COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS
AVIATION ADVISORY CIRCULAR
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Replacement of Halon Hand-held Fire Extinguishers on Board Aircraft
INTRODUCTION
This Commercial and Business Aviation Advisory Circular (CBAAC) is
intended to inform air operators that there are no substitutes to Halon hand-held
fire extinguishers approved for use on board aircraft.
REFERENCES
Sections 525.851, 551.400, 604.41, 705.93 and paragraph 602.60(1)(c) of the
Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs).
BACKGROUND
Aircraft operating under Part VI, Subpart 4 and Part VII, Subpart 5 of
the CARs are required to have hand-held fire extinguishers that contain Halon 1211
or its equivalent.
The Copenhagen Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer resulted in the cessation of Halon production as of December 31, 1993.
For this reason, alternative fire extinguishing agents will need to have been
certified once available supplies of Halon are depleted.
Accordingly, the International Halon Replacement Working Group was formed in
October of 1993. The mandate of the Working Group is to determine if safe and
effective substitute agents can be used to replace Halon 1211 and 1301 in
aircraft and to develop certification criteria for approval of Halon replacement
agents and systems.
Recently, some air operators have been informed by suppliers of fire extinguishers
that acceptable substitutes for Halon are available and that they can be used as an
alternative to the Halon 1211 hand-held fire extinguishers.
While there are substitutes for Halon commercially available, to date none
of these agents have been approved as a substitute for Halon hand-held fire
extinguishers used on board aircraft.
Supplies of Halon are still available as a recycled product and in fire
extinguishers manufactured and stored prior to the manufacturing ban. Information
on locating supplies of Halon may be found by contacting the Halon Bank, which is
a clearinghouse service administered by the Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada
(ULC):
Phone: (416) 757-3611
Fax: (416) 757-1781
E-mail: ulcinfo@ulc.ca
CONCLUSION
Operators should coordinate with their regional Transport Canada, Maintenance
& Manufacturing Branch prior to replacing their Halon hand-held fire extinguishers
with a Halon substitute to confirm the substitute is acceptable for use on board
aircraft.
M.R. Preuss
Director
Commercial & Business Aviation
| Commercial & Business Aviation Advisory
Circulars (CBAAC) are intended to provide information and guidance regarding
operational matters. A CBAAC may describe an acceptable, but not the only,
means of demonstrating compliance with existing regulations. CBAACs in and of
themselves do not change, create any additional, authorize changes in, or
permit deviations from regulatory requirements. |
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