Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2021-247)
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Regulations are current to 2024-08-18 and last amended on 2022-01-01. Previous Versions
PART 32Diving (continued)
Marginal note:Dive contractor obligations
172 (1) Every dive contractor must ensure, with respect to all diving operations under its direction and control, that
(a) the diving system used conforms to the annex to International Maritime Organization Resolution A.831(19), Code of Safety for Diving Systems, 1995;
(b) each member of the dive team and the pilot of any remotely operated vehicle being deployed conforms to the applicable competencies set out in CSA Group standard Z275.4, Competency standard for diving, hyperbaric chamber, and remotely operated vehicle operations;
(c) each diver and dive supervisor holds a valid standard first aid certificate or advanced first aid certificate and a valid certificate in first aid oxygen administration;
(d) each diver has been certified, within the 12-month period ending on the last day of the diving operation, as being medically fit to dive by one of the following physicians and has confirmed that their medical condition has not changed since their most recent certification:
(i) a physician who is licensed to practise medicine in Canada and meets the competencies of a Level 1 Physician set out in CSA Group standard Z275.4, Competency standard for diving, hyperbaric chamber, and remotely operated vehicle operations, or
(ii) a specialized dive physician who bases their certification on their review of a medical fitness certification issued in a jurisdiction outside of Canada within the same 12-month period;
(e) a specialized dive physician is readily available at all times to provide medical advice from a remote location in Newfoundland and Labrador and to be transported to the workplace, if necessary, to provide medical treatment, including to a diver in a compression chamber;
(f) any person performing first aid on a diver has unimpeded access to a means of communicating with the specialized dive physician;
(g) appropriate equipment is available at the workplace to permit the specialized dive physician, from a remote location, to
(i) communicate directly with a diver inside a compression chamber,
(ii) observe and examine a diver inside a compression chamber by means of visual and auditory aids, and
(iii) use available monitoring or clinical assessment technologies on a diver;
(h) the data transfer rate at the workplace is sufficient to permit continuous monitoring of a person inside a compression chamber and to allow the results of ongoing medical testing, such as electrocardiograms, to be transferred to the specialized dive physician, as determined through testing before the start of the diving operations;
(i) breathing mixtures that conform to CSA Group standard Z275.2, Operational safety code for diving operations or European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standard EN 12021, Respiratory equipment — Compressed gases for breathing apparatus are available in the quantities calculated in accordance with paragraph 165(i);
(j) each diver has independent primary and secondary breathing mixture supplies, each of which can be isolated from the supplies of other divers;
(k) breathing mixtures are available to divers at a rate appropriate to the depth and circumstances of the dive but no less than 62.5 L per minute;
(l) breathing mixtures are stored in compressed gas cylinders that have been certified by a competent person who is independent of the operator, dive contractor and manufacturer as being safe for that use;
(m) the applicable colour code referred to in paragraph 165(j) is posted in a conspicuous place in all breathing mixture storage areas;
(n) the oxygen content of each breathing mixture is analyzed by a member of the dive team on receipt of the mixture and immediately prior to each dive for which that mixture is to be used and any breathing mixture found to contain more than 25% oxygen by volume is handled as if it were pure oxygen;
(o) if a remotely operated vehicle is deployed while divers are in the water, there is a dedicated and continuous means of communication between the dive supervisor and the vehicle’s pilot and a monitor at the dive control station displays the same picture as seen by the pilot;
(p) if a dive is being carried out from a dynamically positioned vessel,
(i) the vessel is equipped with
(A) an indicator that continuously displays its station keeping status,
(B) a visual and audible alarm system that warns of station keeping status changes, and whose alarms are visible and audible on the bridge, at the dive control station and in any other location where knowledge of such a change would be important for ensuring diver safety, and
(C) a fixed means of communication between the vessel’s bridge and the dive control station and between the dive control station and the dynamic positioning control station that is capable of working even in the event of a total loss of power to the vessel, and
(ii) there is a dedicated and continuous means of communication between the dive control station and the dynamic positioning control station for the duration of the dive and employees at each station inform those at the other station immediately of any changes in operational circumstances;
(q) divers’ breathing patterns are continuously monitored and their activities continuously observed and recorded for the duration of each dive;
(r) every diver’s location in the water is continuously monitored for the duration of each dive;
(s) effective means of assisting and recovering divers are available for the duration of each dive;
(t) any dive during which a diver loses thermal balance or there is a failure of a thermal control system is immediately suspended and all divers are returned to the diving bell, if safe, or to the surface, even if the loss or failure is expected to be temporary;
(u) decompression is carried out only in accordance with the applicable decompression table identified in the dive project plan, except in extenuating circumstances and in consultation with a specialized dive physician;
(v) no diver travels by air within 24 hours after a dive or while suffering from decompression sickness, unless approved by a specialized dive physician; and
(w) the medical report associated with each diver’s certification under paragraph (d) is readily available, in the case of an emergency, to members of the dive team who hold a diving medical technician certificate and to the specialized dive physician referred to in paragraph (e), in an official language understood by that physician.
Marginal note:Surface-supplied diving
(2) If the diving operation involves surface-supplied diving, the dive contractor must also ensure that
(a) there is, at all times, at least one member of the dive team who holds a valid diving medical technician certificate and is not on a mandatory rest period on the surface and readily available to provide assistance to the divers;
(b) medical checks are carried out by a member of the dive team who holds a diving medical technician certificate, or by a medic under the direction of the specialized dive physician, on each diver at the beginning and end of each shift during which they dive;
(c) except in the case of an emergency, each standby diver has had 12 consecutive hours of rest since their most recent dive and has no residual inert gas in their tissue as calculated in accordance with the applicable decompression table set out in the dive project plan;
(d) no dive is carried out at pressures greater than 50 msw or if the partial pressure of oxygen exceeds 1.4 ATA;
(e) sufficient double-lock deck compression chambers that have an inside diameter of at least 1.524 m and that can accommodate all divers who need to undergo decompression at any one time, as well as all other persons needing to be in the chamber with the divers to carry out the decompression procedures or provide medical care to them, are available at the workplace to allow for decompression in accordance with the applicable decompression table identified in the dive project plan; and
(f) if diving occurs from a light dive craft, the time needed to transport a diver from the surface to the deck compression chamber or medical room on the primary vessel from which the light dive craft is deployed does not exceed 15 minutes.
Marginal note:Saturation diving
(3) If the diving operation involves saturation diving, the dive contractor must also ensure that
(a) each diver holds a valid diving medical technician certificate;
(b) medical checks are carried out by a member of the dive team who holds a diving medical technician certificate, or by a medic under the direction of the specialized dive physician, on each diver immediately before they enter the compression chamber and immediately after they exit it after decompression;
(c) at least two diving bells are available, each of which
(i) is capable of sustaining the lives of the divers in it and protecting them against hypothermia for at least 24 hours,
(ii) is equipped with an emergency locating device whose signals the marine installation or structure from which the dive operation is carried out, and all rescue vessels on standby, are equipped to receive and interpret,
(iii) has suitable protective devices fitted to its main umbilical to control loss of atmospheric pressure in the diving bell if any of the components in the umbilical are ruptured, and
(iv) has its internal atmosphere continuously monitored for contaminants and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels by both a primary and secondary monitoring system for the duration of each dive, with the data displayed both in the diving bell and at the dive control station, and the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels being recorded at least hourly;
(d) the relative humidity in all living chambers is maintained between 40% and 60% at all depths, regardless of the number of divers in the chamber;
(e) no pressurization is scheduled to last more than 28 days; and
(f) a hyperbaric evacuation system that includes the following is readily available for the evacuation and reception of all divers:
(i) a hyperbaric reception facility, and
(ii) self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboats that are equipped with a life support package sufficient to sustain the lives of the divers and for which a mating trial with the reception facility has been conducted.
Marginal note:Dive record
173 (1) Every dive contractor must make and sign a record that sets out, in respect of each dive carried out under its direction or control,
(a) the date and location of the dive;
(b) the names of all divers, standby divers and dive supervisors;
(c) the task carried out;
(d) a list of the tools and equipment used that includes, in respect of each piece of equipment that is part of the diving apparatus, its type and serial number;
(e) the breathing mixture used;
(f) the time the diver began their descent from the surface;
(g) the maximum depth attained;
(h) the time spent at the maximum depth;
(i) the time the diver began their ascent from the maximum depth;
(j) the time the diver reached the surface;
(k) the surface interval, in the case of a repetitive dive;
(l) the type of decompression carried out and the decompression table used;
(m) the environmental conditions during the dive; and
(n) any remarks, including with respect to any unusual occurrences during the dive.
Marginal note:Retention of record
(2) The dive contractor must retain the record for five years after the day on which the dive is completed.
Marginal note:Retention of recordings
(3) The dive contractor must retain all recordings referred to in paragraphs 171(3)(c) and 172(1)(q) for 48 hours after the diver has returned to the surface or living chamber, as the case may be, or any longer period that is necessary to enable the operator to investigate an occupational disease, accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence under subsection 205.017(2) of the Act.
PART 33Related Amendments to the Newfoundland Offshore Certificate of Fitness Regulations
174 [Amendments]
175 [Amendments]
PART 34Coming into Force
Marginal note:January 1, 2022
176 These Regulations come into force on January 1, 2022, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.
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