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.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com