Nitrox workshop dings - Divers Alert Network

Rubicon Foundation Archive (http://rubicon-foundation.org)NAUI NITROX DIVING STATISTICSBruce R. WienkeTimothy R. O' LearyJed D. LivingstonNAUI Technical Diving Operations1232 Tech Blvd.Tampa, FLORIDA 33619-7832 USAOverviewNAUI began training and certifying nitrox divers/instructors in 1992. In 1998, NAUITechnical Diving Operations formed to establish standards and procedures for recreational andtechnical nitrox diving, as well as mixed gases such as heliox, trimix, helitrox, and to formallycertify divers/instructors in recreational, extended range, decompression, and mixed gas divingactivities. Across programs, maximum oxygen partial pressure, PO2, is 1.4 atm, except atdecompression stops where 1.6 atm is permitted. NAUI has traditionally employed an EADapproach to nitrox tables in the past, but is switching to phase RGBM tables now, to smoothlytransition recreational and decompression nitrox diving. With trimix, helitrox, and heliox, NAUIalready uses, and has released, RGBM tables coupled to pure O2 at 20 fsw. Nitrox computers arean integral part of NAUI nitrox training, as necessary component of sensible dive planning anddiver staging strategems. Diveware (Explorer, ABYSS, Proplanner, Decoplanner, etc.) is also anintegral part of mixed gas dive planning and profile assessment. NAUI encourages "nitrox addon" to all of its curricula by making an additional 2 dives beyond core requirements. Plans are inthe works to make all courses nitrox based, with air as a default, or standard case. NAUIemploys a mixed gas blending and oxygen service procedure in all enriched oxygen and mixedgas activities and nitrox diving. The manual is also the basis of a gas-blending course.Training StatisticsTo date, NAUI has trained 4412 recreational nitrox divers, 784 technical nitrox divers(staged deco), and 317 trimix divers (staged deco) without incidence of DCS. Some 878recreational instructors, 322 technical nitrox instructors, and 35 trimix instructors have beencertified and trained by NAUI Technical Diving Operations without a single training incident ofDCS. Overall, across all NAUI diving programs (recreational and technical), the annual DCSincidence rate for the past 10 years has been below 1/100,000. For all above training dives, some32,198 tanks have been filled with mixtures up to 100% without mishap. Just for recreationalnitrox, the tank total is 17,604 fills. Both EAN32 and EAN36 are standard NAUI trainingmixtures.57