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Does anybody know if the proceedings to the 2000 DAN Nitrox Workshop are worth paying $25 for? I have a (ducking as I say this) TDI Nitrox certification and wonder if the proceedings will provide $25 dollars worth of benefit, or if it is a repeat of what's in my TDI manual. Some of the attendees to the workshop are not very popular on the techdiver list... Chris Brown Suffolk, VA Press release below: DAN Workshop Presents Recommendations for Entry-Level Nitrox Diving The DAN Nitrox Workshop, hosted by Divers Alert Network and chaired by DAN Board Member Michael Lang, was held Nov. 3-4, 2000, in Durham, NC. The purpose of the workshop sought to clarify nitrox diving in the year 2000 and to reach a consensus among dive industry professionals regarding the recreational use of Enriched Air Nitrox. Conference attendees represented recreational training agencies, government agencies and the scientific diving community. Four major topics were considered during the conference: operational use of nitrox to approximate the amount of nitrox diving occurring in the recreational diving community; nitrox instruction among recreational training agencies; nitrox physiology; and the standard of care for scuba equipment used with nitrox. During the workshop, no evidence was presented that showed an increased risk of DCS from the use of nitrox versus compressed air. Based on this fact, recommendations put forward by the DAN Nitrox Workshop for entry-level, open-circuit nitrox diving include: an agreement by all nitrox training agencies of a maximum PO2 level of 1.6 atm; no need to track whole body exposure to oxygen (OTU/UPTD), instead, use of the "CNS Oxygen Clock" concept based on the NOAA oxygen exposure limits should be taught in nitrox courses; and screening for CO2 retention is unnecessary for nitrox training. Other points of agreement regarding equipment used with nitrox include: acceptance of nitrox dive computers as a useful and effective tool for diving, oxygen analyzers should use a controlled-flow air sampling device; oxygen analysis of the breathing gas should be performed by the blender and/or dispenser and verified by the end user; and no evidence was presented to show an unreasonable risk of fire or ignition when using up to 40% nitrox with standard scuba equipment. Conference attendees included DAN representatives Dr. Peter B. Bennett, Ph.D., D.Sc., President and CEO of DAN; Bill Clendenen, MBA, Vice President, DAN Training; Dr. Petar Denoble, M.D., D.Sc., DAN Senior Research Director; Dr. Alessandro Marroni, DAN Board of Directors; Dr. Richard Moon, DAN Vice President and Medical Director; Dan Orr, M.S., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Dr. Ed Thalmann, Assistant Medical Director; Dr. Karen Van Hoesen, DAN Board of Directors; and Dr. Richard D. Vann, Vice President, DAN Research. Nitrox diving agency representatives included Ed Betts, Bret Gilliam, Dr. Bill Hamilton, Jon Hardy, Tom Mount, Drew Richardson, Dick Rutkowski, Karl Shreeves and Dr. Bruce Wienke. Government and scientific diving representatives included: Chris Borne, Dave Dinsmore, Walter Jaap, Dan H. Kerem, Doug Kesling, Michael Lang and J. Morgan Wells. Other workshop participants included Sergio Angelini, Bart Bjorkman, Evin Cotter, Elliot Forsyth, Bill Oliver and Bill Turbeville. A DEMA-sponsored seminar on this topic was presented by Michael Lang on Jan. 25. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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