Equipment Gas toxicity blamed for Chinese fatality - Batangas, Philipines

[dmaziuk]

Be that as it may, we can all agree that the article definitely did not mention anything about carbon monoxide poisoning.

No, that would be a conjecture based on hoofbeats and zebras.

 

[Dan]

In that case I don't feel so bad about straying down to 121 FSW on N32 while battling with the biggest lion fish I have ever shot. They don't always go down easy.

Also, everyone tolerance to oxygen toxicity is different. I have been to 145’ depth on EAN 32 (twice) without any problem for a short dip (< 5 minutes) to take a picture. My dive buddy / guide was watching me from above.

 

[boulderjohn]

Well it's the "oxygen tank" so if whatever's inside is toxic, you get "oxygen toxicity".

FWIW in my 1st language "oxygen" is used often enough, at least in some contexts, when every native speaking human knows it's a technically wrong colloquialism. Whether the article was translated by a native-speaking human also fluent in English, is a big if.

It is not a translation issue. The article defined "oxygen toxicity" correctly. If there was a mistake, then it was from the original reporter in the original story misunderstanding what he or she was told and then looking up the term he misunderstood. That would be the only explanation.

We know nothing about the dive other than the fact that the fatality was attributed to oxygen toxicity. As I wrote before, the reason to question it is that oxygen toxicity is almost exclusively a danger with technical dives--on a typical recreational dive, it is difficult to bust a MOD deeply enough and long enough to have a problem. But we don't know--maybe this was a technical dive. Technical dives are done all over the world.

If we are going to decide that the original story must be wrong and so invent a new reason for the death, perhaps we should explore other options. Perhaps he was too close to some spearos and took a speargun shot to the eye. We could then shift this entire thread to the danger of spearguns.

 

[Bob DBF]

This may clarify things:

Tragic Diving Accident Claims Life of 32-Year-Old in Barangay Solo - The Scuba News Asia

According to initial reports in the Manila Bulletin, the incident occurred due to oxygen toxicity while Li, accompanied by two friends and an instructor, engaged in technical diving. Despite efforts to rescue him, Li succumbed to the ordeal. He was subsequently transported to a hospital, where medical professionals pronounced him deceased.

 

[boulderjohn]

This may clarify things:

Tragic Diving Accident Claims Life of 32-Year-Old in Barangay Solo - The Scuba News Asia

According to initial reports in the Manila Bulletin, the incident occurred due to oxygen toxicity while Li, accompanied by two friends and an instructor, engaged in technical diving. Despite efforts to rescue him, Li succumbed to the ordeal. He was subsequently transported to a hospital, where medical professionals pronounced him deceased.

Well, son of a gun.

Assuming most people reading this thread will not know why oxygen toxicity is more of a threat in technical diving than in NDL diving, I will describe what I believe is the most common reason for it. Technical divers are supposed to plan their dives for the potential for oxygen toxicity, because they will often be near the limits for a long time. The most common mistake, then, is a mistake caused by breathing a gas that was not what you were thinking it was. This happens at times by having a mislabeled tank that was not properly analyzed. It could be because the diver was darn sure a tank had a specific mix in it and so did not check it before starting out. In one case I know well, the diver was darn sure his doubles were filled with air before he took them to about 160 feet, but they actually had 36% in them. In another case the diver was darn sure his tank (clearly labeled "oxygen") had air in it before taking it to 100 feet, and it turned out it did indeed have oxygen.

In contrast, in an NDL dive in which your nitrox tank has a greater amount of oxygen than expected (but still within the normal 40% limit), it would hard to be on an NDL dive deep enough and long enough to experience oxygen toxicity.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Well, son of a gun.

Assuming most people reading this thread will not know why oxygen toxicity is more of a threat in technical diving than in NDL diving, I will describe what I believe is the most common reason for it. Technical divers are supposed to plan their dives for the potential for oxygen toxicity, because they will often be near the limits for a long time. The most common mistake, then, is a mistake caused by breathing a gas that was not what you were thinking it was. This happens at times by having a mislabeled tank that was not properly analyzed. It could be because the diver was darn sure a tank had a specific mix in it and so did not check it before starting out. In one case I know well, the diver was darn sure his doubles were filled with air before he took them to about 160 feet, but they actually had 36% in them. In another case the diver was darn sure his tank (clearly labeled "oxygen") had air in it before taking it to 100 feet, and it turned out it did indeed have oxygen.

In contrast, in an NDL dive in which your nitrox tank has a greater amount of oxygen than expected (but still within the normal 40% limit), it would hard to be on an NDL dive deep enough and long enough to experience oxygen toxicity.

I learned a few new things in this thread. Thanks.