%P 947-952
%V 393
%A A.N. Azmarini
%A S.A. Majid
%A S.H. Zakaria
%A S.A. Sulaiman
%T A study on IAQ in a welding laboratory
%C Malacca
%J Applied Mechanics and Materials
%L scholars3391
%O cited By 0; Conference of International Conference on Advances in Mechanical Engineering 2013, ICAME 2013 ; Conference Date: 28 August 2013 Through 29 August 2013; Conference Code:100427
%R 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.393.947
%D 2013
%K Educational environment; HSE; IAQ; Indoor air quality; Occupational health; Occupational health and safety; Room temperature; Welding station, Electric welding; Hazards; Indoor air pollution; Industrial hygiene; Mechanical engineering; Welding, Carbon dioxide
%X Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has become an important occupational health and safety concern in educational environment at institutions of higher learning. In a survey conducted on a polytechnic in Malaysia, many of the students and lecturers expressed feeling of discomfort and uneasy due to resulting smoke from the welding activities while attending the workshop session. They felt that the room temperature and humidity also contributed to discomfort. Consequently, students had difficulties to concentrate and focus on their learning. The objective of this study was to determine the indoor air quality of a selected welding laboratory in the polytechnic comprising arc and gas welding stations. The important IAQ parameters considered in this study were the dry bulb air temperature, relative humidity, CO2 level and dust particles. Measurements were conducted using commercial IAQ instruments. From the study it was found that the levels of dust particles was higher than the recommended limit at times in the arc welding station. The CO2 level was observed acceptable in both welding stations. On relative humidity, a mixed result was found. Overall, the results implied that the welding laboratory require attention in meeting acceptable Indoor Air Quality. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.