Suit filed for Carbon Monoxide fatality - Washington state

[Zippsy]

Air that tastes bad is always bad. Air that tastes good is not necessary good. CO is tasteless and odorless.

I swear I'm not picking on you but.... where would a diver get a tank that has tasteless / odorless CO2? While you correctly state that the gas itself is tasteless & odorless, it usually ends up in the tank because the compressor filter is fouled or the air inlet is conveniently located next to the exhaust of the engine. Either of these options put smelly, oily, foul-tasting gas in the tank.

OTOH, for it to be a CO problem after just a few breaths on the first dive of the day the contamination would need to be massive. Unless the air has actually been analyzed, it sounds a lot like flinging brows stuff to see what sticks.

And just to show that I am not always against you, I agree with this statement 100%.

 

[DandyDon]

I swear I'm not picking on you but.... where would a diver get a tank that has tasteless / odorless CO2? While you correctly state that the gas itself is tasteless & odorless, it usually ends up in the tank because the compressor filter is fouled or the air inlet is conveniently located next to the exhaust of the engine. Either of these options put smelly, oily, foul-tasting gas in the tank.

No, if that were true, we wouldn't need to test tanks for CO - but then I guess you don't. Well, you do know the difference between CO2 and CO, I hope.

 

[flots am]

I swear I'm not picking on you but.... where would a diver get a tank that has tasteless / odorless CO2?

From a compressor in a contaminated area.

Natural gas and propane burning appliances can easily produce CO with no smell.

flots.

 

[Wookie]

From a compressor in a contaminated area.

Natural gas and propane burning appliances can easily produce CO with no smell.

flots.

Worse case I ever saw. Dive shop in a strip mall with a grocery store. Dive shop compressor intake out the back wall, up high, large diameter pipe. Delivery truck came a number of still days, and idled for a few hours outside the door. It's likely that the hopcalite in the filter tower was used up, and the carbon captured the smell of the exhaust, but with the hopcalite exhausted, no longer captured and converted the CO. It was caught on a routine air test, no divers were hurt. All cylinders were dumped. IIRC, the CO was on the order of 1100 PPM in the banks.

 

[Zippsy]

Good point, I was on PCP when I wrote CO2 (carbon dioxide) instead of CO (carbon monoxide). I now have an extra O to loan anyone who needs it.

Regarding the natural gas and propane burning appliances, I'll also stand corrected although I must admit I'm surprised to hear of those things being operated in some place someone is filling scuba cylinders. What are they used for?

 

[SeahorseDeb]

Coroner reports are public information..... Does anyone know if he had other medicines he had taken? Was he in good health and "fit to dive?" The report should stipulate if medications that might inhibit diving were found in his system. Sometimes those little medical disclosures are missing a little truth when they're filled out..cough cough.... I wonder if some other mitigating factor was present that impaired cognitive reasoning.....

 

[Peter Guy]

Regardless of the state of Maritime Law regarding duty to rescue, IF there was such a duty here (and I don't think there was but that is another issue) failing to be suited up and get into the water would be negligence, not gross negligence (in my always and ever so humble of opinion). Washington is a pretty good state regarding the viability of releases of liability so my guess is that the Waiver that I know was signed (or at least, with a number of dives off the Sampan that is the normal procedure) will protect Rick and Bandito.

I just might spend some time looking up the Duty to Rescue in Washington but NOT for federal maritime law. That I'll leave to whatever Maritime specialists are out there.

 

[JohnN]

Good point, I was on PCP when I wrote CO2 (carbon dioxide) instead of CO (carbon monoxide). I now have an extra O to loan anyone who needs it.

Regarding the natural gas and propane burning appliances, I'll also stand corrected although I must admit I'm surprised to hear of those things being operated in some place someone is filling scuba cylinders. What are they used for?

Hot water heater and/or clothes dryer

 

[Wookie]

Regardless of the state of Maritime Law regarding duty to rescue, IF there was such a duty here (and I don't think there was but that is another issue) failing to be suited up and get into the water would be negligence, not gross negligence (in my always and ever so humble of opinion). Washington is a pretty good state regarding the viability of releases of liability so my guess is that the Waiver that I know was signed (or at least, with a number of dives off the Sampan that is the normal procedure) will protect Rick and Bandito.

I just might spend some time looking up the Duty to Rescue in Washington but NOT for federal maritime law. That I'll leave to whatever Maritime specialists are out there.

A lot of this would depend on whether Bandito is an inspected vessel or not, and if the vessel were operating in State Waters or not. I assume that it is an uninspected passenger vessel, the operator (not Captain, and it will make a difference in court, to Rick's advantage) is not held to the same standard as a Captain, nor is the boat held to the same standard as a "T-boat", or inspected vessel.

 

[DandyDon]

Good point, I was on PCP when I wrote CO2 (carbon dioxide) instead of CO (carbon monoxide). I now have an extra O to loan anyone who needs it.

Regarding the natural gas and propane burning appliances, I'll also stand corrected although I must admit I'm surprised to hear of those things being operated in some place someone is filling scuba cylinders. What are they used for?

Hot water heater and/or clothes dryer

And the workplace itself. It's 40F in Portland today and I bet all building heaters are going. My dive bud & I test all of ours in the fall ourselves with my tank testers, but many do not - and some of them make the news.

If the news story is accurate on this, and the suit is based on facts, "Steve’s Scuba Center provided Vance with two air tanks that day, both of which contained toxic levels of carbon monoxide." Apparently, neither of the Operators involved nor the certifying agency appreciate the risks & importance of tank testing, didn't supply testers, and the tanks were not tested until after the accident. Debate speculations if you insist, but the poison was identified. "You can test the tanks you breathe or - dive on hope"