Any information about a bad air death in Cozumel, first week of March??

[meierdierck]

If I am missing the thread please redirect me...

My father called and said a friend of his had died while diving Cozumel around the 2-3 of march this year.
He said the the family believed it was the result of bad air and they blamed the operator, and he was looking for my opinion about their belief.
I told him bad air was not normally an isolated incident, especially in a resort setting where dozens to hundreds of tanks a day are filled, and my opinion was unless anyone else on the boat was ill/ dead or they had the tanks to testg it would be difficult to place the blame squarely in the ops lap.

If there is a thread about this incident, and I have missed it, please redirect me,

But I am also curious about other the boards thoughts regarding MY statements...
am I on the right track, or completely out in left field?

thanks

 

[DandyDon]

Yes, one bad tank can show up even when others filled the same day don't seem bad. The only way to be sure a tank is safe is test it for CO.

Was your dad's friend from Canada, perhaps diving off of Baja? see http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/413185-fatality-cabo-san-lucas-march-3-a.html

 

[Dive-aholic]

I told him bad air was not normally an isolated incident, especially in a resort setting where dozens to hundreds of tanks a day are filled, and my opinion was unless anyone else on the boat was ill/ dead or they had the tanks to testg it would be difficult to place the blame squarely in the ops lap.

This is not correct. Bad air can be an isolated incident, even in a resort setting.

 

[Scott L]

This is not correct. Bad air can be an isolated incident, even in a resort setting.

Can you explain further. Seems counter intuative. Why would a fill sytem intermittengly interject CO into cylinders? Thanks!

 

[swamp diver]

Can you explain further. Seems counter intuative. Why would a fill sytem intermittengly interject CO into cylinders? Thanks!

1. Internal combustion engine exhaust entrained into compressor inlet.

Example. Car or boat pulls up to intake and idles for 2 minutes so that only that 2 minute run of tanks will have CO in them. The final CO concentration will depend upon the remaining volume of clean air from the previous fill plus wind conditions at the time.

2. Carbon monoxide produced from within compressor due to pyrolysis (dieseling) of lubrication oil.

This will depend on the ambient temperature, compressor installation quality, compressor block design, flow rate of mechanical ventilation, work load on the compressor, and auto-ignition point of lube oil.

Many compressors in the tropics are in undersized rooms with no ventilation and use lower auto-ignition point mineral oils. Many boat compressors are severely under-ventilated.



There is a paper in the literature on CO contamination in fire and dive compressed air where only after three hours of pumping at full load during the summer would the electrically-driven compressor reliably but intermittently start to produce carbon monoxide at concentrations up to 300 ppm. The fire fighters were complaining of fatigue and early exhaustion which lead to the discovery of CO in their SCBA bottles. All of the factors listed above contributed to the intermittent CO production.

For the first 3 hours the bottles were CO-free but at 3 hours CO production would start and if the bottle was near empty it would have the highest concentration while those with significant clean air remaining from a previous run would have the lowest concentration due to dilution.


If the compressor station does not use storage banks then one may only have a few tanks contaminated with CO when the right conditions are met, but once the compressor cools off again the production of CO stops. If using storage banks then the CO will be diluted by the bank air which is not contaminated.

 

[Divedaily]

Was your dad's friend from Canada, perhaps diving off of Baja? see http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/413185-fatality-cabo-san-lucas-march-3-a.html

As stated very clearly in the title AND the subject thread, he was diving in Cozumel, not Baja.

I've been working in Coz. last week, didn't hear anything about it, but might not mean much. Don't let assumptions get the best of you though......

 

[DandyDon]

As stated very clearly in the title AND the subject thread, he was diving in Cozumel, not Baja.

I've been working in Coz. last week, didn't hear anything about it, but might not mean much. Don't let assumptions get the best of you though......

Uh, nope - don't think so. He wasn't the diver in question at all, but referenced hearing about his dad's friend - and it's common for Americans to get Mexican locations confused.

Anyway, he was asking about "2-3 of march," not last week. The date, cause and country all fit the Baja accident. I have actually tested many Texans when mentioning my trips to Cozumel, and they generally have no idea where in Mexico it is - but I didn't either until I planned my first trip there.

 

[Divedaily]

Uh, nope - don't think so. He wasn't the diver in question at all, but referenced hearing about his dad's friend - and it's common for Americans to get Mexican locations confused.

Anyway, he was asking about "2-3 of march," not last week. The date, cause and country all fit the Baja accident. I have actually tested many Texans when mentioning my trips to Cozumel, and they generally have no idea where in Mexico it is - but I didn't either until I planned my first trip there.

Hehe, sorry Don, I am just assuming that if someone mentions a location in the title, and repeats it in the thread, he knows what he's talking about, even if he's not the subject himself (which I was aware of). Might be a wrong assumption on my part, I'll let the topic starter answer that.
Also I am aware of the fact that it happened 2/3 of march. I work on the island every week (day trips), and have been working there full-time the last week, but as stated that might not mean much. Just wanted to mention that I, as someone who actually was on the island around that time and is working in diving, didn't hear anything about this. But I'm sure other people here who work and live on the island can give a more definitive answer.

 

[DandyDon]

That too: If there had been such a fatality there, you probably would have heard about it.

 

[meierdierck]

thanks for the help guys...
Yes I am familiar with both Cozumel and Baja, but I am not as familiar with the aforementioned "friend" or the dates,
I sent an email to my dad earlier with a link to the page suggested by Don, to see if this is his friend or not.
and I appreciate everyones help, considering the limited info I provided, so lets all crack open a cold one and have a good night.
Please dont start a feud over this.
Thanks Again