PADI 5-Star Water World sued for selling toxic scuba tank air

[abitton]

Carbon monoxide is odorless...

PADI used to instruct divers to crack open the tank slightly and smell the air. I do it SOP now but I guess this is no longer in practice (or in vogue)? The practice also assumes one's nose is sensitive enough to pick up carbon monoxide (exhaust gases).

OK... Been said before... That'll teach me to read through the thread before replying...

 

[H2Andy]

doesn't mean his shop put the odor in there.

he did say "the air we sold Mr. Whatever"

seems pretty much an admission they sold him the stuff

 

[TCDiver1]

How many other tanks of air did they sell in the same time period. Did anyone else get sick? I'm not a doctor but brain damage? .... if it was that bad how did he not pass out first?

More questions than answers from what i've seen so far. But, other than the owners addmission, which is curious if true, it sounds like the old hot coffee in the lap routine to me.

 

[jonnythan]

it sounds like the old hot coffee in the lap routine to me.

I might suggest you read more about that McDonald's lawsuit... there was more to it than you might realize.

 

[TCDiver1]

I might suggest you read more about that McDonald's lawsuit... there was more to it than you might realize.

Or i could suggest you look up the adjective "analogous" junior

 

[jonnythan]

Or i could suggest you look up the adjective "analogous" junior

Why would I look it up? No one used the word..... and I know what it means

 

[RIDIVER501]

he did say "the air we sold Mr. Whatever"

seems pretty much an admission they sold him the stuff

That is what was reported.
but was he mis-quoted by the media?
Did he misspeak himself?

I only ask becuase I have seen car accidents where the driver who was hit got out of their vehicle and took responsibility for the accident when it wasn't their fault.

I could say I sold you bad air, but if all the test on my system come back negative, did I really sell you bad air just becuase I said I did?

Who know the guy may be guilty I am saying from the article there isn't enough info

 

[H2Andy]

I am saying from the article there isn't enough info

yeah, it could be a misquote

we definetely need to know more

 

[chickdiver]

If you aren't sniffing your air prior to dives, you should be. You should also take a few breaths off the reg on the surface and note any odd/ unusual tastes (sense of taste is much more sensitive than smell). You may not be able to identify what you are smelling and or tasting, but you will know if it is "odd". This is no joke. On the TDS board there has been ongoing discussion about a bad gas episode (which I witnessed) which occured about a year ago. Much testing and analysis has determined the culprit to be tolouene (sp?). How, you might ask did that particular chemical compaound end up in breathing gas? Most likely from compressor lubricant overheating and breakdown. It was definitely "tastable"- to me it tasted like rubber. I will find the thread later and post a link if anyone is interested.

Bad gas can be potentially deadly- check it every way possible, and dont mistrust your instincts.

 

[DivePartner1]

I
DURHAM, N. Carolina (29 May 2005) -- Water World, a large marine supply store on South Miami Boulevard, is being sued for allegedly filling a scuba diver's tank with poisonous air and causing brain damage that has partially disabled the man.


"This is news to me," Water World owner David Katzenmeyer said of the suit Friday evening.

. . . .

The suit says that Hanselman, a certified diver, was preparing for an open-ocean dive with friends and associates in the summer of 2002. . . .

My condolences to the dive shop. It looks like the newspaper was fed the suit before the lawyer even hinted making a claim to the shop. The newspaper then obligingly ambushes Mr. Katzenmeyer. Nice work.

Okay, they claim they used the air in 2002 and just discovered the claim? Someone tested it? When? And they sat on evidence of this great injustice for THREE YEARS, without even a letter of complaint? Hmmm.