Canadian Association of Diving Contractors

As the winter issue of CADC Magazine hits the deck, smoke signals rise from the hills, dales, and waterlines of Canada—on October 17, marijuana / cannabis use has officially been legalized in Canada.

Its use may have been legally allowed, but as we all likely know, its illegal use has been going on for years! Legalization has created a dramatic shift from the norm for both our personal lives and our workplaces.

I witnessed the seriousness and dangerous consequences of the use of this drug in the diving industry early in my career. At the time, I was working for a Canadian government agency and part of our mandate was to investigate diving accidents.

We were investigating an incident involving two divers engaged in a bell diving accident. Apparently, one or both divers had smoked a joint just before the dive. They then entered the water in the small diving bell and descended to a depth of approximately 350 feet to do the task.

On completion of the dive, the diver entered the bell with some difficulty due to the cold and the team had trouble making a hatch seal. There was ice in the bell. Noise. Confusion. Urgency to leave the bottom to reduce bottom time and decompression.

On the beginning of the ascent, the internal gauge they were looking at was showing a drop in bell depth / pressure as they were ascending, which would lead to the assumption of a hatch seal leak. In a panic, they decided to blow down the bell to force a seal and maintain bell pressure to prevent decompression sickness. Adding more pressure apparently did not stop the gauge from showing a continuing drop in pressure as they ascended. They increased the blowdown quickly—too quickly. The bell immediately pressured up and both divers passed out. They had been reading the wrong gauge in the confusion! They were reading the bell’s depth gauge indicating that they were ascending. They had confused it with the internal bell pressure gauge. They were making fatal mistakes.

When the bell finally hit the surface and was mated on the surface chamber complex, it took over a half-hour to equalize the pressure between the bell and deck decompression chamber, so they could mate up. Dive lights, rated for 1,000 feet, in the bell had imploded due to the pressure build. The internal pressure of the bell may have been beyond that depth! Both divers were dead.

This event took place in the early days of bounce diving before a many safety standards now in place were developed. Sadly, it took an incident like this like this to pave the way for more safety.

But, the use of drugs in our society and industry continues today. It’s nothing new. With legalization of marijuana in Canada and consideration of doing the same in many other countries, it is a fact of life. How we deal with drug use in the industry and in the workplace is a work in progress.

Kelly Korol, DiveSafe International, takes a closer look at the issues in our industry regarding the repercussions of drug use by the worker. Flip to Diving Under the Influence: Repercussions of Cannabis Use While on the Job on page 18 to learn more.

As we learned in the Summer 2018 edition of CADC Magazine, the primary responsibility of the Government’s Occupational Health & Safety Program is to develop and enforce health and safety regulations that protect workers in the workplace. In the second part of this two-part series, Bob Landry, R.W. Landry & Associates Ltd., will discuss the contractor’s rights in an inspection. Check out Surviving a Ministry of Labour Diving Inspection: Part II on page 24.

Another big deal in Canada is that effective as of the October 31, 2018 publication of the CSA Diving Operations Standard Z275.15 Addendum 1, only a qualified minimum crew of four competent dive personnel (diver supervisor / diver / standby diver / dive tender) will be allowed for surface supplied diving operations by the standard. Read about the implications for your workplace on page 15.

Mark Atherton finishes off Part II of a two-part series on making a go of it in the sonar search business. Learn the tips and tricks for getting into the search business, plus the most important part—how to price it—in his article on page 21.

Rounding out this issue, Dave Geddes, CADC president and chair of the CSA sub-committee for the Competency Standard for Diving Operations, Clinical Chamber Operators and ROV Personnel, will offer some updates on CADC’s diving safety self-audit. Turn to page 30 to read Safety and Regulations: An Update on CADC’S Diving Safety Self-Audit.

And just like that, we are off into the new year and face new times. Stay safe. Dive safe.