Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive

Section 6 - Breath-Holding IncidentsIn this review, we will summarize the known data and describe thecommon hazard patterns that appear in the records. The casereports found in Appendix C will provide brief summaries of documentedinformation. The reader will be left to interpret these cases– hopefully with critical consideration of his or her own practices.6.2 Available RecordsThe available records for 1994-2004 incidents were augmentedthrough internet searches and reviewed. A total of 172 separate incidentswere referred to in the files. Cases were excluded from thisreview if some written record confirming the actual date of theevent could not be found, or if the reported event occurred outsideof North America and the available information was too limited tobe evaluated (note: future data collection will likely focus on eventsoccurring within North America and the Caribbean region).One hundred forty-five cases were included in this summary.Comprehensive records were generally available for only rare highprofile events. Virtually all of the reported cases (98 percent, n=142)involved fatalities. The three injury cases included two sharkattacks and one near drowning.Incidents were reported in 19 different countries. Seventy-five percent(n=108) occurred in the United States. Ninety percent of theU.S. incidents occurred in three states: Hawaii (34 percent; n=37),Florida (31 percent; n=34) and California (24 percent; n=26). Theconcentration on U.S. incidents reflects the limited focus of theavailable reports rather than a true worldwide pattern. The distributionof U.S. incidents does reflect the popularity of breath-holdactivities in certain states. It is also possible, however, that the popularityof diving in specific areas has produced a greater awarenessof DAN’s effort in incident data collection and a submission of morecases. This could contribute to an overrepresentation of theseregions.Categorical descriptions of the primary activity of the incident victimwere available in 67 percent of the cases (n=97). The categoriesof the known cases can be seen in Figure 6.2-1. Snorkeling is thebroadest category, including anyone wearing mask, snorkel and fins(but with no additional air supply) in the water. Snorkelers mayremain completely on the surface or participate in some breath-holddiving from the surface. Freedivers typically wear a mask and someform of fin or fins only and direct their activity to breath-hold div-92DAN’s <strong>Report</strong> on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration: 2005 Edition