WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 17, 2003 -- DuPont Fluoroproducts announced today that it is introducing DuPont™ FE-25™ fire extinguishing agent into the United States as a retrofit replacement for Halon 1301 in existing commercial flooding systems. Fire suppression systems using DuPont™ FE-25™, which was introduced in Europe last September, will be marketed both in Europe and in the United States by Fike Corporation under the Fike ECARO-25™ trademark.

The European Union has banned the use of Halon products after 2003, resulting in a regulatory requirement to replace Halon 1301 in existing total flooding systems. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) 14520 lists HFC-125, or FE-25™, as an acceptable replacement. Although a similar ban is not currently in effect in the United States, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 2001 Clean Agent Standard has listed HFC-125 as an acceptable replacement to Halon 1301 and it is generally recognized that Halons will eventually be replaced in the United States, says DuPont.

"DuPont™ FE-25™ is a non-ozone depleting, environmentally preferred alternative to Halon that safely protects people, high value assets and business productivity," said Brian Engler, global business manager, fire extinguishants, for DuPont Fluoroproducts. "FE-25™ is a safe, high-performance product with physical properties similar to Halon 1301, so there is no major investment or redesign of facilities required for a retrofit. It is the closest thing to a "drop-in" replacement available in the marketplace today. DuPont is proud to continue its heritage of safety by offering a family of clean agent fire extinguishants designed to be safe for people, safe for assets, and environmentally preferred to Halon."

"The Fike ECARO-25™ System is the easiest and most cost effective drop-in replacement for Halon 1301 fire extinguishing systems," said Jeff Moore, vice president of sales and marketing for Fike Corporation. "The ability of ECARO-25™ to utilize existing piping structure reduces the cost of conversion and minimizes business interruption. Only the agent storage container and system nozzles must be replaced to be in compliance with environmental standards."

The DuPont broad product offering of clean agent fire extinguishants used globally today includes FE-25™, FE-227™, FE-13™ and FE-36™. Today, DuPont is the only supplier capable of providing a full range of non-ozone depleting fire extinguishants for both new and existing systems globally.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people's lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

2/17/03

DuPont™ and FE-25™ are trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.

ECARO-25™ is a trademark of Fike Corporation.