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Last Issue:
Tuesday,
December
18
2007
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Taking Safety to New Depths
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Once properly suited up, divers can hit the water.
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Bill Sarro, in wetsuit, helps students suit up in the Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility.
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Few people on campus can boast of a job description that includes getting into a wetsuit and diving into a body of water. However, there are actually several underwater projects that involve university researchers. It is Bill Sarro's job to make sure the work is both productive and safe.
As Maryland's dive safety officer, Sarro works through the Department of Environmental Safety (DES). He approves dive plans that must answer -- per national standards -- several questions that include where will diving take place, are divers going in the water from a boat or the beach, who are the dive buddies, what is the emergency plan of action, how deep is the dive and for how long, how many dives will there be?
"If they're missing any data, then no dive," says Sarro, who has been in the diving industry for at least 30 years and started with the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a network of local, state and federal agencies dedicated to bringing oysters back to Maryland's Chesapeake Bay.
University science divers follow, and Sarro says exceed, recommendations made by the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS), of which the university is a member. According to the AAUS Web site, scientific diving is different from commercial diving in that participants "engage in underwater research activities to express exemption from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations that govern other types of diving." These exemptions are not a lessening of the standards, just a reflection of the differences. Scientific divers don't need to, for example, worry about construction or demolition.
"Being members of AAUS brings diversity to the dive program," says Donna McMahon, assistant director of DES. Several universities and research institutions claim membership, which makes working in other locations easier.
"There's such good oversight that it gives a feeling of confidence to people you're working with," she says.
"It adds credibility to this program," adds Sarro, who also works for the university's Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, Md.
To gain AAUS membership, an organization must fulfill three main requirements: have a qualified safety officer in place, have a diving control board (of which members are individually approved by AAUS) and have a dive safety manual.
Some of the university's projects include historical work being done with the University of Haifa in Israel and work in the Chesapeake Bay. Sarro also works with divers in the neutral buoyancy facility, who are simulating the weightlessness of space in water. There's even a professor, Marjori Erickson-Natishan, who participates in underwater submarine races every year at Carderock. At least seven projects are underway.
"A lot of what I do is paperwork, sending reminders of license renewals and certifications," says Sarro. He administers some of the training himself, such as HAZMAT, CPR and first aid. In his free time, he does dive charters and some outside teaching.
"We're very fortunate to get Bill," says McMahon, "because of all of his experience." Scuba Dive Course For those interested in recreational diving, Campus Recreation Services offers a non-credit scuba instruction course. Its next session will begin Feb. 25, with registration beginning on Jan. 28. The 30-hour course will meet on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Those interested must register in person at the CRC member services desk. Cost is $275 and individuals must have a physical before registering for class. Health forms can be picked up at the desk.
The course is taught by Bob Landers, who also teaches scuba as a credit course in kinesiology at the university. Participants will go on a certification dive following the end of the class at Willow Springs Quarry in Pennsylvania. Certification is through the National Association of Underwater Instructors. All other classwork is done at the university. For more information, call (301) 405-PLAY, or go to www.crs.umd.edu.
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