Contamination Risk for Underwater Divers (CRUD)

We are excited to announce that the Office of Naval Research Undersea Medicine program and Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific has kicked off a biannual Contamination Risk for Underwater Divers (CRUD) working group workshop series for CRUD Stakeholders. Our next meeting in the series will feature Dr. Antar Jutla as the keynote speaker on September 18, 2025, (Thursday) 1200 EST / 0900 PST via Microsoft Teams. Please save the date. We look forward to having you participate in this one-hour workshop. Contact kara.c.sorensen.civ@us.navy.mil for more information or if you would like to participate in this event and be sure to check back on this page for future events if you can't join us for this one.

 About our Guest Speaker:

Dr. Antar Jutla is an Environmental Engineering Sciences professor at the University of Florida Gainesville, FL. He received Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Tufts University, Massachusetts. The central theme of his research is to understand the role of humans in the hydrological cycle or, in other words, the coupling between natural and human systems. Within this context, the bulk of his research has focused on quantifying the influence of weather, climatic and environmental processes on the abundance and presence of infectious pathogens and, after that, predicting the risk of the outbreak of water-related diseases in the human population. Dr. Jutla has developed a highly interdisciplinary platform- Geohealth and Hydrology Laboratory that specializes in the use of satellite remote sensing data to develop algorithms to identify complex spatio-temporal patterns to address issues of changing variability in climatic processes on the emergence of pathogenic niches.

 Understanding the Risks of Diving in Contaminated Water

Water pollution is a global issue. With relatively few exceptions most water bodies contain some level of contaminant loading burden (biologic and/or chemical). While the ability to evaluate and address the potential threat, via improvements to sensors and PPE equipment, continues to improve, our ability to anticipate and understand the threat remains a critical issue.

The Contamination Risk for Underwater Divers (CRUD) working group is a collaborative effort between the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific) to bring together experts within academia, the private sector, and Government officials who are charged with mitigating potential adverse health effects related to diving in contaminated waters and or have expertise related to understanding risks associated with contaminated water exposure.

 Our Mission

- To better understand the past, present, and future initiatives related to environmental water quality contaminants, safe exposure limits, and environmental scenarios.

- To develop solutions for addressing CWD issues that are scientifically based, realistically achievable, and designed to protect diving personnel.

 Working Group Objectives

1. To foster future collaborations and networking by bringing together Stakeholders from diverse
backgrounds who share interest in water quality and associated safety threats posed by contaminated water
2. To better understand past, present, and future initiatives related to environmental water quality
contaminants, safe exposure limits, and environmental scenarios.
3. Develop solutions for addressing CWD issues that are scientifically based, realistically achievable, and
designed to protect diving personnel.
4. Identification and evaluation of critical aspects of chemical and biological hazards at dive sites that may
drive potential risk associated with diving in contaminated water.
5. Sharing of known impacts, potential challenges and solutions, and experiences, including lessons learned,
that might lead to synergies amongst CWD stakeholders going forward.
6. Establishing a CWD stakeholder network to foster a more rapid generation of solutions and enable transition pathways.

CAPT Joy Dierks, MD, MPH, MSTI
Program Manager - Deep Submergence Biomedical Development Program
Naval Sea Systems Command Code 00CM
Email: joy.u.dierks.mil@us.navy.mil

Dr. Sandra Chapman
Undersea Medicine and Performance Program Officer
ONR, Code 342
Email: sandra.e.chapman2.civ@us.navy.mil

Dr. Kara C. Sorensen
Director, Human Research Protection Program
Senior Scientist
NIWC Pacific, Code 71750
Email: kara.c.sorensen.civ@us.navy.mil