--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5T00000 Date: 05/23/97 From: SCOTT M. OWENS Time: 10:15pm \/To: DENNIS SEAVEY (Read 0 times) Subj: My turn on the Soap box (This is fun) Hello Dennis, Printed from Underwater Magazine. For the Association of Diving Contractors Magazine. Spring 1997 Issue. "A TRAGEDY IN CENTRAL WASHINGTON By Dee Hoffmann Four divers are dead; the result of a job and subsequent rescue attempt gone wrong. The tragedy began Saturday, March 15 when two recreationally trained scuba divers entered a half-mile long, underground, water-filled tunnel to complete some work for a local irrigation district. They were without a stand-by diver, without a tended line, without communications, and without surface supplied air. After the divers failed to emerge, two rescue scuba divers went down- only to meet the same deadly fate. To bring water to local farmland, the 95 mile Roza Irrigation Canal in Central Washington traverses canyons and valleys by means of seven underground siphons. Abandoned and stolen cars are routinely dumped in the canal, and the swift water washes them into the inverted siphons or under- ground pipelines. The divers were hired by the Roza Irrigation District to hook tow lines to the cars that were trapped inside the 13 foot tall siphon tunnels. On this fateful day, the canal was dry, but he underground siphon Number Four was dangerously full of cold 40-degree murky water. The divers broke through ice at the mouth of the cave-like tunnel and descended into the 2,310 foot long, 104 foot deep siphon. They carried one tank of air each and a shared emergency tank. Although one diver was dressed in a drysuit, the other diver wore a wetsuit which is inadequate for cold water diving. It was only when they did not return after an hour that rescue workers were called. The rescue scuba divers also apparently underestimated the hazards of diving the deep, cold, confined space. They dove with the same amount of air as the first team, and without a safety line or communications. After they failed to return, a third team of divers was sent in to pull them out of the tunnel. The preceeding rescue divers, like the first two divers, had tragically run out of air and perished. These deaths have brought to light questions about the district's hiring of recreational scuba divers to perform commercial work and the diver's lack of commercial diving training. Questions have also surfaced about safety practices. "This was an accident waiting to happen," said John Ritter of Divers Institute of Technology, an accredited commercial dive school. "Recreational divers continue to be hired for work which they are unqualified to perform. Some contracts or bid requests simply stipulate that the worker must be a certified diver. Certified for what? The training and certification a recreational diver obtains differs greatly from the hundreds of training hours a commercial diver receives." Three recreational dive training agencies, PADI, NAUI, and YMCA, clearly maintain that diving certification under the auspices should not be considered adequated training for underwater commercial work. Even more troubling is the fact that the divers failed to follow safety regulations, and it cost them their lives. As set forth by the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) the Safety Standards for Commercial Diving Operaitons includes a combination of specific, functional and situational requirements. According to the standards, "scuba diving shall not be conducted at depths deeper than 100 feet or outside the no decompression limits unless a decompression chamber is ready for use." The depth of this dive was 104 feet; the nearest decompressions chamber was more than 100 miles away. The standards continue that scuba diving shall not be conducted "on enclosed or physically-confining spaces unless line tended." Neither the divers sent dow to do the work nor the rescue divers were tethered to another dive team member on the surface. All four divers are reported to have died from lack of air. The regulations require that each diver must carry a reserve breathing gas supply, however only one member from each team had an emergency tank. It was apparent that they had also miscalculated the amount of air they would need. When conducting a commercial diver operation the regulation requires a minimum of three persons on the dive team, The designated person in charge (diving supervisor), diver, and tender. When operations planning reveals any form of underwater hazard, or when diving in excess of 100 feet or involving in-water decompression, a stand-by diver must be added to the dive team as a fourth member. An additional diver must be stationed at the underwater point of entry when diving is conducted in enclosed or confined spaces, and a positive means of communication must exist with the diver(s) within that space. None of the divers had any means of communication. In fact, there was no one with any diving experience monitoring topside when the first divers went into the water. With deadly consequences, the minimum manning requirement under OSHA's current commerdcial diving standard was not followed. "A commercial dive team would not have entered the irrigation canal siphon with scuba gear, without communications, and without adequate dive team personnel." says Randy Cummings, district dive coordinator for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in The Dalles, OR. "The dive was too deep, penetration in to the siphon was too long, and a diver couldn't make an easy ascent to the surface. "A dive of this magnitude," Cummings continued. "Would probably have a six man crew, a recompression chamber on site, surface supplied air, communications, a primary working diver to hook the tow lines to the vehicles and one or two other divers tending him along the way." Municipalities and other agencies should take heed by recognizing the dangerous liability of hiring a recreational diver to do commercial diving work. OSHA regulations state that an employer obligation exists for compliance with all provisions of the diving standards. Furthermore, personnel requirements under OSHA 1910.401(a)(1) specifies "each dive member shall have the experience or training necessary to perform assigned tasks in a safe and healthful manner." Given the fact that recreational diving agencies state that their certification does not qualify a diver to do commercial work, it follows that municipalities and agencies who hire recreational divers or cite recreational diving certification as a criteria for employment may face possible OSHA violations. "Although this catastrophy was the result of a series of bad judgements, the ultimate responsibility for the tradedy falls upon the district, the people who hired these divers," comments Tim Beaver of Globa Diving and Salvage. "They should have known better than to hire unqualified personnel. Their alleged ignorance was the first fatal error in the disastrous chain of events." Is it an issue of ignorance? According to Beaver, the practice of using recreational divers is grossly underreported and widespread. "Sometimes they get away with it, but several times a year unqualified, untrained divers lose their lives. How many people have to get killed before it stops?" Did the issue of cost savings enter into the district's decision to hire unqualified divers? "In order to do a job of this magnitude with any degree of safety," Beaver explains "it is going to be very expensive. And the risks to divers may still be too great." In hindsight, perhaps the district should have simply dewatered the tunnel, as they finally did to recover the first two diver's bodies. That would have been a reasonable decision and one praticed by other irrigation districts. The canal was empty and not servicing the farmlands this time of year. Future litigation regarding this incident will be closely watched by those in the diving industry. "The real tragedy in this accident will be if no one learns from it." Beaver concludes. From the soap box of Scott Owens. Regards, -=Scott=- ~~~ wsOMR/1.20b [UNREG] --- LoraBBS-OS/2 v2.41b3+ * Origin: Information Exchange BBS Houma, LA (504)872-4275 (1:384/14.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5V00000 Date: 05/22/97 From: LAURENCE CHARLOT Time: 09:33pm \/To: DENNIS SEAVEY (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Shark repellent devic -=> Quoting Dennis Seavey to All <=- DS> I seem to see a bit of discussion about an electrical device that is DS> designed to repel sharks. I do recall earlier tests by the US The device is called "The Shark Pod" and it is a football sized gadget that straps onto the diver's tank. There was a piece about it on some cable TV program I saw a few weeks ago, and it seemed to work pretty effectively. It's purely experimental, though, and it may be a long time before a retail version of it appears in your local dive store, so I wouldn't "hold my breath" waiting for it . The pod contains the control circuitry and battery, then there are a pair of electrodes on the divers hood and fins, that act as an "antenna" to create a large egg-shaped electric field that completely encompasses the diver and repels any shark that comes in contact with the field. --- HyperMail! v1.22 * Origin: Omni - (916) 388-0905, longest running Sac BBS (1:203/3333) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5X00000 Date: 05/27/97 From: LAURENCE CHARLOT Time: 06:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Nitrox I'd like to hear from anyone who has looked into getting Nitrox certified, and has pro or con opinions about it. 1. Is Nitrox really worth the cost of the certification, tank and regulator cleaning for O2 service, and the high cost of fills? 2. The closest dive shop to my home that is equipped for Nitrox service and tank fills is 90 miles round trip, which costs me around $10 for gas in the truck, plus another $10.00 per tank for EAnX 36%. By comparison, my local dive shop is 2 miles from my house, and tank fills are $2.50 (I buy a 10-fill card for $25.00). Does Nitrox really give that much more bottom time that it is worth 4-5 times the cost of plain air for the tank fills? 3. What is the maximum safe depth for EANX 36%? I assume that the increased risk of O2 toxicity means that the 130' recreational depth limit for compressed air is reduced by a substantial amount for Nitrox. I'm not a depth maniac, by we usually hit 80'-90' in Cozumel while diving sites like Palancar, Santa Rosa, and Punta Sur. Is this unsafe on EANX 36%? I notice that Nitrox is starting to be widely advertised on Cozumel web sites and brochures, like it is almost becoming the standard there. Larry Charlot Last dive 5/17/97, Folsom Lake- 38', 47 minutes --- HyperMail! v1.22 * Origin: Omni - (916) 388-0905, longest running Sac BBS (1:203/3333) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5Y00000 Date: 05/25/97 From: DENNIS SEAVEY Time: 12:48pm \/To: ACHIM LOHSE (Read 0 times) Subj: Seatec horse-collar lift capacity? AL> I've got an old Seatec horse-collar buoyancy compensator, and would AL> like to know what its lift capacity is. Anyone have solid data on AL> this or know where it can be found? The old Seatec's ran between 30 and 35 lbs of bouyancy at the surface in salt water depending on the year and the bladder configuaration. As for your other message concerning DACOR technical support you can call the distributor for the region that covers your area and get someone on the phone directly. If you need a fax number they will give one to you. I have always found the DACOR people to be quite accessible in their U.S. office and have never had any problems getting someone of consequence on the telphone to answer my questions. DACOR has always been excellent about sending out pertinent data reports and such simply by asking. Be wet and well. Dennis * SPITFIRE v3.51 --- Alexi/Mail 2.02b (#10000) * Origin: BrickYard BBS Gonic, NH 603 332-0419 (1:132/243) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5Y00001 Date: 05/25/97 From: DENNIS SEAVEY Time: 01:51pm \/To: SCOTT M. OWENS (Read 0 times) Subj: My turn on the Soap box (This is fun) SO> Four divers are dead; the result of a job and subsequent SO> rescueattempt gone wrong. The tragedy began Saturday, March 15 when SO> tworecreationally trained scuba divers entered a half-mile long, SO> underground,water-filled tunnel to complete some work for a local SO> irrigation district. SO> They were without a stand-by diver, without a tended line, without SO> communications, and without surface supplied air. After the divers SO> failed toemerge, two rescue scuba divers went down- only to meet the SO> same deadly fate. This is exactly the kind of situation that I was referring to. The conditions of the dive( ie confined water, the depth, potentially hazardous current, extremly limited visiblity and the object to recover being on the scale of a car) should have pu the divers off to begin with. In the letter I hear much blame being passed around but nobody seems to be blam8ing the divers who took the job and who should have known that they were beyond their level of training. I should probably not be picked to be on the jury for the law suits coming out of this incident because I feel that the ultimate descision to enter the water was that of the divers. I can't even recall how many times I've agreed to do some light job, locating and recovering someone's propeller for example, that I've called off on site due to the diving conditions (most of the time the person trying to get a diver does not understand the situation enough to give me the pertinent info before hand). I know my training and have a good handle on my personal limits and have problems telling someone that I'm just not going to dive today (even if I blame it on a missing O-ring). I also have no problems terminating a dive that I think is getting out of hand or may get out of hand. Maybe I'm just a weenie in my old age, but, at least I'm getting to experience my age. Keep in mind that I think there are a considerable amount of light jobs out there that a recreation diver can do just fine. Search and recovery specialties and the like can be helpful but the bottom line is to recognise the limits and keep the crayon inside the lines. Big jobs, like the one in the article, or day to day diving activities witrh lots of bottom time simply fall outside the range of recreational dive training. (Incidently, one of the organizations that I teach for is the YMCA which was referenced in the article.) Be wet and well. Dennis * SPITFIRE v3.51 --- Alexi/Mail 2.02b (#10000) * Origin: BrickYard BBS Gonic, NH 603 332-0419 (1:132/243) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5Y00002 Date: 05/25/97 From: DENNIS SEAVEY Time: 01:56pm \/To: SCOT OWENS (Read 0 times) Subj: Soapbox Reply In the message that I sent regarding the article you sent me I discovered quite the typo. My reply said that I have "problems" telling people that I'm not going to dive when in fact I pull very few punches with respect to telling people that I won't dive or am terminating a dive. I hope this disclaimer getsd out there before my somewhat sordid reputation gets muddy feet. Be wet and well. Dennis * SPITFIRE v3.51 --- Alexi/Mail 2.02b (#10000) * Origin: BrickYard BBS Gonic, NH 603 332-0419 (1:132/243) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5Y00003 Date: 05/28/97 From: DOROTHY FERRIS Time: 09:08am \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: checking Hi With the coming of great scuba weather I thought I would check to see if my mail feed is working correctly seeing that no one seems to be chatting. If you see this message please respond. Sorry for being off topic. Dot ... General failure reading drive A: Please remove your fist. --- FMail/386 0.98a * Origin: Rainbows End * DeFuniak Springs, Fl * 904-892-5635 (1:3674/2) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5Y00004 Date: 05/28/97 From: CARL WILSON Time: 10:17am \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Fido Net Scuba Conference Received from Steve Elliot---May 1997 Moderator-FidoNet Scuba Conference *************************************** Otherwise, keeping busy at work... I'll be shutting down my BBS at the end of this month. ************************************** Like many others, I learned to enjoy the world of electronic communication through the local BBS's. It was with great sadness that I read the above message. I had noticed a severe downturn in the number of messages since the rapid explosion of the internet. And like many others, I am sure hoped that somehow the BBS's would survive or be integrated in the internet. However, I think we should consider ourselves lucky for the information and knowledge gained through the BBS's. I am sure the "kids" think we are old antiques, but unfortunately, they did not get to experience the evolution of the electronic highway. I was first informed of the world of the BBS by David Whipp, the guy who taught me to scuba dive and an executive of the WV Rehabilitation Research & Training Center. WVRRTC maintained a BBS that carried the fido net conferences. It was here that I first found the scuba and other conferences. Although an era is passed, I am glad for the friendships and aquaintances I have made through the fido net system. Our local BBS had a meeting once, there I was able to meet many of the people I only knew as electrons on my screen. While scuba diving I have met Margie, Steve, and Lou from the scuba conference. I have had the opportunity to speak and trade messages with many others. I also think we all should thank Steve Elliot, the moderator of the scuba conference, for his time, money and efforts he put into the fido-net scuba conference. Steve I appreciate your work for the conference. I like the internet, but it can never replace the "hometown feeling" of the old fido-net conferences! Life is often described as a series of events on a timeline, let's all hope the next "series of events" will be as pleasant and informative as our experiences with BBS's and the fido-net conferences. Wishing everyone clear warm diving, I remain, Carl L. Wilson, II Warm Water Wimp (International) clwilson@access.mountain.net Carl L. Wilson, II Carl Wilson Funeral Home, Inc. Undertaking & Fine Burial Goods Since 1963 P. O. Box 549/154 Main Street Clay, West Virginia 25043 304.587.4244 Voice 304.587.4666 FAX --- SLMR 2.1a Clay, WV---First National Opossum Refuge * Origin: Project Enable BBS - (304) 766-2690 (1:279/144) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5Z00000 Date: 05/29/97 From: SCOTT M. OWENS Time: 02:45pm \/To: DOROTHY FERRIS (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: checking Hello Dorothy, On 28 May 97 09:08:00 Dorothy Ferris wrote to All... DF> Hi DF> With the coming of great scuba weather I thought I would check to DF> see if my mail feed is working correctly seeing that no one seems DF> to be chatting. If you see this message please respond. DF> Sorry for being off topic. Not a problem, at least it's getting out to Louisiana. Regards, -=Scott=- ... Hard work never killed anyone but why take the risk? ~~~ wsOMR/1.20b [UNREG] --- LoraBBS-OS/2 v2.41b3+ * Origin: Information Exchange BBS Houma, LA (504)872-4275 (1:384/14.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: E5Z00001 Date: 05/29/97 From: SCOTT M. OWENS Time: 02:45pm \/To: DENNIS SEAVEY (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: My turn on the Soap box (This is fun14:45:3805/29/97 Hello Dennis, On 25 May 97 13:51:47 Dennis Seavey wrote to Scott M. Owens... DS> This is exactly the kind of situation that I was referring to. DS> The conditions of the dive( ie confined water, the depth, DS> potentially hazardous current, extremly limited visiblity and the DS> object to recover being on the scale of a car) should have pu the DS> divers off to begin with. In the letter I hear much blame being DS> passed around but nobody seems to be blaming the divers who took DS> the job and who should have known that they were beyond their DS> level of training. Come on Dennis, you yourself said that there were jobs you turned down because the people mislead you. I should probably not be picked to be on the DS> jury for the law suits coming out of this incident because I feel DS> that the ultimate descision to enter the water was that of the DS> divers. I would love to be on the Jury for this one. Like I said the guys were probably mislead. We can't ever find out what they were told. They could have been told that the cars were only a few feet down the siphon. They could have been told that the siphon was not that deep. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many times that I was mislead on a job. I can't even recall how many times I've agreed to do DS> some light job, locating and recovering someone's propeller for DS> example, that I've called off on site due to the diving DS> conditions (most of the time the person trying to get a diver DS> does not understand the situation enough to give me the pertinent DS> info before hand). I know my training and have a good handle on DS> my personal limits and have problems telling someone that I'm DS> just not going to dive today (even if I blame it on a missing DS> O-ring). Then you are alot smarter than most recreational divers in these situations. I also have no problems terminating a dive that I think DS> is getting out of hand or may get out of hand. Maybe I'm just a DS> weenie in my old age, but, at least I'm getting to experience my DS> age. Being a weenie has nothing to do with it. I have walked off many a job that I considered unsafe. I value my life too much to take un-necessary risks. There is a big difference between a calculated risk, and flat out stupidity. I have lost too many friends in the diving business who did not know the difference. By the way I am 37 and I don't consider myself old. If your loder than that let me know. DS> Keep in mind that I think there are a considerable amount of DS> light jobs out there that a recreation diver can do just fine. DS> Search and recovery specialties and the like can be helpful but DS> the bottom line is to recognise the limits and keep the crayon DS> inside the lines. Big jobs, like the one in the article, or day DS> to day diving activities witrh lots of bottom time simply fall DS> outside the range of recreational dive training. (Incidently, DS> one of the organizations that I teach for is the YMCA which was DS> referenced in the article.) By the way I do travel as part of the ADC to some of the scuba courses to teach the new recreational divers not to get involved in Commercial Diving work unless they go to the school. So far it seems to work in the gulf regions. But the inland scuba divers are the ones that are giving every one a bad rap. Doing dam inspections and getting sucked into the turbine intakes. But the whole tradigy of the situation is that it didn't have to happen. While I don't want to try and second guess the decision-making leading up to accident in the siphon, there are issues that must be addressed so that everyone in both fields of diving can have an opportunity to learn from this tragedy. (Damn I'm back on the soap box again) Every year several scuba divers across this country lose their lives in similiar accidents. You don't read about it in scuba magizines because the divers were doing commercial work, so they are listed as commercial diver accidents. It's very common for small municipalities (Irrigation & utility districts, cities, counties, etc.) and organizations in the private sector, to routinely employ recreational trained scuba divers to form diving activities that are clearly commercial in nature. Often this is the result of ignorance of the risks involved with underwater activities. Diving operations may be such a small percentage of their overall maintenance picture that it's not reasonable to expect the organization to train some one to be able to understand diving operations and the options available to minimize risks. Sometimes it's simply a matter of choosing to take the inexpensive way out. I myself love to dive. I would not be in this line of work if I did not. When I was a scuba diver, I loved to dive. I would never miss a chance to don my wetsuit and tanks and hop in the water. I think that is probably the biggest problem. What person is going to miss the chance to actually get paid for doing what he loves to do. Especially if he/she is not told all the pertinent information. (I.E. It's an easy dive. Just go down and hook up the cable to the cars, and we'll pull them out.) My deepest sympathies go out to the friends and families of those divers. Now that I got that off my chest. I can get off my "Soap Box" Hows the diving in Florida Dennis? It's been years since I last had a vaction long enough to do any recreational diving. Regards, -=Scott=- ... I don't have a solution but I admire the problem. ~~~ wsOMR/1.20b [UNREG] --- LoraBBS-OS/2 v2.41b3+ * Origin: Information Exchange BBS Houma, LA (504)872-4275 (1:384/14.0)