1) No person shall use, order or permit the use of any compression chamber or bell unless –
a) it has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the health and safety standard incorporated into these Regulations in terms of section 44 of the Act;
b) it has been manufactured under the supervision of an approved inspection authority; and
c) he or she is in possession of a certificate of manufacture issued by the manufacturer in which is certified that the compression chamber or bell has been designed, manufactured and tested in every respect in accordance with the standard contemplated in subregulation (I)@): Provided that such certificate of manufacture shall be countersigned by the approved inspection authority as evidence that the design of such vessel has been manufactured, tested and verified in accordance with the relevant standard.
2) An employer shall ensure that every compression chamber –
a) has an uncontaminated supply of breathing mixture, sufficient for one complete therapeutic compression treatment, available in storage cylinders or other suitable vessels at the compression chamber;
b) is equipped with. pressure relid devices which are set so as to prevent the internal pressure in any compartment from rising in excess of ten percent above the maximum intended working pressure and which are designed to automatically close when the internal pressure returns to the intended working pressure after pressure relief;
c) is equipped with a breathing point for each occupant for ready use during a compression operation, as well as suitable means for avoiding oxygen build-up in the chamber;
d) is provided with portholes of sufficient size to enable everyone in the chamber to be observed from outside;
e) is equipped for adequate humidity control, heating, cooling and illumination of the interior;
f) is equipped with the necessary valves, gauges and other fittings which indicate and control the internal pressures of each compartment from outside the chamber;
g) is provided with a two-way oral communication system between persons outside and inside the chamber;
h) is designed to limit the risk of fire and equipped to extinguish a fire in the interior;
i) has a minimum design pressure rating of six hundred kPa for diving operations not exceeding a depth of ninety metres: Provided that for diving operations in excess of ninety metres, the design pressure rating of the compression chamber shall be equivalent to the maximum depth of the diving operation: Provided further that where a closed diving bell is used which is equipped to undergo recompression at the surface equivalent to the depth of the diving operation, the minimum design pressure rating of the compression chamber shall be six hundred kPa;
j) is designed to prevent opening under pressure and, where necessary, is equipped with interlocks for this purpose;
k) is equipped for operating all installed locking devices from both sides of a closed hatch;
l) is so designed that, where a closed bell is used, a person can be transferred under pressure from the compression chamber to the bell and from the bell to the compression chamber; and
m) is fitted with adequate equipment and reserve facilities to supply and maintain the correct breathing mixture to everyone inside the chamber.
3) An employer shall ensure that every closed diving bell –
a) is equipped in such a manner that a diver is able to enter and leave it without difficulty;
b) is equipped with doors that act as pressure seals and that may be opened from either side;
c) is equipped with such valves, gauges and other fittings made of suitable materials as are necessary to indicate and control the pressure within the bell and to indicate to the occupants and to the diving supervisor the external pressure on the bell;
d) is fitted with equipment and reserve facilities which are adequate for supplying the correct breathing mixture to persons inside or working from the bell;
e) is fitted with an oral communication system which enables contact to be maintained between a diver who leaves the bell, a person remaining in it and the place on the surface from which the diving operation is carried out;
f) is fitted with equipment for lighting and heating the bell;
g) contains adequate first-aid facilities and is fitted with lifting equipment by which an unconscious or injured diver can be hoisted into the bell by a person inside the bell;
h) is equipped in such a manner that –
i) it can send signals through the water for speedy location in an emergency; and
ii) the lives of persons trapped in it can be sustained for at least twenty four hours;
i) is used in conjunction with lifting gear which enables the bell, without excessive lateral, vertical or rotational movement, to be lowered or raised to or maintained at the depth from which the diving operations are to be carried on; and is provided with equipment by which it can be brought to the surface without using the main lifting gear: Provided that where such equipment involves the shedding of weights, such weights shall be capable of being shed by a person inside the bell and the equipment shall be so designed as to prevent accidental shedding.
4) An employer shall ensure that every compression chamber or bell is inspected, tested and maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Health and Safety Standard used in the design and manufacture of such compression chamber Or bell :
Provided that where such code or Health and Safety Standard contains no such provisions the inspections, tests and maintenance shall be carried out by a person competent to carry out such inspection, tests and maintenance by virtue of his or her training and experience as provided for in the recognised Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classification of Submersibles and Diving Systems: Provided further that where an employer proposes to execute repairs to a compression chamber or bell he or she shall ascertain beforehand from an approved inspection authority the requirements with respect to such repairs and carry out such repairs under the supervision of an approved inspection authority.