PERILS OF DIVER'S WORK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 94, 16 September 1914, Page 3

PERILS OF DIVER'S WORK.

WHAT HE HAS TO GO THROUGH. Referring to the death of a diver engaged on the Empress of Ireland wreck, a writer in the. Manchester Ouardian says that the first sensation felt when the diver goes down thirty or forty feet- below tile surface is a singing in the ear being stretched a little, and this is the ear being stretched a little, and this caused in turn by the fact that the ail' pressure on tin- outside lias been increased, while that on the inside has been kept normal for a few seconds longer bv .sonic flight obstruction in the Eustachian tube connecting the car with the nose.

Ordinarily a diver may descend cjuite quickly to the scene of his work. Hut he must be very careful liow he conies up, and the longer he remains down the longer he must take in coming up. The reason is that, all the time lie is down the blood is absorbing air. The greater the depth the greater the pressure of the air, and the more of it he absorbs in a given time. His blood becomes aerated like soda water in a siphon. Reduciri" the pressure is equivalent to jug the lever of the siphon. The air bubbles out. At 2Ul)fl down a diver should not remain more than twelve minutes at one time, reckoned from the time he. leaves the surface till he begins to ascend, and lie should make six baits on his way up, his time for ascending being not less than half an hour. if for some pressin" reason he should remain down at this depth for an hour he should take not less than four hours to come up. When a diver is brought to the surface too quickly and is found to have collapsed, he should be instantly sent down a«ain, cruel though it seems. An. alternative is to shut hill! up in a big steel cylinder containing compressed air. thus imitating the under-watcr conditions. Then, gradually the pressure can be reduced.