FEBRUARY
12, 2015
TWENTYNINE
PALMS, CALIFORNIA. (AP)
Nearly two
dozen Marines were treated for exposure to a fire retardant gas Thursday after
an extinguishing system accidentally went off in an assault vehicle during a
training exercise, but there were no serious injuries, officials said.
Because the fire retardant used, Halon, is a CFC, the production of Halon
ceased on January 1, 1994, under the Clean Air Act. No toxic effects of the Halon are known, but
it is a suffocation (asphyxiant) hazard if allowed to accumulate to concentrations
that reduce oxygen below safe breathing levels.
An
equipment malfunction caused the fire suppression system to go off inside a
tank-like amphibious assault vehicle during an afternoon exercise at the Marine
Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, base spokesman Dave Marks
said. They are lucky to be alive, as the Halon is a SUFFOCATION HAZARD.
There was
no fire or explosion but 22 Marines were exposed to halon, Marks said.
All of them
were taken to the base hospital. Three were kept overnight for observation and
the rest were released to resume training, Marks said.
Halon gas
is widely used in fire extinguisher systems because it is relatively nontoxic
and leaves no residue, but it can cause breathing problems at high
concentrations. The U.S. banned new production of halon in the 1990s because it
can deplete ozone in the atmosphere, but its use is still allowed.
The Marines
were from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based in Hawaii and were
participating in an integrated training exercise at the Southern California
base, according to the Marine Corps.
They were
inside an armored vehicle that is used to ferry Marines from ships to shore.
Twentynine
Palms, 130 miles east of Los Angeles, is the largest Marine training base in
the world. Thousands of Marines take part in live-fire drills in rugged terrain
deep in the Mojave desert.
“Ninety
percent of the Marines will cycle through here for their combined-arms
training,” Marks said.
In January,
two Marine pilots, Capt. Elizabeth Kealey and 1st Lt. Adam Satterfield, were
killed when their helicopter crashed during a training exercise at the base. The
cause of the crash is under investigation.
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FEBRUARY 13, 2015
TWENTYNINE
PALMS, CALIFORNIA
A military
hospital on Friday released the last five of 22 Marines accidentally exposed to
a fire retardant gas during a training exercise at a Southern California base,
a Marine Corps spokesman said.
The Marines
were treated for exposure to halon after an extinguishing system accidentally
activated in an amphibious assault vehicle during an exercise Thursday at the
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms.
The five
were kept for observation overnight at the base hospital, Capt. Justin Smith
said.
Officials
were investigating what caused the fire suppression system to go off inside the
tank-like amphibious assault vehicle, Smith said. There was no fire or
explosion.
Halon gas
is widely used in fire extinguisher systems because it is relatively nontoxic
and leaves no residue, but it can cause breathing problems at high
concentrations. The U.S. banned new production of halon in the 1990s because it
can deplete ozone in the atmosphere, but its use is still allowed.
The Marines
were from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based in Hawaii and were
participating in an integrated training exercise at the Southern California
base, according to the Marine Corps.
They were
inside an armored vehicle that is used to ferry Marines from ships to shore.
Twentynine
Palms, 130 miles east of Los Angeles, is the largest Marine training base in
the world. Thousands of Marines take part in live-fire drills in rugged terrain
deep in the Mojave desert.