|
The Risks of Panic in Scuba Diving I
7/3/2008
by Capt. Darrick Lorenzen |
6
Comments |
722
Views
As a result of the recent interest in the diving fatality that occurred to Mrs. Gabe Watson on her honeymoon in Australia I am beginning a five part series on the risks of panic in scuba diving. I believe that the “ Honeymoon Fatality” may have actually been caused by the panic of both husband and wife. NBC Nightline aired a special on this incident and the investigation was reopened. Foul play is being considered, but I am not convinced.
The five part series will include question and answers regarding the Wisconsin Sea Grant research on panic and scuba diving conducted by Dr. William Morgan. Phil Davis conducted the interview.
How common is panic among scuba divers?
Dr. Morgan: More than half of the scuba divers in our study have reported that they had experienced panic or near-panic episodes on one or more occasions.
How big of a factor is panic in diving fatalities?
Dr. Morgan: The cause of death in more than 60% of scuba diving fatalities is drowning, usually caused by such specific problems as lack of air, entanglement (in fishing nets, rope or kelp), air embolism, narcosis and panic.
However, when “lack of air” is given as the casual explanation, often other sources of air are available via buddy breathing or pony bottle. Also, air embolism, a common cause of diving fatalities, may result from rapid ascent due to panic, and the inability to free oneself fro rope, nets or kelp may also be caused by a panic response. Diving authorities generally agree that panic behavior is responsible for many of the diving accidents and fatalities that occur in recreational scuba divers.
Since 1970, the number of annual U.S. scuba diving fatalities has varied from a low of 66 to a high of 147. However the number of active scuba divers is unknown; estimates range from 1.5 million to a high of 3.5 million in the United States alone. Therefore, valid estimates of risk using traditional methods are not possible. Fatality estimates range from a low of 2 or 3 per 100,000 to 6 to 9 per 100,000, depending on the number of fatalities and estimations of the number of active divers in a given year.
Moreover, most studies of diver fatalities define a diver as someone “certified” as a diver. This is problematic because some individuals (1) scuba dive, but are not certified, (2) are certified and never dive, and (3) may hold as many as 25 advanced level certifications, with the result that such a diver would be treated statistically as 25 divers. And, risk estimates in this activity have not considered the fact that someone who dives once in a given year is treated statistically in the same way as a diver who makes several hundred dives.
|