Technical Paper
Potential Driver Exposure to Halons and Alternative Agents from On Board Fire Suppression Systems in Stock Cars
2004-11-30
2004-01-3551
This paper presents a review of the regulatory, environmental, and health issues surrounding the use of halons as a fire suppressant and a summary of the recently completed Racecar Fire Suppressant Exposure Study by ICF Consulting, Inc., under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (U.S. EPA, 2004a). In 2003 the EPA learned that the SFI Foundation Inc., the organization responsible for developing safety regulations and testing requirements for numerous Performance Racing Industry (PRI) sanctioning bodies, was revising its Quality Assurance Specification for On Board Fire Suppression Systems (SFI Specification 17.1). The previous Specification 17.1 required either halon 1211 or halon 1301 to be used in these systems. Halons are ozone-depleting substances (ODS) widely used in fire protection applications and whose production and use are controlled under the Montreal Protocol and the Clean Air Act (CAA).