Halon, water, etc.

Hi:

Well, I work in a computer room with a sprinkler system. If it is
triggered I either have job security for life or I look for work....

In a fire, Halon's toxicity is not going to be my first concern. But
context is everything; atmospheric nitrogen is not toxic (it's 80% of the
air we breathe), but ask a scuba diver if it can become dangerous.

Anyway, if the oxygen level in a Halon-filled room is low enough to
suppress a fire then I am extremely skeptical that it is high enough to
support human life for very long. Double my concern for asthmatics and
other people with respiratory challenges that don't normally affect their
ability to work productively, but significantly decrease their ability to
take in oxygen.

Note that when I say fire, I am referring to combustion; not all fires are
flames. In a computer room that is especially true.

Darrell

Darrell A. Martin - 630-754-2141
Manager, Computer Operations
dmartin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote on 06/15/2007 10:08:17 PM:

I don't know about other systems, but supposedly Halon systems don't
remove oxygen from the room, they just lower the concentration enough
to suppress the fire-- AFAIK, you can still breathe in the room.
And, supposedly, Halon systems are non-toxic.

Of course, that was before Halon became unhealthy to the environment.

I suspect that insurance risk management would be more annoyed if you
had a dry chemical system, or (heaven forfend!) a water-based system
instead! Although I have heard that pushing Halon thru the pipes for
the first time results in all sorts of contaminants spraying all over
the computer room.

--Paul E Musselman

This e-mail, including attachments, may contain information that is
confidential and/or proprietary, and may only be used by the person to
whom this email is addressed. If the recipient of this e-mail is not the
intended recipient or an authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified
that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is
prohibited. If this e-mail has been delivered to you in error, please
notify the sender by replying to this message and deleting this e-mail
immediately.