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On The Record For Safety In what may prove to be one of aquaCORPS' most important stories of the year, the Journal has published an investigative report on extreme deep air diving practices in its current issue (N11/Xplorers). The article, "Call of The Wah Wah," by Dean Mullaney, explores a series of extreme air dives [400 f/123 m plus] led by the heads of two technical training agencies that nearly resulted in a fatality during breaks at a recent training workshop. The "community consensus" standards for air diving is 180-220 f/ based on a maximum PO2 of 1.4-1.6 atm. aquaCORPS first learned about the incident at the close of the workshop. Interviews for the story were conducted with nearly a dozen industry insiders, including three of the individuals who conducted the dives, as well as board members of the two agencies. Some indivduals declined to be quoted and additional "off the record" information was withheld from publication. "We debated whether or not the story should be run, given the nature of the material," says aquaCORPS publisher Michael Menduno, " or whether in the words of one participant, the dives represented ' hypocrisy founded with everyone's best interest at heart,' and should remain an industry secret. "We were concerned that this type of extreme diving would be associated with technical diving and give the entire community a bad name. Worse it could get divers killed," says Menduno. "We felt it better to go on record in the interest of safety rather than keep it in the closet. Isn't that what tech diving is about? Hopefully the ensuing discussion will serve to improve diving safety." aquaCORPS stands by its story and the decision to publish it and will allocate space to interested individuals, including those named in the story, to discuss the issues involved and share their views in an future issue. aquaCORPS Journal N11/ XPLORERS hit the streets in late September. The issue focuses on cave exploration and includes profiles of explorers Dr. Ann Kristovich and Jim Bowden of the Zacaton Project; and former NACD head Steve Gerrard, and CEDAM Dive Centre owner Mike Madden, who are pushing out the frontier in the Yucatan underground. Other features include a comprehensive Rebreathers Buyer's Guide, and a review of enriched air nitrox computers. For more information contact: Michelle Scilleppi Battelle 415.776.0208, f: 415.771.9616, e: mbat@we*.co*
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