On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 1:17 PM, Thomas Gonzalez <[email protected]> wrote: > You can suffocate with Halon, when I was in the Navy, the engines room had > AFFF (Foam Agent), CO2 and last resort Halon, (Halon eats up all O2)
Halon is heavier than air, so it simply displaces the oxygen (it's not a chemical transformation). The reason Halon is so dangerous to humans is that if it gets in your lungs, you can't expell it through normal breathing. Similar to getting water in the lungs, except I don't think you feel Halon -- I think you might just asphyxiate, even though you think you're breathing. In addition to the immediate health hazards, Halon has been banned/restricted due to environmental concerns. (Either greeenhouse or ozone hole; I forget which.) I believe FM200 still blocks oxygen, so you don't want to be standing in a cloud of it for long periods of time. But unlike Halon, it's not a death sentence if it gets into your lungs. As long as you get to a clear atmosphere, you can just breath it out. You can get the MSDS for FM200 here: http://msds.dupont.com/msds/pdfs/EN/PEN_09004a358037d86b.pdf They mention that, since it's a massive depressurization, frostbite is also a concern. I didn't think of that. Neat. -- Ben ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
