Engine Room Indoor Air Quality Assessment Onboard a Medium-Speed Vessel

Human comfort is important not only in a building but also in the engine room of a ship. This issue has been discussed for a long time to ensure that seafarers onboard ships can work with good performance and comfort. In this assessment, the indoor air quality (IAQ) in the engine room area of 55.2 square meters and 2.54 m high on a medium-sized vessel was investigated. The present IAQ status of this study attempts to provide information in the engine room during the engine running ongoing task. This assessment included visual observations, chemical contaminant parameters (carbon dioxide), and physical condition parameters (air velocity) were measured using a thermal comfort multi-station, TCM. This device was able to record eight indoor parameters, i.e. the air velocity, CO2 level, air pressure, relative humidity, sound level, air temperature, luminance, and globe temperature. The monitoring of CO2 levels in indoor air as well as the air movements in the engine room are used as one part of determining the effectiveness of a ventilation strategy and providing information on indoor air quality in compliance with IAQ standards and guidelines. The recorded data were compared with corresponding parameters in the Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality set by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, Malaysia DOSH 2010, Guide for Crew Habitability on Ships from American Bureau of Shipping, ABS 2016, and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Standard Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality from Air-Conditioning Engineers, ASHRAE 2016. The assessment is conducted to evaluate the exposure of the engine crews to the carbon dioxide contaminant and to recommend further appropriate control measures to prevent or reduce risks. Based on the assessment conducted, it shows that the average 3-h CO2 concentration did not exceed the ceiling point recommended by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, 2010. However, due to the exhaust system leakage factor and the inefficiency of the ventilation in the engine room caused the CO2 gas to accumulate.