A Risk Assessment of Piql Services by FFI

hour, implying that this may not be a major threat to the integrity of the piqlFilm. However, as mentioned, these calculations do not take into account the effects of external heating, which are significant in some parts of the world, so one must assume that the unfavourable conditions will be worse here, especially if the infrastructure of the storage room is not intact anymore. Regardless, the piqlFilm is, as demonstrated, proven to withstand exposure to high temperatures over an extended period of time. Finally, it must be noted that long exposure to imperfect storage conditions has worse effects than short exposure. 25 The materials used in the Piql components are supposed to withstand quite a lot when it comes to changes in temperature and relative humidity when it is a matter of shorter exposure. It is primarily when long-term exposure is a fact that the problems described above arise. At temperatures below 40° Celsius the piqlBox and piqlFilm will last for at least more than 50 years even if the relative humidity should increase to above 50 %. 26 Fire is a major risk to the integrity of the piqlFilms, the destructive effects of which were described in the scenario where a technical error caused an electrical fire in the piqlVault system; where a forest fire raged and was sustained for a longer period of time with little opportunity to extinguish it; and where a nuclear detonation caused a mass fire devouring all in its path. Fire could also occur in the scenarios involving explosives, such as armed conflict and terrorism, but in the cases described in the appendixes, the resulting fire did not reach the piqlVault. In a regular room fire, flame temperatures can reach between 600 and 1200° Celsius, but of course wide spatial variations will be seen. Some of the piqlBoxes and –Films will thus be devoured by the flames, whereas others will simply be exposed to excessive heat. The same can be said for the piqlVault gird: as aluminium has a melting point of between 600 and 660° Celsius, parts of it will melt, though not burn. Yet the integrity and stability of its mechanical properties is affected at even at 200° Celsius, meaning that if the structure is still standing, it will be much weakened [47]. All operations in the piqlVault cease, naturally, making recovery of the piqlFilms difficult. Most likely, manual recovery will be necessary. Piql AS has created a solution which allows for this, but it is a complex and time-consuming process [29]. The negative effects of the fire on the piqlVault grid itself thus have an impact on the availability of the piqlFilms that are not destroyed by the flames or otherwise damaged by potential contact with the melting aluminium. 9.1.4 Fire

If the piqlBoxes come in contact with the fire, they too burn and melt, as they are not fire resistant. The PP in the piqlBoxes melts at 170° Celsius, and the once hard plastic will turn into

25 The properties and qualities of the piqlBox and piqlFilm were discussed in a telephone meeting with Espen Ommundsen, Principal Researcher at Norner AS, and Yvonne Hed, Researcher at Norner AS, on 17.09.15. 26 The information regarding the longevity of the piqlBox and piqlFilm was part of an email correspondence with Svein Jamtvedt, Principal Researcher at Norner AS, on 27.05.16.

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FFI-RAPPORT 16/00707