Contaminated Breathing Gas

[DogDiver]

I would appreciate it if anyone could PM me on poss recent breathing gas contamination. Also, where could one have a cylinder gas analized for contaminates? Ken....

[Capt Tom McMillan]

I would appreciate it if anyone could PM me on poss recent breathing gas contamination. Also, where could one have a cylinder gas analized for contaminates? Ken....

If you want gas analyzed try Trace Analytics, they are in Texas.

If you sign up with them you can priority mail your sample to them and get results by email a day or two later.

[DogDiver]

Thanks for the PM's. I got very sick after a dive at Little River the other day. Difficulty breathing, severe vertigo, headache, nausea and some pulmonary edema. I'm an ER Nurse, as is my wife and we treated things at home with O2, solumedrol and rest. Things got better after 12 hours and resolved in 48. Multiple symptoms that are similar to DCS and Pulmonary Embolism. If I had been a nonmedical I would have gone to the Shands Chamber. Most likely was an inner ear barotrauma followed by some kind of allergic reaction to what? That is why I want that one set of cylinders checked. I get gas at most of the area facilities and never have had problems. If the analysis comes back as contaminates, I'll let the individual shop know. thaks Ken.....

[BgDadddy]

Glad you're ok! Please let us know how it turns out.

Rick

[ARY]

...Multiple symptoms that are similar to DCS and Pulmonary Embolism. ...

Could that be just a flu compounded w/hypercapnia due to the flue?

[FW]

...Multiple symptoms that are similar to DCS and Pulmonary Embolism. ...

Could that be just a flu compounded w/hypercapnia due to the flue?

I tend to agree with Ary, but get it tested anyway.

Thanks Ken for letting us know.

[DogDiver]

Broke the cylinders down today and they both exhibited a strong hydrocarbon smell. Both cylinders also had an oily film inside of them. The "O" rings on the crossover manifold had significant deterioration on them and crumbled on dissasembly hinting at hydrocarbon contact. These were only a few months old. I cleaned the cylinders and manifold as per CGA guidelines and had them refilled today. I'll have to have my regulators rebuilt before I can saftly use them as well. Symptoms and illness relate to hypoxia and pulmonary inhalation injury, not flu-like.

Oh well will sea ya diving this weekend...Ken

[stairman]

Wow thats scary!!!

[muzz]

Ther has been a number of articles. do a search on the decostop

http://thedecostop.com/forums/showth...hlight=TOLUENE

[oldguy]

Wow, this is interesting and concerning. I am thankful that nothing more serious happened to you on this dive. Several years ago, I had two single cylinders filled at my local shop that has been in business many years. The air had an odor, somewhat like manure, not that I go around sniffing in pastures, and I called the shop owner about it. Apparently, there was a malfunction in the auto dump on one of the moisture seperators. They discovered it after getting several calls. They checked out the entire system and everything else appeared OK and then ran checks with Draeger "sticks" for contamination. We went ahead and used the air on a quarry dive to check out scooters and video for an upcoming wreck dive. No problem, but I drained the cylinders, dropped a light into them and swabbed the bottom with sterile gauze on the end of a coathanger. No residue visible under a strong light with 50x magnification. Had the cylinders refilled with nitrox and dove the next week. This is still not something to be taken lightly.
I am a commercial diver supt. and constantly have to remind employees that on our shallow water (150' or less) low pressure system that the air filter is rated for a certain CFM and that when they open valves from our volume tank to the filter system to open them slowly when pressurizing the diver's umbilical hose. The flow of the air can actually exceed the recommended CFM for the filter system. A 1/4" fitting can pass 27 CFM at only 100 PSI. If the filter is rated at 20 CFM, contamination can pass through. The 3/8" umbilical hose can pass a lot of "dirty" air to the helmet until the flow slows down. Glad you are OK. Safe diving. Oh yeah, if anyone ever has any gas with a color, call me, this I gotta see!!