What should I do with water damaged x-ray films or medical records?
Answer: Accidents or unexpected disasters can result in extensive water damage to important documents including X-Ray films and medical records. Images from New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina are grim reminders. In recent years, New Jersey has seen its share of flooding. Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and the last Nor’easter in April 2007 come to mind.
Other unnatural disasters that can cause damage come in the form of broken water pipes or the overflow of a floor drain.
Moisture in any form and paper don’t mix; paper when exposed to water begins to deteriorate. Take a piece of paper towel and place it next to a spill, water immediately begins to move from end to end. The same process occurs with the x-ray film jacket but in a slower process. Moisture infiltrates the folder’s cell structure, followed by swelling and discoloration. An environment is then created that will permit the growth of mold and bacteria on the surface of the x-ray film jacket. This can occur in a domino like effect spreading from folder to folder.
Water damaged film, file jackets and medical records can be restored. The complete restoration of water-soaked documents can be an expensive process; however, it might be unwise not to attempt to salvage the records. This process has to begin as quickly as possible and a restoration company needs to be contacted.
The restoration company will take the materials and place them into commercial freezers. Freezing, followed by vacuum freeze drying has been shown to be one of the most effective methods of removing water from paper records and films. This is done to stop the process of deterioration or destruction. Once frozen, the materials are moved to a freeze drying chamber. Air within the freeze drying chamber is removed through a vacuum process and the temperature lowered. The moisture within the materials is converted to a vapor state and then taken out of the chamber. The temperature within the freeze drying chamber is gradually increased over time and any residue moisture is removed. Freeze-Drying methods has been used in the recovery of books, manuscripts, leather, maps, historical and collectible items, textiles in the form of flags, needleworks, silks and tapestries.
If water damage has resulted from fire-fighting measures, cooperation with the fire marshal, and health and safety officials is vital for a realistic appraisal of the feasibility of a safe salvage effort. Fire officers will decide when a building is safe to enter. In these instances, salvage operations are planned so that the environment of water damaged areas can be stabilized and controlled both before and during the removal of the medical records and films. In warm weather, mold growth may be expected to appear within 48 hours. Mold can also be expected to appear in poorly ventilated areas within the same time frame. It is therefore imperative to reduce high humidity and temperature and vent the areas as soon as feasible. Water soaked material must be kept as cool as possible with good air circulation. To leave such materials more than 48 hours in temperatures higher or above 70 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity above 60% without good circulation will certainly result in heavy mold growth and lead to a higher recovery/restoration cost.
Maintaining a detailed photographic and written record of all stages in the recovery operation is essential. Very often this is an overlooked task. The record eventually becomes an excellent document in the processing of a claim.