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Difficulty: MediumSafety Procedures and Environmental Controls

A system administrator reviewing environmental monitoring logs for a primary server room notes that the relative humidity (RH) has dropped to 18%. Which of the following potential hazards should the administrator address IMMEDIATELY to prevent equipment damage?

  1. Increased buildup and unexpected release of electrostatic discharge (ESD)Answer
  2. B
    Rapid moisture condensation forming on internal motherboard circuitry
  3. C
    CPU thermal throttling caused by a severe reduction in coolant air density
  4. D
    Accelerated chemical corrosion rates on exposed copper expansion bus contacts

Answer

Increased buildup and unexpected release of electrostatic discharge (ESD)
Maintaining appropriate relative humidity (typically between 40% and 60%) in server rooms is critical. When humidity drops below 40%, the dry air prevents static charges from safely bleeding off into the atmosphere, causing high static voltage accumulation on technicians and chassis surfaces, which drastically increases ESD risks.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze environmental parameter
Identified relative humidity level of 18%, which is below recommended data center standards (40%–60% RH).
Environmental controls must maintain optimal humidity levels to balance safety hazards.
2
Evaluate atmospheric effects of low humidity
Recognized that dry air allows static charges to accumulate rapidly on surfaces and human bodies without a natural conductive moisture layer to dissipate them.
Static buildup is directly inversely proportional to relative humidity.
3
Select primary risk mitigation target
Determined ESD buildup is the primary immediate risk to internal computer components under dry atmospheric conditions.
Preventing ESD discharges protects sensitive integrated circuits from irreversible dielectric breakdown.

Key Concept

Environmental Controls and Relative Humidity ESD Impact
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Safety Procedures and Environmental Controls

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