British diver found dead - Talay Songhong park, Thailand

[DandyDon]

I don’t want to name names but the source was from a video posted on Facebook but not public of an inspection carried out by a world renowned scuba engineering company based here. Additionally I have seen a photograph of a CO analyser on one of the bailouts which indicated 45ppm

Ok, thank you for that information. If he did use that at 150 meters, it'd be similar to 700ppm CO on the surface. I don't know anything about rebreathers and how a high CO mix could play into the problem, nor do I know how much he used that bailout at what depth, but yes - it could certainly be dangerous. The ill feelings from the CO effects could certainly cause him to ascend too fast and decompression illness adding to the problem.

I once registered on a cave diving forum to ask members there what CO tank testers they used as I figured that as intense as their training & practices are that surely they tested their tanks. I was wrong. They weren't testing much.

I appreciate your desire to not name names. I would rather publicize those findings everywhere possible, make sure every diver in the the countryside knew that CO was involved and largely the cause of his death, and whatever else I could do to ensure it was known to all for years to come - citing all sources, but that's me.

The compressor that you described does sound very dangerous. I would think that anyone who could afford a rebreather could afford a well maintained CO tank tester.

 

[BlueTrin]

Ok, thank you for that information. If he did use that at 150 meters, it'd be similar to 700ppm CO on the surface. I don't know anything about rebreathers and how a high CO mix could play into the problem, nor do I know how much he used that bailout at what depth, but yes - it could certainly be dangerous. The ill feelings from the CO effects could certainly cause him to ascend too fast and decompression illness adding to the problem.

I once registered on a cave diving forum to ask members there what CO tank testers they used as I figured that as intense as their training & practices are that surely they tested their tanks. I was wrong. They weren't testing much.

I appreciate your desire to not name names. I would rather publicize those findings everywhere possible, make sure every diver in the the countryside knew that CO was involved and largely the cause of his death, and whatever else I could do to ensure it was known to all for years to come - citing all sources, but that's me.

The compressor that you described does sound very dangerous. I would think that anyone who could afford a rebreather could afford a well maintained CO tank tester.

I don’t have a CO tester but I wonder:

1. How many % of tank you find with CO when abroad ?
2. How do you calibrate ?

I am all for more security but that seems more expensive and then I’ll have to add it to my ever increasing luggage when travelling.

Also, is CO more dangerous with pressure ?

 

[DandyDon]

How many % of tank you find with CO when abroad ?

It's rare, but only takes one tank. Back when Padi required quarterly tests for compressors be done by a recognized lab, failure rates were 3%, which for a life & death risk is huge. Padi dropped the requirement tho. It's Russian Roulette except CO hits can be ignored, written off as travelers flu, talk hushed, deaths written off as drownings or in this case decompression illness as is the official doctors statement. It's rare that we learn the original trigger as we did from Apecks.

It gets boring checking tank after tank always getting zeroes, until you get your first tank failure, then you view it all as worthwhile.

How do you calibrate ?

It's a pain, depending on local resources and models you can buy & have serviced at home. Since no one else has crusaded about this, others who test just quietly protecting themselves but not spreading the word - it's bad for business you know and the industry, I have spent a lot more than I ever wanted to on this. I have two testers that I have serviced by the manufacturers - less often than required by fire departments and other industries with rules but I allow for sensor drift as I go, and a third that I can calibrate in the field - but it's not longer made.

The agencies are doing nothing as exposure is bad for business and the industry. They fight to keep recreational diving self regulated, so no rules. DAN has done much to make diving safer but is also doing nothing as again it's bad for business. DAN is non-profit aside from hidden profits made by some administrators, but very dependent on business as usual. Only in recent years have we had affordable technology to expose the risks and protect against them, but as long as hits & deaths are kept at accepted levels and can be ignored with official statements from doctors hiding the truths, the old problem continues. It's really discussing.

Also, is CO more dangerous with pressure ?

Extremely so, yes! That's the main risk. I don't know how much training you have had, but you taking diving seriously I can tell from you DIR status, yet no one has taught you the basics about CO. It's odorless, colorless, and tasteless, easy to produce in compressors, and hurts & kills divers, but it's also easy to get away with.

CO killed this diver, but the doctors released the official report giving decompression illness as the cause.

 

[Hiszpan]

[QUOTE="DandyDon, post: 8873193, member: 13475"t']
CO killed this diver, but the doctors released the official report giving decompression illness as the cause.[/QUOTE]

In medical terms, that's exactly what killed him, the bends, not CO. It's like a coroner's report.

But I do see your point - many dive accidents might have been caused by the CO in the first place, leading to fatal outcome.
Just like the case of the Polish diver who wend diving alone in December, without qualifications. The talk is he got a CO in his tank, which was filled in God knows where. It's not the lack of diving certificate that killed him (though it might have prevented him from filling tank at someone's garage).

 

[DandyDon]

Just like the case of the Polish diver who wend diving alone in December, without qualifications. The talk is he got a CO in his tank, which was filled in God knows where.

In this thread? Polish diver dead, lake Dymno.

I don't see such talk?

 

[Hiszpan]

Unofficial info from FB chatter: CO poisoning leading to lost consciousness and drowning - tank fill was sketchy.

 

[lermontov]

well if we give them the benefit of the doubt regarding technical diving proficiency it doesnt leave much other than CO-passing out and corking to the surface

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks, Hiszpan. I missed that. Just unofficial chatter. Again, hushed up.

 

[tuxevents]

I don’t have a CO tester but I wonder:

1. How many % of tank you find with CO when abroad ?
2. How do you calibrate ?

I am all for more security but that seems more expensive and then I’ll have to add it to my ever increasing luggage when travelling.

Also, is CO more dangerous with pressure ?

I use a CooTwo analyzer to test any nitrox tank I get, whether in the US or abroad. Thankfully I've never had a tank register as having CO in it, but why take the chance? And the CooTwo analyzer is nice because it's compact, easily travels, & gives me both nitrox percents & CO percents.

I usually calibrate once to twice daily & once every year send it off to have the sensors replaced.

 

[DandyDon]

once every year send it off to have the sensors replaced.

That'll work, but expensive.