I don't know about Phosgene gas being generated from Halon, but it
definitely would be generated from Carbon Tetrachloride. And Phosgene
gas is deadly, as it is a nerve gas. Once whiff of that stuff and you
are in real trouble in a heartbeat, and if you can't get a shot of
Atrapine in just minutes after exposure you might be history - most
likely will be history. Bad stuff, Phosgene.

John Rodgers'
88 GL Driver

John Bange wrote:

>>When we raced the VW engines in the formula Vee class SCCA we had a fire
>>bottle in the car with a chemical called purple K designed for magnesium
>>fires
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>Yeah, Purple K (potassium chloride) is one of the few things that can put
>out burning magnesium. Really, the only way to put out burning metal is to
>apply something to it that's dense and massive enough to absorb the heat of
>the reaction and cool it down to the point where it's no longer self
>perpetuating. Burning magnesium is nasty stuff. Water is bad because it just
>gives it more oxygen and adds a cloud of burning hydrogen on top of it. CO2
>does nothing but add oxygen and leave behind carbon and carbon monoxide gas.
>And never, ever, EVER try to put out a magnesium fire with a Halon fire
>extinguisher. That produces phosgene gas, which was used in WW1 as a
>chemical weapon. Nasty, nasty stuff. The recommended way to put out burning
>magnesium is to carefully cover it with sodium chloride or DRY sand to act
>as a thermal ballast to sink the heat out of the reacting metal.
>--
>John Bange
>'90 Vanagon - "Geldsauger"
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