- Author
-
Call, D. W.
- Title
- Human and Rat Exposures to Halon 1301 Under Hypobaric Conditions.
- Coporate
- Naval Air Station, Miramar, CA
- Book or Conf
- National Research Center. Appraisal of Halogenated Fire Extinguishing Agents. April 11-12, 1972,
Washington, DC,
127-135 p.,
1972
- Keywords
-
fire extinguishing agents
|
toxicity
|
halon 1301
|
hypobaric atmospheres
|
aircraft compartments
|
animals
|
human beings
|
inhalation
|
histology
- Identifiers
- fire extinguishing agents
- Abstract
- Halon 1301 (CBrF3) has been proposed for use as a fire extinguishing agent in occupied aircraft sections. To test possible toxicity of this gas under hypobaric conditions, such as would accompany its use in-flight, male Charles River rats and human volunteers were exposed for 3-5 minutes to various Halon 1301 air mixtures in a hypobaric chamber maintained at 760 Torr (sea level), 632 Torr (5,000 ft.), or 380 Torr (18,000 ft.). Electrocardiograms and lung histology data were collected from the rats. Physical examinations, pulmonary function measurements, psychomotor performance evaluations and ECGs were obtained from the human subjects. Results indicate that exposure to CBrF3 under reduced atmospheric pressures is no more harmful than similar exposures at sea level. Therefore, Halon 1301 may be a safe fire suppressant for use in occupied cabin sections.