My last two museums have each experienced accidental Halon dumps.  I cleaned
up one of them.  There was no powdery residue.  However the Halon comes out
like a tornado (so while you may not suffocate, you may be knocked down by
flying objects) and there was a big mess to clean up. The dust on top of
ledges and tall cases where it isn't regularly cleaned off was blown against
the walls so hard that in some areas it became embedded in the wall cover.
Anything left on a table or other surface was blown off.  The dump I cleaned
up was in one of the galleries, and the artifact storage.  The shelves units
in the storage were mostly draped with fabric that protected the artifacts
on them.  The boxes on top of the shelf units were blown off, but
fortunately there was no damage to artifacts in the storage room or the
gallery.

I've read and have been told by experts that Halon doesn't suck the oxygen
out of the room.  It is heavier than air and sinks to the floor to smother
the fire, then dissipates fairly quickly.  There is apparently more than one
type of Halon.  The Halon in our fire suppression system is not toxic, but
the Halon in the fire extinguishers is.  Refilling the tanks at both museums
was a difficult and expensive task.  We were told that it is illegal to
manufacture it, but not to use what has already been manufactured.  It took
some time to find the Halon and it was very expensive.

By the way, both Museums are investigating alternatives to Halon, with the
replacement as part of long range planning.

Jerrie

Jerrie Clarke
Curator
Sheldon Museum
Haines, Alaska

http://www.sheldonmuseum.org


>From: Lana Newhart <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: fire suppression systems
>Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2002 07:35:49 -0500
>
>It sounds like your library has a halon system.  We have this in our
>historic home.  A few years ago halon was on the EPA's list of "don't use,"
>but I've heard that has changed.
>
>What happens is that the halon "consumes" the oxygen in the air to
>suffocate the fire.  Unfortunately, if there are people in the house at the
>time the halon system is triggered, there is only a 10 second window to get
>out of the house before the oxygen is gone.  Also, the halon leaves a
>powder residue behind which then has to be cleaned up.  It is reportedly
>harmless to artifacts/objects.  However, I do not know of anyone who has
>tested halon's affects on objects.  Has anyone else?
>
>Lana Newhart-Kellen
>Conner Prairie
>


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