Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine Hamburg (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany.
BG Verkehr (German BG for transport and traffic), Hamburg, Germany.
PLoS One. 2020 Apr 8;15(4):e0231309. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231309. eCollection 2020.
During a sea voyage, crew members of vessels are permanently exposed to physical stress caused by noise, vibration and heat. This study aims to describe the extent of the physical influences on board container ships and the resulting stress.
Up to four scientific investigators accompanied six sea voyages on container ships under German management. Workplace and person-related measurements for noise, vibration and climatic parameters were carried out on the vessels during the three different voyage episodes (port stay, river passage and sea passage).
The interviewed seafarers reported, in decreasing order, the level of psychological stress due to vibration (80.6%), noise (71.8%) and, much less, heat (45.7%) in the workplace. In terms of workplace-related physical measurements, the highest noise levels were found in the engine room (104 dB (A)), in the workshop (81 dB (A)) and on deck (77 dB (A)), irrespective of the voyage episode. Some noise measurements in the recreational area revealed levels above the threshold. All measured 180 vibration values were below the relevant threshold limits-with the highest values in the engine room (62 mm/s2), followed by the workshop (37 mm/s2) and the engine control room (34 mm/s2). In terms of thermal comfort, none of the measured climatic parameters differed significantly between the voyage episodes. According to the person-related physical measurements, the noise exposure was particularly pronounced among the engine room personnel with an average noise level of 96 dB (A) (often during cleaning, painting and repair work). In contrast, the deck crew and nautical officers were respectively exposed to an average level of 83 dB (A) and 77 dB (A) at work.
A relevant stress level due to physical loads was detectable in the present study. As ship crews are exposed to the physical influences on board for 7 days a week over several months, further research is recommended to assess the long-term health effects for seafarers.
在航海过程中，船舶船员会受到噪声、振动和热等物理因素的持续影响。本研究旨在描述集装箱船上的物理影响程度以及由此产生的压力。
多达四名专业调查员陪同六艘德国管理的集装箱船进行了六次海上航行。在船舶上进行了三个不同航程（港口停留、内河航行和海上航行）的工作场所和人员相关的噪声、振动和气候参数测量。
接受采访的海员报告称，工作场所的振动（80.6%）、噪声（71.8%）和热（45.7%）对心理压力的影响程度依次降低。就与工作场所相关的物理测量而言，机舱（104 dB（A））、车间（81 dB（A））和甲板（77 dB（A））的噪声水平最高，无论航程如何。娱乐区的一些噪声测量值超过了阈值。所有测量的 180 个振动值均低于相关阈值限制，其中机舱（62 mm/s2）最高，其次是车间（37 mm/s2）和发动机控制室（34 mm/s2）。就热舒适度而言，各航程之间的测量气候参数无显著差异。根据人员相关的物理测量，机舱人员的噪声暴露尤其明显，平均噪声水平为 96 dB（A）（通常在清洁、油漆和维修工作期间）。相比之下，甲板工作人员和航海人员的平均工作噪声水平分别为 83 dB（A）和 77 dB（A）。
本研究中可检测到因物理负荷导致的相关压力水平。由于船员每周 7 天、每月数天都要在船上承受这些物理影响，因此建议进一步研究以评估对海员的长期健康影响。
