Diving Safety Manual University of Hawai’i System Approved by The University of Hawai’i Diving Control Board University of Hawai’i April 14, 2020 rev. 5/14/2020 Acknowledgements and Forward This manual was revised from the 2016 University of Hawaii Diving Safety Manual, to include revisions and improvements embodied in the December 2018 AAUS Standards for Conduct of Scientific Diving Programs and Certification of Scientific Divers, and to extend the local standard of practice as per the needs of the University of Hawaii. The manual is also available online, at: http://www.hawaii.edu/ehso/diving-safety. Intermediary revisions and the most recent versions of forms in the Appendices may be found there. This document was authored and edited by the University of Hawaii Diving Control Board, as listed in Appendix 1. 2 April 2020 Revisions Summary Global replace of “shall” with “must” (with grammatical corrections) REVISED TO COMPLY WITH AAUS STANDARDS ver. December, 2018: Table of Contents – Simplified Chapter 1. General Policy Chapter 2, Diving Regulations Chapter. 3 Diver in Training Permit Chapter 4. Scientific Diver Training – Chapter 5 Diving Equipment Chapter 6 Breathing Gas Chapter 7 Medical Standards Chapter 10 Nitrox Diving – Large scale revision Chapter 11 Staged Decompression Diving Chapter 12 High-Concentration Oxygen Nitrox for Stage Decompression Chapter 13 Mixed Gas Diving Chapter 14 Rebreathers Chapter 15 Surface Supplied Diving – Hookah Chapter 16 Surface Supplied Diving – Heavy Chapter 17 Saturation Diving Chapter 18 Shipboard Diving Appendix 1. University of Hawai’i Diving Control Board Appendix 2. UH Diving Safety Program Links to Application Forms Appendix 3. Diving Medical Exam Instructions, Instructions to Physicians, and Exam Forms Appendix 4. Physicians with Expertise in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Appendix 5. UH Personal Dive Log Reporting Form Appendix 6. UH Personal Dive Log Sheet Guidelines and Definitions Appendix 7. UH LOR Request Form and AAUS Reciprocity Letter Example Appendix 8. Diving Emergency Management Procedures Appendix 9. Diving Incident and Accident Report Form Appendix 10. UNOLS Research Vessel operating Committee Shipboard Diving Regulations Appendix 11. AAUS Safe Ascent Recommendations Appendix 12. Guidelines for non-Exempt Diving in Support of Science (NEDSS) Appendix 13. AAUS Scientific Diver Training Requirements Appendix 14. AAUS Rebreather Training Standards Appendix 15. AAUS Glossary and Definition of Terms Appendix 16 AAUS Statistics Collection Criteria and Definitions ERRATA 5/14/2020 Corrected embedded URL. 3 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL POLICY .................................................. 12 A. Purpose .......................................................................................................... 12 1. The Scientific Diving Standards ............................................................... 12 2. OSHA Scientific Diving Definition ............................................................. 12 3. OSHA Scientific Diving Exemption ........................................................... 12 4. Liability ..................................................................................................... 13 5. Compliance with AAUS ............................................................................ 13 B. Administrative Organization ............................................................................ 13 1. The Diving Safety Officer (DSO): ............................................................. 13 2. The Diving Control Board (DCB): ............................................................. 14 3. Diving Medical Advisor ............................................................................. 15 4. Diving Medical Advisory Panel ................................................................. 16 5. Unit Diving Coordinator ............................................................................ 16 C. Program Responsibility .................................................................................. 17 1. Ultimate Authority ..................................................................................... 17 2. Policy ....................................................................................................... 17 3. Policy Administration ................................................................................ 17 D. Operational Control ........................................................................................ 17 1. University Auspices Defined ..................................................................... 17 2. Diving Privileges ....................................................................................... 17 3. Authorization Types ................................................................................. 18 4. Equipment ................................................................................................ 18 5. Records .................................................................................................... 18 6. Sites ......................................................................................................... 19 7. Visiting Scientific Divers and Reciprocity ................................................. 19 E. Diving Personnel ............................................................................................ 20 1. Instructional Personnel ............................................................................. 20 2. Lead Diver (Diving Supervisor, Person-in-charge) ................................... 20 3. Authorized Diver ....................................................................................... 20 F. Departmental Control ...................................................................................... 20 G. Medical Examination ...................................................................................... 21 H. Waiver of Requirements ................................................................................. 21 I. Consequence of Violation of Regulations By scientific divers .......................... 21 J. Violation Review and Disciplinary Process. .................................................... 21 K. Record Maintenance ...................................................................................... 22 1. Records Retention ................................................................................... 22 2. Availability of Records .............................................................................. 22 4 CHAPTER 2. DIVING REGULATIONS ........................................... 23 A. General Policy ................................................................................................ 23 B. Diving Procedures .......................................................................................... 23 1. Solo Diving Prohibition ............................................................................. 23 2. Enclosed or Confined Spaces .................................................................... 23 3. Diver's Flag .............................................................................................. 23 4. Flotation Devices ...................................................................................... 23 5. Timing Devices, Depth and Pressure Gauges ......................................... 23 6. Decompression Management .................................................................. 23 7. Diving Tables ........................................................................................... 24 8. Dive Computers ....................................................................................... 24 9. Decompression Software ......................................................................... 25 10. Termination of Dive .............................................................................. 25 11. Refusal to Dive ..................................................................................... 25 12. Dive Plans ............................................................................................ 25 13. Pre -Dive Procedures ............................................................................ 26 14. Post- Dive Safety Checks ...................................................................... 27 15. Emergency Deviation from Regulations................................................ 27 16. Flying and Altitude Exposure After Diving............................................. 28 C. Dive Record Keeping Requirements .............................................................. 28 1. Personal Dive Log ...................................................................................... 28 2. Required Incident Reporting ..................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 3. DIVER-IN-TRAINING PERMIT .................................. 30 A. Eligibility ......................................................................................................... 30 B. Pre-Training .................................................................................................... 30 1. Application. ................................................................................................. 30 2. Medical Examination................................................................................... 30 3. Swimming Test ......................................................................................... 30 C. Entry-Level Scuba Training ...........................................................................