Reston, Va. — The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Coasts, Oceans, Ports & Rivers Institute (ASCE/COPRI) today announced it will conduct a public comment period on its Diver Training Standard for Underwater Investigations professional standard. The public comment period will be held from September 15, 2009 through October 31, 2009.
The purpose of this standard is to increase the level of safety for individuals engaged in underwater investigations as defined by ASCE Manual and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 101, Underwater Investigations: Standard Practice Manual. By establishing diver training requirements, this standard is intended to reduce the risks of diving accidents resulting from inadequate or inappropriate diver training.
Although Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations establish minimum safety requirements for commercial diving operations in the United States, they not provide specific requirements for diver training. Furthermore, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Diver Training Standard does not specifically address the prerequisites, diver training requirements, responsibilities and restrictions unique to the specific diving practices for engineers and technicians performing only underwater engineering investigations.
To participate in the public comment period, contact Lee Kusek, ASCE Codes & Standards Administrator at lkusek@asce.org or 703-295-6176. For more information on this standard, or ASCE’s standards program, please contact Leikny Johnson at ljohnson@asce.org or 703-295-6413.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 146,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.