Elgas
An important difference between shipping and other forms of freight transport is that sailing personnel live for longer periods on their ship. As a result, these people might also be exposed to air pollution sources (for example: exhaust gases, cargo vapours, pollution originating from harbours) during their free time. For example, for inland shipping it is common that children sail along during holidays. Unfortunately, we have insufficient knowledge about the indoor air quality in the accommodations of ships.
Effects of Air Quality on Health in Accommodations of Ships: monitoring of environmental parameters, risk analysis and recommendations
An important difference between shipping and other forms of freight transport is that sailing personnel live for longer periods on their ship. As a result, these people might also be exposed to air pollution sources such as exhaust gases, cargo vapours or pollution originating from harbours during their free time. For example, for inland shipping it is common that children sail along during holidays. Unfortunately, we have insufficient knowledge about the indoor air quality in the accommodations of ships.
A joint team of the Antwerp Maritime Academy, KdG University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and VITO aims to evaluate the health risks of sailing personnel in the living areas on board of ships. To realize that ambition, the ELGAS-project will realize the following objectives.
• Develop a measuring system that informs sailing personnel in real time about health risks
• Deploy the system on multiple ships
• Get an insight into the air quality in the accommodations of ships
• If needed, make proposals to improve air quality
• Involve other organisations in the realization of our goals
