Halon was discontinued because it “might” affect the ozone layer, not because of any alleged lethal effects.
There’s plenty of Soldiers and Marines who’ve been exposed to Halon over the years with no adverse effects.
See my followup post above. Halon’s not inherently lethal, but if you use a “Halon bomb” the near explosive gas dispersal can displace air, just like any other gas dispersed that way.
Political correctness run amok as a cover story. Also plenty of money to be scooped up by requiring use of the new (patented) HFC refrigerants. Follow the money.
Really too bad. Halon is amazingly effective at dousing a fire, even in very small amounts.
We once came upon a stalled car on the roadside, which was starting to catch fire from a broken fuel line. We foolishly stopped to help, but we had no idea how to do anything useful.
While we were throwing sand on the fire, along comes another traveler who stops to assist. An older gentleman, neatly dressed in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase. WTF?
The man walks up, opens his case, pulls out what looked like a can of shaving cream and takes one squirt at the fire - which immediately goes out.
Turns out he was a sales rep for a fire suppression company and that little can of "shaving cream" was a halon dispenser. I wish I could buy one of those today.