Dear AMMRL,
Some of our faculty are concerned about potential liquid helium supply disruptions over a long time horizon . One possibility, of course, is helium recovery and recycling systems. But for a small number of magnets this has a number of drawbacks (high expenses including initial capital and electricity for operation, and concerns about the purity of recovered helium, and others). A number of past AMMRL posts have focused on the technical details of this option.
Another possibility is a risk management plan that may include contingencies for multiple helium suppliers and/or insurance focused on loss due to supply disruption.
I would be grateful if you would take the time to answer the following questions. If there is sufficient interest I'll post a summary.
1. Does your NMR facility have any Risk Management plan?
If no, you are done.
2. Do you have formal contracts or other procedures in place with more than one liquid helium supplier?
If yes, are you aware of their supply chain sourcing (do they have independent production facilities that would likely not be affected simultaneously)?
3. Do you have any other plan to mitigate a supply disruption (on-stie storage, prioritization of certain NMRs, etc...)?
4. Do you have any type of insurance for the NMRs?
If yes, does it cover loss due to liquid helium supply disruption?
If yes to either of the above, does the insurance only cover the cost of NMR replacement or also the loss of grant funds that rely on NMR.
5. Does your Risk Management plan cove other threats to the NMRs other than helium supply disruptions such as theft, negligence, earthquake, etc..? Describe.
Please elaborate on any of the points above.
Have fun at ENC! Sorry I can't be there.
John
John Decatur, Ph. D.
Director of NMR Facility
Department of Chemistry
3000 Broadway, Mailcode 3179
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
212-854-2155 (voice)
212-932-1289 (fax)
jdd13_at_columbia.edu
Received on Fri Apr 08 2011 - 04:04:18 MST