DuPont 4-page reprint 16/2/12 7:37 am Page 1

CLEAN AGENTS
Dubai Metro. Protected
by FM-200

Climate Change
and the HFC-
Based Clean
Extinguishing
Agents
No other issue related to the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) clean fire extinguishing
agents is perhaps more misunderstood than the issue of their environmental
Mark L. Robin impact.
DuPont Chemicals &

T
his confusion in the clean agent marketplace widely employed replacements for Halon 1301
Fluoroproducts results from a lack of understanding of three worldwide, and there are currently hundreds
key issues. Each requires reviewing in detail of thousands of HFC-based fire suppression
and provides factual information related to the use systems installed worldwide, protecting billions of
and environmental impact of HFCs in fire suppres- dollar’s worth of valuable and sensitive assets.
sion applications. The three issues are: The HFC-based clean agents employed in total
1 The meaning of global warming potential (GWP) flooding applications are FM-200 (CF3CHFCF3,
values. HFC-227ea), FE-25 (CF3CF2H, HFC-125), and
2 The impact of HFCs used in fire suppression on FE-13 (CF3H, HFC-23).
climate change. Table 1 (page 2) shows a small sample of some
3 Regulations related to HFCs in fire suppression of the facilities and equipment protected by HFCs.
applications. Major corporations employing HFC-based fire
protection include Cisco, Westinghouse, Etisalat,
Background Sprint, Lockheed Martin, Exxon/Mobil, AT&T, GTE,
Since their introduction in the early 1990s, the Nokia, Saudi Aramco, Intel, IBM, Mitsubishi and
HFC-based clean agents have been the most Wal-Mart.

INTERNATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION 1

DuPont 4-page reprint 16/2/12 7:37 am Page 2

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE HFC-BASED CLEAN EXTINGUISHING AGENTS

CLEAN AGENTS
Table 1. Examples of HFC Clean Agent System typically expressed in terms of “Tg of CO2 equiva-
Installations lents,” which can be calculated by multiplying the
mass of emissions (in Tg) by the GWP of the gas in
Facility question.
Factual information related to the impact on
National Museum of Pre-History, Taiwan
climate change of HFCs in fire suppression applica-
Eiffel Tower, France tions is available from several independent
Royal Thai Family Silk Museum, Thailand sources. The US EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency) has employed its vintaging model to
Bangkok International Airport, Thailand estimate the emissions of greenhouse gases from
Smithsonian Institute, USA various sources, and the most recent results are
shown in Table Two and Table Three, which
US EPA Supercomputing Center, USA indicate the relative impact of GHG emissions (Tg
Alexandria Library, Egypt of CO2 equivalents) for the various GHGs and for
HFCs as a function of industry, respectively.
Dubai International Airport, UAE
As can be seen from Tables Two and Three, the
Dubai Metro, UAE impact (in Tg of CO2 equivalents) of HFC emissions
King Saudi University, Saudi Arabia from fire suppression applications represents 100 x
(0.8/6633.2) = 0.012% of the total impact of all
Bouabieh Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia GHGs. That is, the impact of HFC emissions from
Aristoteles Museum, Greece fire protection applications represents approxi-
mately 0.01% of the impact of all GHG emissions.
Dusseldorf International Airport, Germany
Table 2. Relative Impact of GHG Emissions on
The success of HFCs in the clean agent Climate Change
market is due to the fact that the HFCs offer the
best overall combination of the properties Gas USA
desired in a Halon 1301 replacement, along
with being the most cost effective replacements. Tg CO2 equivalents % of Total
All HFCs are characterised by zero ozone CO2 5505.2 83.0
depletion potentials (ODPs), and hence they do
not contribute to ozone depletion. As can be seen CH4 686.3 10.3
below, the impact of HFCs employed in fire
suppression applications on climate change N2O 295.6 4.5
(global warming) is minuscule, rendering the
HFC 125.7 1.9
HFCs a viable, sustainable replacement for
Halon 1301 in total flooding fire suppression PFC 5.6 0.1
applications.
SF6 14.8 0.2
What are GWP Values, and What Do
They Mean? Total 6633.2 100%
A clear explanation of what GWP values are can
be found in Section A.1.6 of the recently pub- Source: US EPA 430-R-11-005 (2011)
lished (2012) edition of NFPA 2001 Standard on
Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems, which Table 3. Relative Impact of HFC Emissions on
demonstrates the fact that the GWP value consid- Climate Change
ered by itself does not provide an indication of the
impact of an agent on climate change, stating: “It Gas USA
is important to understand that the impact of a
gas on climate change is a function of both the Tg CO2 % of Total
GWP of the gas and the amount of gas emitted. equivalents
For example, carbon dioxide (CO2) has one of the
Refrigeration 104.9 83.5
lowest GWP values of all greenhouse gas
emissions (GWP=1), yet emissions of CO2 account Aerosols 9.1 7.2
for approximately 85% of the impact of all
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.” Fire Protection 0.8 0.6
The GWP value for a gas simply compares the
impact on climate change of the emission of the Foam 3.9 3.1
gas to that of CO2. For example, a GWP value of R-22 Manufacture 5.4 4.3
100 indicates that the emission of 1 kg of the gas
in question has the same impact on climate Solvents 1.3 1.0
change as the emission of 100 kg of CO2.
Semiconductor 0.3 0.2
Impact of HFCs in Fire Suppression Manufacture
Applications Total HFC 125.7 100%
The relative contribution or impact of any GHG to
climate change is readily found from an examina- Source: US EPA 430-R-11-005 (2011)
tion of the number of the “CO2 equivalents”
associated with the amount of gas emitted. CO2 Recent results from the HFC Emissions Estimat-
equivalents are calculated by multiplying the ing Program (HEEP), which estimates the emissions
mass of agent emitted by its GWP value, and are of HFCs from fire suppression, are in agreement

2 INTERNATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION

DuPont 4-page reprint 16/2/12 7:37 am Page 3

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE HFC-BASED CLEAN EXTINGUISHING AGENTS

CLEAN AGENTS
with the results of EPA’s vintaging model results for Eiffel Tower. Protected
the emission of HFCs from fire suppression appli- by FM-200
cations. The HEEP analysis also indicates that the
emissions of HFCs from fire suppression applica-
tions have been steadily decreasing since 2007.
The clean agent industry has done an excellent job
of policing itself and reducing unnecessary dis-
charges through its adherence to the Voluntary
Code of Practice (VCOP) for the Reduction of
Emissions of HFC & PFC Fire Protection Agents, a
partnership of the U.S. EPA, Fire Equipment Manu-
facturers Association (FEMA), Fire Suppression
Systems Association (FSSA), Halon Alternatives
Research Corporation (HARC) and National Associ-
ation of Fire Equipment Distributors (NAFED).
Emissions data is also available for EU-15 coun-
tries, and are summarized in Table Four and Table
Five [Annual European Union GHG Inventory
1990-2009 and Inventory Report 2011, 27th May
2011]. As is the case for US emissions, the EU-15
data indicates that the relative contribution of
HFCs in fire suppression applications to climate
change is minuscule; 100 x (2.6/3729) = 0.07% of
the impact of all GHG emissions.

Table 4. Relative Impact of GHG Emissions on

Climate Change

EU-15
Gas Tg CO2 equivalents % of Total as the HFCs, hence, HFCs are not subject to the pro-
CO2 3063 81.5 visions of the Montreal Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol
and F-Gas Regulations are related to the reduction
CH4 311 9.0 of GHG emissions, but are solely concerned with
emissions reductions and do not limit or prohibit
N2O 280 7.7 the use of HFCs in fire suppression applications.
Regulators understand the science as illustrated
HFC 66 1.6
above; they understand the minuscule impact of
PFC 2 0.1 HFC emissions associated with fire suppression.
With regard to the regulation of any chemical,
SF6 6 0.1 no one can guarantee a lack of future regulations,
and speculation on this point serves only to con-
Total 3729 100% fuse the industry and drive end users to non-clean
alternatives such as sprinklers. No one can guaran-
Table 5. Relative Impact of HFC Emissions on tee that HFCs in fire suppression applications will
Climate Change never be phased out — not without being able to
divine the future.
EU-N15 Can anyone guarantee that perfluoroketones
will not be phased out in the future? Unlike other
Gas Tg CO2 % of Total
clean agents, perfluoroketones are characterised
equivalents
by high chemical reactivity (for example, hydrolysis
Refrigeration 50.1 75.9 when crossing the lung-air interface, cf. Novec
1230 Fire Protection Fluid Safety Assessment, 3M).
Aerosols 7.6 11.5 Even the inert gases have been challenged by
acoustic damage, high cylinder pressures, and
Fire Protection 2.6 3.9 room over-pressurization. Regulations continuously
Foam evolve as new science, information, and issues
develop in the marketplace, and no product is
R-22 Manufacture immune to a changing regulatory future.
It is a fact, however, that with regard to regula-
Solvents 5.7 8.6 tions, HFCs in fire suppression applications are being
treated differently than HFCs employed in other
Semiconductor
applications. Emissions of HFCs from fire suppression
Manufacture
applications are dwarfed by HFC emissions from
Total HFC 66.0 100% other applications such as refrigeration. Regulatory
bodies understand this, and to date HFCs in fire sup-
pression applications have been subject to different
Regulation of HFCs in Fire Suppression sets of regulations. A good example is the F-Gas
Applications regulation in Europe, which has adopted, supported
The Montreal Protocol relates to ozone depleting and regulated good industry practices around
substances (ODSs), and not to zero ODP agents such system filling, handling, and servicing of fire systems.

INTERNATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION 3

DuPont 4-page reprint 16/2/12 7:37 am Page 4

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE HFC-BASED CLEAN EXTINGUISHING AGENTS

CLEAN AGENTS
F-22 Raptor. Protected
by FE-25

It is important when encountered with an asser- The same article also refers to a petition to the
tion of impending legislative or regulatory action US EPA to delist acceptable SNAP substitutes: “In
related to HFCs in fire suppression applications to May 2010, the US EPA received a petition to
always request two items: selectively remove HFCs from the list of acceptable
1 A copy of the legislation substitutes under the EPA’s Significant New
2 The location of the text that is specifically Alternatives Policy Program (SNAP). This move
related to HFCs in fire suppression applications. could have a large impact on the fire protection
This will avoid confusing specific targeted sector…” The US EPA received the petition from
information with broader market relevance, or the National Resources Defence Council (NRDC) in
extrapolating an action in one target sector to May of 2010. The petition is a request to remove a
another entirely different sector, such as fire single HFC, HFC-134a, from the list of acceptable
suppression. The two following examples from a substitutes for CFC-12 in motor vehicle air condi-
recent article (Asia Pacific Fire Magazine, October tioning systems maintained under EPA’s Significant
25, 2011) exemplify these risks. New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program, and to
In the article it stated that: “It has been remove HFC-134a from such list in any other end-
reported in the National Academy of Sciences that use category (for example, aerosols and stationary
if nothing changes, HFC emissions are likely to be refrigeration) where more benign alternatives are
equivalent to between 9 to 19 percent of global available. Specifically, this was not a petition to
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.” This “selectively remove HFCs” from the SNAP list, but
statement refers to the report, “The Large Contri- a petition to remove one, highly emissive com-
bution of Projected HFC Emissions to Future pound from specific refrigeration applications, for
Climate Forcing,” Velders, et. al., Proc. Nat. Acad. which the user industry was already moving to
Sciences, (106), 27, page 10949. The article adopt a viable alternative. Before addressing the
original petition, the EPA required the petition to
Based on US EPA data, the limit the scope to new mobile air conditioning
applications in new passenger cars and light duty
impact of HFC emissions from vehicles only, and is now just beginning a process
to determine whether such a transition can occur.
fire protection applications Stakeholder input is currently being assessed, and
there has, to date, been no decision as to whether
represents approximately or not such a transition will occur in this specific
market sector and application. As such it is
0.01% of the impact of all puzzling to see it asserted that this petition could
in some fashion affect the clean agent fire
GHG emissions. suppression industry.
specifically relates to HFCs used in refrigeration, air
conditioning and insulating foam production Conclusion
where emissions dwarf those of HFCs from fire Factual information related to the impact on
suppression applications. The report further indi- climate change of HFCs in fire suppression
Mark L. Robin is Senior cates that HFC-227ea was not even included in applications is available from several sources, and
Technical Services Consultant the analysis due to its small use and emissions. The this data demonstrates that the impact of HFC
at DuPont article supports the case for the use of alternative clean agents on climate change is minuscule. As
technologies and emission reduction schemes for a result, HFCs are expected to remain viable,
For further information, go to highly emissive HFC uses, but offers no analysis or sustainable, and environmentally acceptable
www.dupont.com comment on the use of HFCs with respect to fire replacements for Halon 1301 well into the
suppression. foreseeable future. IFP

4 INTERNATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION