As part of its interest in community service and environmental development, the Community Service Committee of PUA’s Faculty of Engineering organized an awareness seminar entitled “Safety measures to prevent suffocation incidents in confined spaces”. The seminar was delivered in the Faculty Engineering by Prof. Dr. Alaa Al-Sharqawi, a globally-renowned figure and technical fellow of FCA, USA in the Field of thermal systems.

The lecture tackled the two types of suffocation problems; suffocation in dry deep wells. and suffocation in cars. The first type, which is suffocation in confined spaces such as deep wells or manholes, is caused by the lack of oxygen and the presence of toxic gases. Examples from previous accidents, and the safety measures required to address the problem, were given.

The second type, however; which deals with suffocation in cars, is caused by leakage of carbon monoxide gas. Several accidents have been reported recently due to a lack of understanding of how vehicles are used. Thus, allowing high concentrations of carbon dioxide to build up inside the passenger compartment. Accordingly, the car manufacturing companies had to address such problem by taking special design measures. An acceptance test was later made to ensure whether carbon dioxide leakage was reduced during the use of the vehicle.

The awareness-raising seminar was attended by a number of faculty members, teaching assistants, and some students. During the lecture, many questions and interventions were raised, through which the lecturer focused on the importance of identifying and raising awareness of the problem at all possible levels. In order to save lives by following simple procedures and instructions.

At the end of the seminar, the Dean thanked Prof. Dr. Alaa Al-Sharqawi, on this valuable seminar and gave him a certificate of honor in appreciation of his efforts.