Why PADI discontinued quarterly air testing requirements...

[DandyDon]

Aside from other issues, like they weren't enforcing them anyway, and even then they were only a snapshot view of compressor operations with samples probably taken at times of highest quality expectations - immediately after filter changes, early mornings when the machines were coolest, etc. Of the compressors that still send samples tho, 3 to 5% of those are failing still...

See CO Poisoning Risk Higher Than You Think: Undercurrent 07/2012

I remember well the mentioned SB Accident thread. It got pretty heated between some of us, as some only wanted to mourn the loss of the CCV DM while some of us were as upset over the loss of the Texas tourist R.Gibbs and excited that this could happen. The resort promised full disclosure on their own forums board, but then both threads vanished, and there has been little information available about the accident since. At least this all lead to the development of the Passings forum here on SB, and changes in the special rules for Accidents which prohibit condolences on that forum less they distract from objective discussions - even if that clause is often not enforced if it does not seem to cause problems.

I was flattered that Undercurrent asked permission to use my article Carbon Monoxide in Scuba Tanks: Risks and Protection but I think my style may have been a little forward for them, and - the chosen article published is certainly a fine one. I really liked their closing paragraph...

I suspect that if a city told its residents it was no longer testing for E. coli in the drinking water, most people would stop drinking that water or want a testing device for E. coli to use at home. With the largest dive training agency on the planet no longer requiring its affiliates to test their breathing air quality on a quarterly basis, the time has come for individual divers to routinely carry a CO analyzer so that they can test for this odorless, tasteless and toxic contaminant in their tanks and prevent themselves from becoming a possible fatality.

 

[mdax]

Regardless of padi's stance, which I disagree with; I only go to fill stations that still test their gas quarterly, have written and documented filter procedures/dates and I also test every tank for CO and O2 content.
There is no reason I see for not doing so.

 

[Hawkwood]

Now I am curious, what are the other "agencies" requirements for air testing?

 

[flots am]

Now I am curious, what are the other "agencies" requirements for air testing?

Doesn't matter much to me. If the air isn't getting tested, I'm not breathing it.

flots.

 

[Hawkwood]

Flots am, I don't disagree, but since the first two posts questioned PADI's "stance", I was curious if the other agencies have any policies or requirements.

 

[DandyDon]

Now I am curious, what are the other "agencies" requirements for air testing?

Did you read the article...?

The situation today is that there is no (major) training agency "enforcing" any sort of quality assurance for compressed breathing air, except for American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI), which, according to its website, requires all its affiliates to send in their "quarterly" air tests to headquarters, but whether this actually happens on the ground today is not known.

Again, not that quarterly tests actually help much.

 

[Hawkwood]

Right, NAUI was mentioned....others I missed.

Once again my bad habit of skimming bit me in the butt!

 

[padiscubapro]

Flots am, I don't disagree, but since the first two posts questioned PADI's "stance", I was curious if the other agencies have any policies or requirements.

ANDI has ALWAYS required quarterly testing of all its facilities.. It also has the most stringent limits.. ANDI quickly suspends facilities that don't do their testing.. Many of ANDI's facilities use trace analytics that will forward the results to ANDI..


There is no excuse for not doing testing.. When its done correctly (before a filter change), its a great indicator to system performance and allows the facility to determine if any measures need to be taken to improve the efficiency of the system... Sometimes a small change in procedure or additional equipment (such as a coalescor, or ruising the pressure on the back pressure regulator) can save the shop money in the long run.. GAS TESTING IS CHEAP! If a shop wount spend the money getting quarterly testing it should be avoided like the plague as its an indicator of the general attitude of the shop.

CO is VERY easy to remove from the gas, it converts CO into CO2.. ANDI's limits (CO) are 2ppm but most correctly configured systems should have 0 PPM.. With dry gas (another ANDI requirement) the use of hopcalite will remove all CO.. If you don't spend the money to keep the gas dry it wount work, plus you will also degrade your other chemical media more quickly..