WIREDGOV

A new video has been produced for divers to give them a solid foundation in the key benefits and safety considerations of using closed circuit rebreathers (CCRs) - a technology often referred to as enabling “bubble-free” diving.

CCR use, which is historically associated with military and cave diving, is expected to rise sharply among recreational divers over the next few years. With CCR technology accepted to be developing fast, the CCR Aware video - available free of charge at www.rospa.com/ccr-aware/ - is targeted at those new to rebreather diving as well as existing users who might be at risk of becoming complacent.

There are about 250,000 divers in the UK and, at present, it is thought only a small percentage (estimates are between 1.6 per cent and four per cent) use CCRs, although the number of users could be rising by about 400 a year. Internationally, the potential CCR market is huge; for example, there are 1.2million divers in Germany alone.  

The CCR Aware video is the result of a project led by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), which, in 2011, was asked by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to investigate and promote the safe use of CCRs. Twenty diving organisations have been involved in the project. 

A CCR works by recycling exhaled gas, expelling carbon dioxide and adding oxygen to replace the oxygen that has already been used, thereby turning it back into useful gas that can be “rebreathed”. This is different to what happens in open circuit diving, in which the exhaled gas goes directly into the water. Because of the gas recycling, a CCR can enable deeper and longer dives than an open circuit system. However, equipment failures during CCR diving can be more subtle than during open circuit diving (when you tend to know fairly quickly that something is going wrong) and more technical and emergency planning is therefore needed.

As well as introducing how CCRs work and the benefits of using them, the new video covers: the importance of training and how to select a trainer; advice on purchasing equipment, new and second-hand; the importance of practising drills and skills in every dive; and pre-dive checks and maintenance regimes. It encourages divers to ask themselves whether rebreather diving is right for them, including whether the rewards are worth the risks and whether their families also understand the risks.

Nathan Davies, RoSPA’s water and leisure consultancy team leader, who has co-ordinated the CCR project, said: “Diving with CCRs is different to open circuit diving and, while the benefits are significant, there are hazards that new divers need to be aware of. CCR Aware is not intended to replace the introductory or refresher training that divers need to undertake to dive safely, but we hope it will enable new CCR divers to make informed choices and to also serve as reminder for more experienced rebreather divers.”

RoSPA hopes that work will continue on establishing a robust base of evidence related to CCR fatal and non-fatal incidents.

The organisations involved in the production of CCR Aware and the wider CCR safety project were: RoSPA; British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC); Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI); Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA); Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI); Technical Diving International (TDI); Scuba Diving International (SDI); Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); Jack Ingle Technical Diving; Sub-Aqua Association (SAA); Haynes Marine; Cognitas Incident Research and Management; Ambient Pressure Diving; VR Technology; Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC); Midlands Rebreather Diving; Dive In; Megalodon; Diving & Marine Solutions; Divers Alert Network (DAN); and QinetiQ. The video was made by Realm Pictures Ltd, with underwater camera work from Diving & Marine Solutions.