March 4, 1996 Commercial diver Brian Pilkington died when the compressor supplying air caught fire filling his helmet with smoke. Although diving below an oil drilling platform in the territorial waters of the United States as part of a joint United Sates Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping inspection the USCG did not interview a single witness for three years and the Coast Guard Officer in charge of the inspection on site that day could not remember being there. No charges were ever brought On June 26, 1998 the United States Coast Guard published a notice in the Federal Register that they would be seeking comments regarding the need to update the commercial diving operations regulations. The request goes on to state that “the regulations are over 20 years old and do not include current safety and technology standards and industry practices.” That request for comment garnered ninety two public submissions in addition to submissions from the Commercial Dive School Educators and other industry groups. The United States Constitution was crafted by a few skilled and dedicated men using only paper made of rags and pens made from the feathers of birds. Without the assistance of computer or the internet these dedicated individuals created a document that has stood the test of time, worked for all and did so in less then two years. How advanced are we today when it has taken more than sixteen years to attempt to craft a document that is specific to the safety of only one small group. One group of workers who without a proper set of regulations continue to perish at a rate forty time more often than all other workers. Without the input of the men and women that make a living at the end of a hose I suspect this proposed rule making will continue on unfinished for yet another sixteen years. Stand up and demand change, get involved or accept this reform will never occur. Eighteen years ago the than Executive Director of The ADC told me that any attempt to revise the regulations would never happen. The USCG and those that control them would simply wait for me to give up, lose interest or die. Perhaps he may well have been correct The National Offshore Safety Committee will be meeting in New Orleans April 15th 2015. If you want to show your support for Commercial Diving regulatory reform show up and demand that this committee release their recommendations. Than write your congressman and demand that the funding to actually create the regulations be appropriated. Demand accountability, show your support, get involved
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 21:55:33 +0000