building leak puts church archives at risk
Historical records sustained minor damage
staff
Sep 4, 2007
A leak in a neighbouring mechanical room has once again put the archives of
the Anglican Church of Canada at risk. 

Four boxes of archival records sustained "minimal water damage" when a spill
from the mechanical room, housed above General Synod's archives vaults at 80
Hayden St., Toronto, seeped through a small portion of the ceiling, causing
it to collapse July 10. 

The records - mostly correspondence in the diocese of the Arctic during the
1960s - have since been air-dried and moved to new folders. 

Water from the air-conditioning system in the mechanical room above the
archives spilled through a pipe that was misaligned with the drain,
according to Delta Mechanical, the company that looks after building
maintenance, which inspected the leak July 13. The faulty pipe has since
been realigned.

As a precautionary measure the floor above the archives has been sealed,
said General Synod archivist Nancy Hurn. The insulation around the pipes,
which got wet from the spill, will be replaced, along with the damaged
ceiling tiles, she added.  

This is the fourth time that archival material has been subject to overhead
leaks, noted Ms. Hurn. 

Last year, the church's national office postponed closing the deal on its
then two-year-old offices in downtown Toronto, until the developer, Philmor
Ltd., repaired a leaking vent in the mechanical room. The problem dragged on
for six months, and last summer, staff endured a period without air
conditioning, since turning it on caused water to leak into the archives
vault. It was a catch-22 situation, however, since the archival collection
also faced the risk of being destroyed by the heat and humidity. 

"We want to have a clear understanding of why these leaks happen. We want
the mechanical room properly sealed," said Ms. Hurn, who has also
recommended that an alarm system be set up that would warn of any leaks,
particularly on weekends when the offices are closed.

Peter Blachford, General Synod treasurer, said, though, that an alarm system
would be too costly, "given our current financial constraints." 

Ms. Hurn argued that the archives must not constantly be put at risk: "Any
water damage can lead to mould growth and so we need to ensure this doesn't
happen again." (The archives holds an extensive collection that includes
paper, newsprint, photographic prints/negatives, microfilm, motion picture
film, audio and videotapes, digitized documents and images.)

Mr. Blachford said it was "unfortunate" that the archives was located under
the mechanical room. "Further down the road, we have to make sure it isn't,"
he said. (General Synod is examining the possibility of selling the Hayden
Street building, which it acquired as a condition of the $3.65 million sale
in 2002 of its nearby Jarvis Street building to Philmor Ltd. Staff moved
into the building in June 2004.)

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/