DIRECTIVE NUMBER: CPL 02-00-151 EFFECTIVE DATE ... - OSHA

from the second-stage regulator, which can result in asphyxiation of the diver.
Regulators authorized by the U.S. Navy are for use only in the specified configuration.
Consequently, the use of a second-stage SCUBA regulator independent of the first-stage SCUBA
regulator is not approved by the Navy. Also, Navy approval is for Navy equipment used in Navy
diving operations; this approval does not extend to the use of such equipment by commercial
divers or other organizations.
Question #8: Are employers in compliance with OSHA standards when they rely on
employees who own their own diving equipment to maintain this equipment
Answer: OSHA supports and encourages employees to maintain, inspect, and ensure the safe
operation of the equipment that they own and use in their employers’ diving operations.
However, these actions do not relieve employers of their responsibilities under OSHA standards
to ensure the proper use, maintenance, testing, and other required actions regarding diving
equipment used in the course of employment. Accordingly, OSHA makes no distinction
between “employer-owned” equipment and “employee-owned” equipment. If the equipment is
not in compliance with OSHA standards, and it is being used in the course of employment, then
the employer is in violation of the standards.
Question #9: When a decompression chamber is not available at the dive location, can
employers administer 100 percent oxygen to a diver who experiences decompression
sickness or arterial gas embolism while the diver is being transported to a decompression
chamber Can an oxygen mask with a mouthpiece-held demand inhalator valve be used
for unconscious patients
Answer: OSHA standards require a multi-place recompression chamber at the dive location for
any planned decompression dive, any dive deeper than 100 fsw, or any dive on a breathing
medium other than standard air. However, divers who are not covered by these recompression
chamber requirements (such as conducting no-decompression dives less than 100 fsw) can incur
decompression sickness (i.e., “bends”) or an arterial gas embolism. In these situations, when no
recompression chamber is immediately available, the following guidelines apply. When
transporting a breathing diving patient from the dive location to an available chamber for
treatment, or when transporting any other breathing diving patient from one treatment facility to
another, a portable oxygen supply consisting of an E cylinder (approximately 669 liters of
oxygen) and a transparent mask is recommended. When transporting a non-breathing diving
patient from the dive location to an available chamber for treatment, a mechanical-bag
resuscitator with a pure oxygen supply is recommended; the oxygen supply should be
administered only by trained personnel. Under these circumstances, OSHA does not recommend
the use of an emergency-oxygen kit having a replacement oxygen mask with a mouthpiece-held
demand inhalator valve, because it is not suitable for an unconscious patient, and oxygen is
incompatible with the rubber parts of the mouthpiece assembly.
Although the use of pure-oxygen treatment for a diving patient may be beneficial, it is not a
substitute for recompression treatment. When a diver incurs any diving illness that requires
recompression treatment (such as decompression sickness, or arterial gas embolism), the diver
must be treated at a recompression facility. Oxygen treatment may be necessary or desired
A-5