Maybe morbid, maybe stupid, but...

[ibnygator]

I was talking to a non-diver today and explaining a bit about why different gas mixtures are used and why we need deco/safety stops and she asked me how all of this information was determined. I answered that this knowledge was gained the hard way; that divers paid for it with their lives. She asked how many died along the way and I had no idea. Has anybody ever done a study of the number of divers who lost their lives to get us to the point that we are today with our gear configurations and safe diving practices? Anybody ever read any statistics like that anywhere?

 

[Scottri]

I think most of the work was done by the US Navy and I doubt you would ever really ever be able to compile and accurate number.


Scott

 

[ibnygator]

I think most of the work was done by the US Navy and I doubt you would ever really ever be able to compile and accurate number.
Scott

but I had to ask and see what people might come up with..

 

[Lil' Irish Temper]

If you are a DAN member, go to their website and log in. They have the stats year to year. But I don't remember how far it goes back.

But like Scott said I don't think anyone can compile an accurate number.

 

[The Kraken]

I think you will find that most of the empirical data was collected from studies done by the United States Navy using hyperbaric chambers in which to replicate diving to specific depths and then ascending to initiate the effects of DCI.

Using data, if available at all, from divers that had suffered DCS in the recreational environment would be difficult to do for numerous reasons.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Before US (and other) Navy studies, Haldane used data from Caison workers and then from experiments with goats. The "correct" answer, if there is one, is that we're not talking a lot of deaths, but we are talking a lot of bent folks.
Rick

 

[triton94949]

I think you will find that most of the empirical data was collected from studies done by the United States Navy using hyperbaric chambers in which to replicate diving to specific depths and then ascending to initiate the effects of DCI.

Using data, if available at all, from divers that had suffered DCS in the recreational environment would be difficult to do for numerous reasons.

Its so funny to me that you all have never heard of the British nor the Canadian divers as well.

 

[DivePartner1]

The dive tables I learned on were US Navy tables. Did you learn on tables developed by the Canadian Navy?

 

[triton94949]

The dive tables I learned on were US Navy tables. Did you learn on tables developed by the Canadian Navy?

DCIEM

 

[The Kraken]

I've heard of British and Canadian divers. I've also heard of French, German, Checz, Polish, Nigerian, Australian, Venezuelan, Cuban, Mexican, Panamanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Finish, Russian, Greek, Turkish, Italian, Spanish, Egyptian, and Iraqi divers . . . . plus a few more that I didn't mention.