Do you always assume that the breathing gas in your cylinder is safe? If so, you could be making a mistake that could prove fatal. After the death of a cave diver at Ginnie Springs in Florida, the National Association for Cave Diving issued a statement that highlighted the importance of gas analysis. While this statement was meant primarily for cave divers, we’d like to remind all divers to take a moment to analyze the gas in their cylinders before each and every dive.
Who Bears Responsibility for Gas Analysis?
You might be wondering who bears the responsibility for gas analysis. If you’re not qualified to analyze your gas or don’t know how, you can easily purchase the necessary tools for gas analysis and learn how to use them. If you are qualified to dive with mixed gases, you probably know how – and if you do, you should take personal responsibility for your safety by analyzing your own gas, unless you dive with a team and all of you have determined how gas will be analyzed prior to dives you take together. When gas analysis and confirmation is a team project rather than an individual responsibility, there’s a much lower margin for error.
The Analysis and Labeling Process
Analyzing the gas in your diving cylinders – including ones you might or might not use – is an important task that should never be omitted. To be on the safe side, you should run the process twice – once after cylinders have been filled, and again during pre-dive checks. The whole process takes just a few minutes, and once it’s become habit, you won’t even notice the time it takes.
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Analyze every cylinder that’s going underwater with you, whether you think it’s filled with air, oxygen, nitrox, trimix, or some other blend.
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Ensure that every cylinder is properly labeled with MOD and gas content.
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If repurposing a cylinder, be sure to remove all old Nitrox, oxygen, and custom mix labels completely. Remember that another diver may ultimately end up having to breathe from one of these cylinders, and that a case of mistaken identity can lead to a serious accident or even death. Don’t take any chances!
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Remember that cylinders which have been used with 100 percent oxygen should be permanently marked and then re-used only for 100 percent oxygen. Remember at the same time that permanent markings are not an appropriate substitute for additional labeling.
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Analyze even permanently marked cylinders to ensure that they contain the gas they are supposed to contain.
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Be sure all labels and other markings are clear, concise, and perfectly easy for another diver to understand.
If you’re not familiar with gas analysis or are out of practice, you can take a gas analysis course or refresher course. Make time for this and make it a priority. Gas analysis isn’t optional – instead, it is a necessary part of diving. Your life – and possibly the lives of those who dive with you – depends on it.