Updated scoop on Halon

[VBra676539@aol.com]

All,
	In ref to the previous discussions concerning fire extinguishers and 
the like, I managed to corner one of our fire protection supervisors today 
and got some new and some not so new info from him.  Who was it said he'd 
heard it was okay to breathe Halon for awhile?  Good call!  And now, for 
(some of) the rest of the story:

Halogenated Hydrocarbon Gas (HALON) is composed of Carbon, Bromine, Chlorine, 
Fluorine and Iodine and is always listed in that order in numerical form.  
The number identifies the component quantities (parts per measurement, I 
suppose). It is odorless, tasteless and is a CFC (ozone depleter) like freon, 
thus not a favorite with the EPA. Halon 1211 is used in fire extinguishers 
and has a Chlorine component and is toxic. We can rule this one out. On the 
other hand, Halon 1301 is used in what is called "total flooding areas" which 
means human occupancy areas and has NO chlorine and can be breathed safely, 
according to the experts, for a fairly extended period of time.  5 to 7 
minutes of exposure before the effects will be noticed at all, and then they 
will be voice changes (high pitched like breathing helium) and watery eyes 
with nausea following after a few more minutes. Halon does NOT displace 
oxygen in the bloodstream like carbon monoxide or dioxide does, but rather 
interacts with the combustion process at the chemical level.  

Currently, the replacements designed to do away with the CFC problem are 
needed in a 2 to 1 ratio to equal Halon and require different piping, 
regulators and the like. There is apparently a ton of info on the Web about 
all this and my man promises to get me some pertinent addresses.

Vance