The Future of Halon

In 1989 the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances identified Halon 1301 as harmful to the Earth's ozone layer and eventually banned all production of this agent as well as the installation of new systems that employ Halon 1301. Two major manufacturers have discontinued the support of Halon 1301 systems. 

January 1, 2000 Ansul announced they would no longer sell service parts or support the sale or servicing of Halon 1301 systems. If you have a Halon system and wish to move it, the flow calculation software for designing the move is no longer available. Proper flow calculations are necessary to insure life safety of humans are not compromised due to over concentration, and of course under concentration could mean a fire would not be suppressed.

Ansul has developed the Inergen Clean Agent System as an alternative Halon Systems. The fire suppression is performed by lowering the oxygen content of the protected area to a point sufficient to sustain human life but insufficient to support combustion.

In July of 2000, Fenwal announced that the Halon System components and parts are no longer available after June 30, 2001. However, this does not affect the availability of valve rebuild parts to handle systems that have a discharge.

Kidde-Fenwal offers as a replacement for Halon the FM-200® system. Fenwal FM-200 offers the same performance as Halon, but without the potential for environmental damage. FM-200 has been proven safe for use in occupied spaces in more than 70 animal and human studies. FM-200, like Halon, stores as a liquid and discharges as a gas.

NFPA 2001 (2000 Edition)
Updates from 1996 Edition

For inert gasses, the new addition of NFPA 2001 allows design of systems concentrations up to 52% (corresponding to oxygen levels of 10%) in occupied spaces as long as exposure time in the area is limited.

The discharge time period is defined as the time required to discharge from the nozzles
95% of the agent mass, at 70° F (21°C), necessary to achieve the minimum design concentration based on 20-percent safety factor for flame extinguishment. 

Any penetrations made through the enclosure protected by the clean agent shall be sealed immediately to restore the original fire resistance rating of the enclosure.

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