Dealing with Disaster
When a disaster strikes, are you prepared? Whether a natural disaster like a hurricane strikes or the location is experiencing social turmoil, have plans ready so you know your next steps.
Alert Diver Category: Safety 101
Nitrox Diving Safety
Nitrox has gone from being warily regarded to being the gas of choice in many dive operations. It is estimated that in the United States alone, divers make millions of dives each year while using nitrox. Read more about recent nitrox research.
Performance Under Pressure
Gas density is one of the unknown mechanisms on the forefront of hyperbaric research. In another decade we could have equipment that makes gas density a nonissue. For now we’re left to carefully mix our gases and learn all we can about human performance under pressure.
Diving with Diabetes
Diabetes is no longer a disqualifier for diving, but those with diabetes will need medical clearance to dive. However, dive instructors may need additional information to properly teach these individuals.
Lithium-Ion Battery Safety
Lithium-ion batteries are very safe, and accidents are rare. These batteries are found in gadget — gaming systems, fancy cars, power tools and your dive computer. But how common are accidents? The best approach is accident prevention.
What Drowning Really Looks Like
Drowning is not splashing about like you see in film and television. Learn the cues so you’re prepared next time you’re in the water.
Hose Failure
Some first-stage scuba regulators have a shared low-pressure hub. Purging the second-stage regulator to release pressure from all hoses before disassembling gear causes gas in the other hoses to move backward toward the first stage. The gas could carry debris from the other low-pressure hoses and possibly through the first-stage regulator into the hose being used to vent the system. Performing regular maintenance, checking your hoses and noting any difficulty in breathing or inflation during your predive check should prevent hose degeneration from causing an underwater incident.
Maintaining Safety in the Era of COVID-19
COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in the travel and dive industry, and dive operators and professionals want to ensure their divers are protected when they get back in the water. Taking steps to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in scuba shops, on boats and through shared equipment will continue to be important for the foreseeable future. Using a disinfectant that is approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19 is one of the most crucial steps a dive operation can take, especially if providing rental equipment.
The Importance of a Predive Safety Check
Certified divers learned to do predive safety checks during training, but do they perform one every time they dive? It is one of the easiest ways to prevent oversights, gear malfunctions and forgotten pieces of equipment. But predive safety checks often aren’t as thorough as they should be. Complacency and skipping your predive safety check or buddy check are entirely preventable factors in dive accidents. Complete all your checks before every dive.
