Skip to content

Diver Finger Injury – Scrubber Blower Fan

What happened

A diver suffered a minor hand injury when he put his hand on part of a fan which should not have been exposed. The incident occurred on a vessel carrying out mobilization; a diver was in the starboard bell carrying out bell checks. He placed his hand on the soda sorb fan motor housing (scrubber).  The fan motor was running to improve air flow through the bell. There was no soda sorb canister attached leaving a small exposure point to the fan which nipped his thumb causing a small injury.

What went wrong

  • Fan not switched off;
  • Risk assessment did not include hazard posed by the rotating fan, nor the requirement to switch off the fan when the canister was removed.

What our member did next

  • Reviewed equipment design: considered adding a guard (seen as undesirable as this would restrict gas flow) or altering the design to include an automatic cut off (this may fail);
  • Updated appropriate company risk assessment to include requirement to switch off the fan when the canister was removed during bell entry;
  • Appropriate signs or labels were also considered.

Another solution may be to fit an empty cannister to the fan. This would protect the diver’s fingers from the fan while not wasting any CO2 absorbent. 

Members may wish to refer to:

Safety Event

Published: 3 October 2022
Download: IMCA SF 22/22

Relevant life-saving rules:
IMCA Safety Flashes
Submit a Report

IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of all. The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on Members sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Please consider adding safetyreports@imca-int.com to your internal distribution list for safety alerts or manually submitting information on incidents you consider may be relevant. All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate.

IMCA’s store terms and conditions (https://www.imca-int.com/legal-notices/terms/) apply to all downloads from IMCA’s website, including this document.

IMCA makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained in the documents it publishes, but IMCA shall not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained. The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual’s or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.