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In the May 1996 issue of Undercurrent Brett Gilliam writes: "On the subject of CNS O2 limits, in the case of nitrox diving there is little chance of divers being threatened if they remain within no-decompression limits of the mix they are using. For instance, at 130 fsw on EAN32, a diver has a no-decompression limit of 20 mins. The CNS O2 limit is 45 minutes! So he would have to more than double his bottom time just to approach the accepted limit for a single dive." 130 fsw on EAN32 gives a pPO2 exposure of 1.58 ATA. I recognize that Mr Gilliam holds the world record on air (452 fsw). Precisely because of this, many new to nitrox will regard his pronouncements as absolute. In the last few weeks there have been several posts declaiming the use of air deeper than 200 fsw, not as I understood it so much because of narcosis, but because of the concern of taking an O2 hit. 200 fsw on air is a pPO2 of 1.52 ATA. Why would someone of Mr. Gilliam's undoubted experience fail to mention that CNS seizures have occurred with brief exposures to pPO2's as low as 1.3 ATA (US Navy Divers Handbook - 9/95 edition) and advise sport divers (the majority of Undercurrent readers) that they may expose themselves to cumulative O2 toxicity that the US Navy/NOAA consider extreme? As the CEO of Uwatec America his staements do no service to the learning nitrox diving community, nor to his company, not to the many dive shop owners who have invested in nitrox and want to keep its use safe. If you agree, write to Mr. Gilliam and to: Dragerwerk AG Safety Division Business Unit DIVE Auf dem Baggersand 17 D-23570 Lubeck GERMANY Ph: 49-4502-883-232 Fax: 49-4502-883-202
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