Posted by MHK on August 16, 2001 at 14:31:11:
In Reply to: Re: Using "a degreaser like 409 or Simple Green" posted by Wayne on August 16, 2001 at 12:26:50:
Wayne,
This is my view on the entire 02 thing and it boils down to a bunch of common sense, and a little bit of research and a ton of practical experience..
It all boils down to, in my view, that 02 is a *mysterious* gas that has the POTENTIAL to be flamable. I fully acknowledge that when handled recklessly it could be a very harmful outcome. To that end, what I already believed but has now been confirmed in this thread is that not very many people know much about handling 02, and as such believe every God D*mn rule or regulation hat has been enacted. Much like everything else the government gets their hands on they engage in overkill to try to cover every possible scenario that could take place in any and every environment.. Cleary 02 needs to be handled with care, but if you start following everything some governmental agency promulgates you'll NEVER get a fill anywhere in the world.. They count on the fact that most people lack the fundamental wherewithal to understand the issue and as such they set up unrealistic and meaningless regulations that are completly OVERKILL, and are designed to solve problems that simply do not exist..
Look at what happened in San Diego, John made a mistake, he suffered and he accepted FULL responsibility for his own actions. He didn't point a finger, he didn't sue anyone and he was man enough to stand up and say * Hey, I made a mistake* but instead of just accepting that and moving on, the Fire Dept. shut down the entire dive industry and precluded any shop from pumping Nitrox for months. And that was irrespective of whether they were partial pressure or using a membrane. It was a typical government, beauracratic knee jerk over reaction, and it spoke directly to the issue that is suggestive of the fact that Nitrox is bad for you.. Rather than address the real issue the bearuacrats demogogued the issue and other shop owners jumped on the band wagon and used it as an opportunitic way to continue the voodo gas nonsense...
In my view, there is SO MUCH misinformation out there that as soon as I get my instructor rating I'll volunteer to give a free blending class to anyone that want sto sign up just to stop the spreading of this BS...
Like anything else in life, you need to take some precautions but when you have all the facts you'll see that 02 isn't to be feared so much...
Later