# Question For those Who Have Made Dives Through the Suspended Oil-Dispersant Mix



## Capt Rick (Jan 6, 2008)

For those of you havemade divesand found yourself going in and out of the suspended oil - dispersant mix,did this do any damage to your dive gear and was it difficult to clean up your gear after the dive?

Capt Rick

Niceville, FL

ecreef.org


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## NEPTNOON (May 28, 2008)

I made two dives and noticed no equipment issues during or after


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## spear em (Oct 4, 2007)

yea i dove through a suspended oil pocket @ 80 ft. my gear did fine but mywet suit " just purchased at MBT" is coming apart and it will roll up in small beads when you rake your fingers across it. I loved that wet suit and it was the best one i ever had. but again what is the price of a wet suit when i see my brothers that own dive shops and charter boats having to face what they do now.


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## bmoore (Oct 10, 2007)

Dove through a "plume/slick"..top 25 feet of water ...didn't notice any effects on equipment.

Water was crystal clear under the top layer of oil/dispersants.

This was SW about two weeks ago.Have not been since.


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## Evensplit (Oct 2, 2007)

Oil / petroleum/ hydrocarbons will destroy neoprene products pretty quickly, and there's not really much you can do to save them once they've been contaminated as Brad has found out. 

Rubber parts such aso-rings, diaphragms, hoses and mouthpieces will likely need to be replaced at an accelerated rate if not immediately. 

Some plastics andlower grade silicone productsmay be distorted or melt after a shortexposure, especially if exposed to heat or sunlight.

Don't dive around a slick or sheen, and if you expect that you've been contaminated clean off immediately. Keep a bottle of Dawn detergent handy just in case, and get your gear checked out asap.

Jim

MBT Divers


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Jim, what is the material of constructionin our BC bladders? Mine is a weight integrated Dacor. Thanks


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## Evensplit (Oct 2, 2007)

I have been corrected on my statement that neoprene will dissolve in oil. 

SeaLark pointed out that neoprene was designed to be resistant to oil. 

My statement was based onexperiences with suits in the past that were exposed to petroleum, and I have no scientific info to back our observations up. Maybe it's an additive in the oil / fuel, or maybe it's something other than neoprene in the suits. 

In any case, I'll edit my statement to: We have observedwetsuits deteriorating quickly after being exposed topetroleum products, even after being cleaned quickly after exposure.

Jim


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## Evensplit (Oct 2, 2007)

> *H2OMARK (09/06/2010)*Jim, what is the material of constructionin our BC bladders? Mine is a weight integrated Dacor. Thanks


Not many of the recreational BC's use "bladders" anymore. Most are coated nylon or cordura. BC's seem to do better thana lot of the gear when cleaned well after exposure.


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## WW2 (Sep 28, 2007)

Man, I sure hope no one gets hurt not realizing their gear has been weakened in some manner.


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## seanmclemore (Aug 20, 2008)

i noticed that my frameless atomic mask was considerably softer when putting my gear up after cleaning it up. i compaired it to my backup mask same make/model and it is noticably different in the "strength" of the area that seals around my face. i was going to make that a comment on one of the other threads that i was crucified for saying that i dove through suspended oil at 60', but didn't want to sound like i was "making more stuff up". after reading that you guys are noticing breakdown of some gear, i'm going to retire that mask...its got many hundred dives on it anyways.

cheers


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## Mr. Bostin (Dec 8, 2009)

has anyone seen problems with their bands after being in oil?


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