The most dangerous job – the underside of deep-sea divers' lives

The article explores the work of saturation divers, who spend up to 28 days in decompression chambers under pressure equivalent to depths of 90–300 meters. Due to the risks of decompression sickness and nitrogen narcosis, they breathe a helium-oxygen mixture, which alters their voice. The material is based on data from IFLScience.

The article describes one of the most extreme professions in the world: the work of saturation divers who service offshore oil rigs. These specialists spend up to 28 days in sealed decompression chambers on support vessels, where pressure is maintained to match diving depths from 90 to 300 meters. Routine daily ascents to the surface are impossible due to the risk of decompression sickness, where nitrogen dissolved under pressure forms bubbles in the blood during rapid ascent. To avoid nitrogen narcosis—a state similar to severe intoxication with hallucinations—nitrogen in the breathing mixture is replaced with helium (heliox). Due to helium's physical properties, the vocal cords change resonance, and divers communicate with a characteristic 'Donald Duck voice' throughout their shift. The material is based on data from IFLScience.