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COVER: Fuel oil fire in U.S. Coast Guard full-scale shipboard fire test facility aboard the State of Maine, docked in Mobile, Alabama. Photo courtesy of Richard L. Hansen, U.S. Coast Guard R&D Center, Groton, Conn.
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COMMITTEE ON ASSESSMENT OF FIRE SUPPRESSION SUBSTITUTES AND ALTERNATIVES TO HALON
DAVID W. McCALL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired),
Chair
RONALD L. ALPERT,
Factory Mutual Research Corporation
JAMES G. ANDERSON,
Harvard University
PHILLIP J. DINENNO,
Hughes Associates, Inc.
DAVID A. DIXON,
Pacific Northwest Laboratory
RICHARD E. FERNANDEZ,
DuPont Fluoroproducts
ROBERT H. GORMLEY,
RADM, USN (retired), The Oceanus Company
MALCOLM K. KO,
Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc.
RUDOLPH PARISER,
R. Pariser & Co., Inc.
AKKIHEBAL R. RAVISHANKARA,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
REVA RUBENSTEIN,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
GEORGE M. RUSCH,
Allied Signal, Inc.
ROBERT E. TAPSCOTT,
University of New Mexico
TIMOTHY J. WALLINGTON,
Ford Motor Company
DONALD J. WUEBBLES,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Navy Liaison Representative
Ronald DeMarco,
Office of Naval Research
Consultants
Sidney G. Reed, Jr.
James G. Wilson
Staff
Peter W. Rooney, Program Officer
Ronald D. Taylor, Director,
Naval Studies Board
Susan G. Campbell, Administrative Assistant
Mary G. Gordon, Information Officer
Christopher A. Hanna, Project Assistant
NAVAL STUDIES BOARD
DAVID R. HEEBNER,
Science Applications International Corporation (retired),
Chair
GEORGE M. WHITESIDES,
Harvard University,
Vice Chair
ALBERT J. BACIOCCO, JR.,
The Baciocco Group, Inc.
ALAN BERMAN,
Applied Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
NORMAN E. BETAQUE,
Logistics Management Institute
NORVAL L. BROOME,
Mitre Corporation
GERALD A. CANN,
Raytheon Company
SEYMOUR J. DEITCHMAN,
Chevy Chase, Maryland,
Special Advisor
ANTHONY J. DeMARIA,
DeMaria ElectroOptics Systems, Inc.
JOHN F. EGAN,
Lockheed Martin Corporation
ROBERT HUMMEL,
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
DAVID W. McCALL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired)
ROBERT J. MURRAY,
Center for Naval Analyses
ROBERT B. OAKLEY,
National Defense University
WILLIAM J. PHILLIPS,
Northstar Associates, Inc.
MARA G. PRENTISS,
Jefferson Laboratory, Harvard University
HERBERT RABIN,
University of Maryland
JULIE JCH RYAN,
Booz, Allen and Hamilton
HARRISON SHULL,
Naval Postgraduate School (retired)
KEITH A. SMITH,
U.S. Marine Corps (retired)
ROBERT C. SPINDEL,
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington
DAVID L. STANFORD,
Science Applications International Corporation
H. GREGORY TORNATORE,
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
J. PACE VANDEVENDER,
Prosperity Institute
VINCENT VITTO,
Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BRUCE WALD,
Arlington Education Consultants
Navy Liaison Representatives
Paul G. Blatch,
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N911T1
Ronald N. Kostoff,
Office of Naval Research
Ronald D. Taylor, Director
Peter W. Rooney, Program Officer
Susan G. Campbell, Administrative Assistant
Mary G. Gordon, Information Officer
Christopher A. Hanna, Project Assistant
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation,
Co-Chair
W. CARL LINEBERGER,
University of Colorado,
Co-Chair
PETER M. BANKS,
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
LAWRENCE D. BROWN,
University of Pennsylvania
RONALD G. DOUGLAS,
Texas A&M University
JOHN E. ESTES,
University of California at Santa Barbara
L. LOUIS HEGEDUS,
Elf Atochem North America, Inc.
JOHN E. HOPCROFT,
Cornell University
RHONDA J. HUGHES,
Bryn Mawr College
SHIRLEY A. JACKSON,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
KENNETH H. KELLER,
University of Minnesota
KENNETH I. KELLERMANN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
MARGARET G. KIVELSON,
University of California at Los Angeles
DANIEL KLEPPNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN KREICK,
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
THOMAS A. PRINCE,
California Institute of Technology
NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
L.E. SCRIVEN,
University of Minnesota
SHMUEL WINOGRAD,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
CHARLES A. ZRAKET,
Mitre Corporation (retired)
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
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Preface
On January 1, 1994, under the latest revision of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, the domestic production of halons, widely used by the civilian, commercial, and military communities as a fire and explosion suppressant, was banned. The ban did not prohibit the use by the Navy of existing halon stocks, which may be adequate for projected use well into the next century at present levels of consumption. There is some concern, however, that potential future restrictions may limit the use of existing supplies.
The Navy is critically dependent on halon as a fire and explosion suppressant aboard existing aircraft and surface ships. Therefore, the Navy is faced with the following question: In view of the ban on halon production and the possibility of future restrictions on the use of existing stocks, should the research effort on halon substitutes be placed at a high priority or at a low priority while transferring emphasis to the search for alternative (non-halon-like) approaches? To answer that question, the Office of Naval Research requested the assistance of the Naval Studies Board.
Accordingly, the Committee on Assessment of Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon was established under the auspices of the Naval Studies Board and charged to examine the following issues and provide advice to the Navy regarding its research on fire suppression systems and possible replacements for halons:
- Beginning with a thorough understanding of the mechanism whereby halon adversely influences the ozone layer, and possibly contributes to global warming, assess the research effort directed at finding a substitute for halon as a fire and explosion suppressant, and evaluate any potential substitute for its (a) effectiveness compared to halon, (b) toxicity as a pure compound and after exposure to fire, (c) stability of the compound (e.g., thermal, material compatibility), (d) ozone depletion potential, and, if possible, global warming potential, and (e) impact on the firefighting system (e.g., weight and volume competitiveness).
- Based on the results of Task 1, assess the potential for finding a drop-in replacement for halon, and identify the most promising areas of research.
- Time and resources permitting, address the issue of comparable alternative approaches to fire and explosion suppression aboard military platforms.
The committee conducted a study of roughly eight months' duration beginning in April 1996 and including the following meetings and site visits:
- April 9-10, 1996, in Washington D.C. Held organizational meeting; received navy briefs.
- June 10-11, 1996, in Norfolk, Virginia. Toured halon installations aboard the USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship. Received briefings from Naval Sea Systems Command personnel.
- July 15-16, 1996, in Mobile, Alabama. Toured U.S. Navy shipboard full-scale fire test facility aboard the ex-USS Shadwell and observed a full-scale test of an FM-200™-based fire suppression system in the U.S. Coast Guard shipboard full-scale fire test facility aboard the State of Maine. Received briefings from Naval Research Laboratory personnel and contractors and U.S. Coast Guard personnel and contractors.
- August 14-15, 1996, in San Diego, California. Toured North Island Naval Base and examined halon systems on U.S. Navy fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Received briefings on halon and inert gas generator systems from Naval Air Systems Command personnel and contractors.
- November 11-12, 1996, in Washington, D.C. Final meeting.
The resulting report represents the committee's consensus view on the issues posed in the charge.
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Acknowledgments
The Committee on Assessment of Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon wishes to express its gratitude to the many individuals who provided valuable information and support during the course of the study. Mr. James Homan and his staff in the Halon R&D Program in the Naval Air Systems Command, and Mr. Robert Darwin and Mr. Joel Krinsky and their staffs in the Fire Protection Division and the HVAC Submarine Life Support Division, respectively, in the Naval Sea Systems Command were exceptionally helpful. Likewise Dr. Ronald Sheinson, Head of the Combustion Dynamics Section of the Chemistry Division at the Naval Research Laboratory, and Dr. Richard Gann, Chief of the Fire Science Division of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and their staffs provided extremely valuable technical data.
The committee wishes to thank the commander and crew of the USS Kearsarge , a modem amphibious assault vessel (LHD-3) based in Norfolk, Virginia. The committee toured this vessel and inspected the halon installations on board. The ship's procedures with regard to the halon systems were described in detail and the committee was impressed with the logic embodied in the Navy's practices.
The committee wishes to thank the commander, crew, and staff of the ex-USS Shadwell, site of the shipboard full-scale fire test facility operated by the Naval Research Laboratory, and the staff of the State of Maine, site of the shipboard full-scale fire test facility operated by the U.S. Coast Guard R&D Center. Both vessels are docked in Mobile, Alabama. The committee was able to witness a full-scale test of an FM-200 TM-based fire suppression system aboard the State of Maine.
Finally, the committee wishes to thank the men and women of the North Island Naval Air Depot for graciously hosting the committee on its tour of the aviation maintenance facility there. The committee received informative briefings from the staff of the Naval Air Systems Command and the Naval Air Warfare Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey.
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