Though it once used a carbon dioxide-based fire suppression system that reduced the level of oxygen in the stacks, which has the potential to cause adverse health effects, there has never been a system that could kill those inside the building. “This material will be here in 100, 200, 300 years, and that's very likely to be because of all the precautions which we're putting in place.” Our rating: Falseīased on our research, the claim that Yale's Beinecke library would remove all oxygen from the building in the case of a fire is FALSE. People may not realize that cultural heritage institutions like ours are complicated and expensive to maintain, and serve an important purpose,” she said. “It is a fun story, but the truth is, I think, more interesting and useful to convey. Related: Library book late? Overdue fees are going away at many libraries amid COVID-19 pandemic economic crisisĮven though Fitzgerald prefers that visitors know the truth about the library’s safety systems, she said that the myth has been a useful means of education. Extensive toxicity testing has proved that the gas is safe to use for humans, according to an EPA report.Ĭlean agentslike these are widespread and are also employed to protect computers, among other things, as the gases can reach tiny computer parts where electrical sparks could begin a fire. In the case of a fire, the library now floods the stacks with a greener chemical, ECARO-25. The Beinecke rewired the system again in its roughly $73 million renovation in 2016. Related: A way forward on climate change: Focus on reducing heavy industry's carbon emissions since 1998 because it contributes to ozone depletion. Halon gas is safe for use around humans but has been banned from manufacture in the U.S. As the former Beinecke head of access services told the Yale Daily News in 2010, this combination of gases is safe, but does slightly reduce oxygen levels. The Beinecke moved away from that system in the 1980s, Fitzgerald said, in favor of a system that would flood the stacks with a combination of halon and Inergen gases. “As someone who once worked a part time job at a library, I would be perfectly fine with this,” one wrote. One Reddit post from 2016 even claimed the library requires visitors to sign a release acknowledging this system could be used.Ĭommenters on these posts have largely been skeptical (“Don’t they have like PDFs of them?” one asked), but some were. 6 garnered over 65,000 likes, which is how Sabby Jallim, who made the recent Facebook post, said she found the meme. That tweet circulated over the last two years in several viral Instagram posts. The original Twitter post has been retweeted 22,400 times and liked by 55,200 users. The legend seems to have gained traction on every major platform. He added a thread to the tweet on the same day with a Yale Daily News article that debunked the myth, but it went viral nonetheless. He’s been shocked by the post’s long lifespan, he told USA TODAY. The original poster of the tweet, Michael-Vincent D’Anella-Mercanti says he learned of the myth from his college medieval literature professor.
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