Thirty years' close assocIatIOn with the Oil Industry has been a fascinating and stimulating experience; fascinating because the Oil Industry itself is so full of interest and stimulating because of the challenges which changes in technology have brought about. No longer is oil easily obtainable and no longer can oil be found in exotic regions of the globe. On the contrary, if oil is required it is more likely to be found in the bitter Alaskan ice-fields or in the cold depths of the North Sea, where environments are hostile to man and a challenge to technology. Man's own activities in such hostile environments have created new problems and new hazards. The saga of oil exploration and production in the North Sea has been and continues to be written, but little has been recorded of the hazards inflicted on the men who are faced with the task of implementing this new technology. This book is almost a medical history of the North Sea activities and provides information gained by hard won experience to those involved not only in the North Sea but in any offshore oil operation, wherever it may be.

1 Introduction.- Geological Exploration.- Drilling Rigs.- Exploratory Drilling.- Development.- Production.- Communications and Transport.- Hazards.- Costs of Offshore Operations.- Implications for the Doctor.- 2 Legal Aspects of Safety, Health and Welfare on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.- The Continental Shelf Doctrine.- Safety, Health and Welfare Legislation on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.- Summary.- References.- Schedule of Principal Legislation Governing Safety, Health and Welfare Offshore in France, The Netherlands and Norway.- 3 Pre-placement and Periodic Medical Examinations.- Pre-placement Examinations.- Periodic Examinations.- 4 Provision of Back-up Services.- Mobile Intensive Care Teams.- Offshore Disasters.- 5 Offshore Medical Care.- Functions of the Offshore Medic.- Medics in the North Sea.- Medics and Diving.- Medical Facilities and Supplies.- Communications and Transport.- Transporting a Sick or Injured Person.- Standby Vessels.- Medical Services to Ships.- 6 Some Special Problems.- Hydrogen Sulphide.- Methane.- Methanol.- Ethylene Glycol.- Obesity.- Dust.- DrilHng Mud.- Welding.- Noise and Vibration.- Trauma.- Scabies and Other Infestations.- Tropical and Other Endemic Diseases in Immigrants.- Psychological Disturbances.- Drugs and Alcohol.- Partial Drowning and its Treatment.- Hypothermia.- 7 Diving.- Diving Techniques.- Gases Used in Diving.- Decompression Techniques.- Medical Problems.- Professional Bodies Associated with Diving.- Sources of Medical Advice in a Diving Emergency.- Medical Examination of Divers.- Return to Diving Following Decompression Sickness and Other Illnesses.- Flying After Diving.- Transport of a Patient with Decompression Sickness.- Transfer Under Pressure and Hyperbaric Rescue.- Sources of Assistance in a DivingEmergency.- Long-term Effects of Diving.- Drugs Under Pressure.- 8 Catering and Hygiene.- Critical Areas.- Routine Health and Hygiene Inspections.- 9 Dental Problems Offshore.- Dental Standards.- Dental First Aid.- Dental Problems in Diving.- Prosthetics.- Summary.- 10 Investigation of Fatal and Non-Fatal Accidents.- The Fatal Accident.- The Non-Fatal Accident.- Organisation of Accident Investigation.- Accident History.- Diving Accidents.- Transport of Bodies.- Conclusion.- Appendices.- 1 Drugs and Dressings for Offshore Installation Sick Bays.- 2 List of Drugs, Dressings and Equipment Required Under Scale III of the Merchant Shipping (Medical Scales) Regulations 1974.- 3 Medical Supplies to be Kept at Diving Sites.- 4 Medical Equipment for Offshore Emergencies.- 5 Contents of Medical Chest for Use in Offshore Disasters.- 6 List of Extra Medical Equipment to be Kept on Rigs for Use in Major Disasters.- 7 Major Items of Furniture and Medical Equipment for Offshore Installations.- 8 Addresses of Societies and Committees Connected With Diving.- 9 Training Programme for Rig Medics.- 10 Routine Offshore Hygiene Inspection.- 11 Extract from the Offshore Installations (Operational Safety, Heakh and Welfare) Regulations 1976: ST. 1976. no. 1019.- 12 Extract from the Norwegian Regulations Regarding Medical Facilities on Offshore Installations: Royal Decree, 25 November 1977, Relating to Hygiene, Medical Equipment, Medicines, etc., on Installations for Production, etc., of Submarine Petroleum Resources, etc.- 13 Control of Noise and Vibration on Offshore Installations (from Offshore Installations: Guidance on Design and Construction, HMSO).- 14 First Aid and Paramedical Training of Divers. Guidelines Compiled by European Undersea Biomedical Society.- 15 DMAC Aide Mémoire forRecording and Transmission of Medical Data to Shore.- 16 Sources of Assistance in Diving Emergencies.- 17 TheUseof Drugs Under Pressure.- 18 Recommended Contents of First-Aid Boxes in Lifeboats and Survival Capsules.