PhostrEx Fire Extinguisher Discharged
ANN REALTIME UPDATE
08.30.07 1200 EDT: Company spokesman Andrew Broom has
verified to ANN that Wednesday night's incident at Eclipse Aviation
involved the accidental discharge of one, possibly two, PhostrEx
fire-suppresant canisters on the production line.
Broom tells ANN the incident occurred inside Sunport 2, the
company's final assembly building. Fifteen workers were exposed to
the chemical, and six were taken to the hospital. Those workers
have been treated and released.
Invented by Peter Holland -- who shopped the technology to
Boeing and Airbus, among others, before Eclipse Aviation purchased
rights to use the system in 2005 -- the PhostrEx Fire Suppression
System uses phosphorus tribromide as its active fire extinguishing
agent.
In addition to being far less toxic than traditional Halon 1301
and 1211 fire-suppresant systems, a PhostrEx canister (shown below,
right) also weighs 1/10th of what a full Halon system does, and is
far more compact.
Though deemed environmentally safe -- the chemical becomes inert
when exposed to water, and does not lead to ozone depletion --
phosphorus tribromide may cause corrosion and irritation when
exposed to skin.
As ANN reported earlier this
year, Eclipse received the EPA's 2007 Stratospheric
Ozone Protection Award for the development of PhostrEx.
Broom told ANN he does
not believe the incident damaged any aircraft, or that the incident
will affect production. "You can just hose (PhostrEx) off and get
back to work," he said.
Eclipse is investigating what caused the release of the
fire-suppressing chemical.
ORIGINAL REPORT
An incident at Eclipse Aviation Wednesday night sent six
employees to the hospital for precautionary checks, after what was
described as an 'aircraft fire extinguisher' by local media
reportedly discharged accidentally.
Albuquerque, NM television station KOB-4 reports firefighters
and hazardous materials crews responded to the call. There was no
fire, but teams remained on scene to verify Eclipse was following
protocols for cleaning up the chemicals.
"It is corrosive and is considered a mild irritant," said one
firefighter about the discharged chemical. "The six patients that
were transferred from the scene were done as a precautionary
measure."
ANN is awaiting word from Eclipse personnel on further details
of the incident... including whether it involved Eclipse's patented
PhostrEx engine fire-extinguishing system, which replaces the
corrosive and toxic halon 1301.
PhostrEx uses phosphorus tribromide as its active fire
extinguishing agent. Though deemed environmentally safe, the
chemical is corrosive and can cause irritation when exposed to
skin or respiratory passages.
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