Air Stations

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KEV49

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Came across this site and looked under the air station section, curious as to why more air stations are not listed here, does that mean they have bad air? Heard through the grapevine some Ottawa stores have had problems with oil deposits in tanks when inspected. What the H.LL are we breathing?
The site is ontariodiver.com
 
There is a new air station at Caigers Country In Motel on highway 2 1000 islands parkway. There air was just CSA tested and approved. They pump air/ Nitrox to Trimix and all air is pump through hyper pure air filters.
 
Technician,

Which CSA standard did they get their air tested, in accordance to? Who does the testing? The reason why I ask is this: With the increase in demand for high purity air for trimix diving, testing becomes critical. Obviously, the deeper you go, the better the air (and other gases) need to be.

Testing with colormetric tube systems is not a reliable way to test, since the accuracy of the test, can be out dramatically, but, it is a heck of a lot cheaper than mass spectrometer testing.

What system does Ontario Underwater Council use for their testing? Is OUC qualified to do air tests to CSA standards?


Just Curious,
 
MY understanding is no they can't but I may be wrong on that. My question is this. If this is a Canadian standard who enforces it and why is it not enforced? How do we know we are getting the quality of air standards say we should? Or do most divers just not care? Are some air stations cutting corners to save a buck at the expense of the customers health and safety?
 
KEV,

Like other Canadian standards / laws, the governement takes the "posthumous" approach to enforcement. Meaning, they don't do squat till some one is killed.

Take the explosion in Tobermory a few years ago for example. After that, TSSA, (www.tssa.org) Technical Standards & Safety Authority, declared that all air stations (private and commercial) had to be inspected, and certified. New stations needed approval before they were built. Does any one know if they actually enforced it? They did have some one call around to the dive shops and inform them of the need for inspection and certification, for a price of course. I believe the deal was: If you passed the cert, you didn't have to pay, if you failed, you get it up the whazzoo.

Here is another question? Has anyone ever had their system inspected by them?

DOT in the USA is similar in enforcement. Even though they claim jurisdiction over high pressure vessels (scuba tanks) They continuously ignore the gross over pressurization of tanks, in cave country. The only time you actually see them doing anything is when they are sifting through the remnants of a dive shop, after an explosion.

What ever came of the Tobermory explosion investigation? Did anyone ever get blamed? fined?
 
Again it is my understanding you only have to have your station inspected if your storage system can hold more than 6000 psi or if the delivery hose is rigid and one half inch or larger in diameter.
Ihave been told the whole industry is self policed and we all know how that works.
 
CSA Z-180.1 2000 editition requires an accredited lab test...no strips. There are only four accredited labs in Canada. The air standard is not used recreationally (unfortunately) but is used commercially. These are MINIMUM standards so its scary when someone can't even meet the minimum standard. :scared: The shop in Tobby entered a plea of guilty and was fined.
 
Bubble Boy,

Didn't know it was up to four accredited labs. When I was getting my air analyzed by Maxxam Analytics there were three, and one was on the verge of losing their rating. I can see why most shops wanted OUC to test their air. Maxxam charged $240.00 per test. OUC was less than half that. I think the money was well spent.

By the way ..... how much was the fine for?
 
$75, 000 if I remember correctly. They were even fined for not providing the employees with WHIMIS training!
 
Man Lab is not permitted to perform air quality testing on behalf of CSA. Only CSA can perform there own testing.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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