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Diving Myths and Realities - Harris TaylorYou got any more PDFs like that? That one had a boatload of good ideas!
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IS IT TIME TO ABOLISH THE 130 FSW DEPTH LIMIT?
Lee H. Somers, PhD
ABSTRACT
Recreational scuba diving instructional agencies in the United States have embraced the 130 FSW depth limit since the early days of modern scuba diving. Currently, the U.S. Navy and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences approves the use of compressed air scuba to depths of 190 FSW. It is common knowledge that thousands of recreational scuba divers exceed this depth limit annually, many diving to depths exceeding 200 FSW. The 130 FSW value has become as much of a depth goal as a depth limit. Propagating a fixed value also creates a liability factor for instructors, agencies, dive operators, and equipment manufacturers. Realistically, a diver's depth limit must be based on the diver's motivation, acceptance of responsibility, emotional status, health, fitness, training, experience, self-discipline, diving companion, environment, equipment, emergency ascent options, support vessel, underwater task, and geographic location, not a fixed numerical value. A properly trained diver will have the knowledge and self-discipline to determine his/her personal depth limitation for any given dive. For some recreational divers an appropriate limit will be 30 FSW in warm, clear water. For others it may be 190 feet in cold, dark waters. Prudent divers desiring to exceed 190 FSW will advance to the use of safer alternative gas mixtures. Abolition of the 130 FSW depth limit would require significant improvement in the quality of recreational diver education.