Airport Personnel Research Articles

Reprint of ‘Evaluation of Scattered Radiation Emitted From X-ray Security Scanners on Occupational Dose to Airport Personnel’

Based on security issues and regulations airports are provided with luggage cargo scanners. These scanners utilize ionizing radiation that in principle present health risks toward humans. The study aims to investigate the amount of backscatter produced by passenger luggage and cargo toward airport personnel who are located at different distances from the scanners. To approach our investigation a Thermo Electron Radeye-G probe was used to quantify the backscattered radiation measured in terms of dose-rate emitted from airport scanners, Measurements were taken at the entrance and exit positions of the X-ray tunnel at three different distances (0, 50, and 100cm) for two different scanners; both scanners include shielding curtains that reduce scattered radiation. Correlation was demonstrated using the Pearson coefficient test. Measurements confirmed an inverse relationship between dose rate and distance. An estimated occupational accumulative dose of 0.88mSv/y, and 2.04mSv/y were obtained for personnel working in inspection of carry-on, and cargo, respectively. Findings confirm that the projected dose of security and engineering staff are being well within dose limits.

Evaluation of scattered radiation emitted from X-ray security scanners on occupational dose to airport personnel

Based on security issues and regulations airports are provided with luggage cargo scanners. These scanners utilize ionizing radiation that in principle present health risks toward humans. The study aims to investigate the amount of backscatter produced by passenger luggage and cargo toward airport personnel who are located at different distances from the scanners. To approach our investigation a Thermo Electron Radeye-G probe was used to quantify the backscattered radiation measured in terms of dose-rate emitted from airport scanners, Measurements were taken at the entrance and exit positions of the X-ray tunnel at three different distances (0, 50, and 100cm) for two different scanners; both scanners include shielding curtains that reduce scattered radiation. Correlation was demonstrated using the Pearson coefficient test. Measurements confirmed an inverse relationship between dose rate and distance. An estimated occupational accumulative dose of 0.88mSv/y, and 2.04mSv/y were obtained for personnel working in inspection of carry-on, and cargo, respectively. Findings confirm that the projected dose of security and engineering staff are being well within dose limits.

Interactive Exploration of 3D Scanned Baggage.

An interactive visualization system can support volumetric data exploration in airport security screenings by addressing the challenges unique to the baggage inspection. The proposed system includes a set of interaction techniques that combine the direct manipulation of voxels and their interactive visualization. The system's final tools and GUI design incorporate feedback from airport personnel and were validated by real-world users in terms of effectiveness and ease of use.

Small regional airports operation: unnecessary burdens or key to regional development

Abstract Regional airports represent not only important points of access to remote locations and parts of country with limited or lengthy ground access but also have significant economic impact on the surrounding region. On the other hand, every public airport with commercial operations must fulfil strict requirements with respect to international safety and security requirements, including operational readiness of the airport infrastructure and airport personnel qualifications. These requirements, which are virtually the same for small and large airports results in high operational costs. Small airports have problem to break even not only due to low throughput volumes but also limited other resources of income, e.g. non-aeronautical services, car park fees; which are substantial part of middle and large airport revenues. It is considered that a small airport with annual throughput under 200 000 passengers is not able to cover its operational costs and needs to be subsidized. At the same time, airports are important stimulators and catalysts of regional economic growth and development. Determining whether the indirect, induced and catalytic impact of an airport on a region outweigh the cost of regional airport subsidies would contribute to informed regional development policy and decision-making.

Comet assay in salivary leukocytes: evaluation of early effects of air pollution exposure in pre-school children.

Comet assay in salivary leukocytes: evaluation of early effects of air pollution exposure in pre-school children.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics in Identification of Aircraft–Bird Strikes

A primary concern for human–wildlife interactions is the potential impacts resulting from wildlife (primarily birds) collisions with aircraft. The identification of species responsible for collisions with aircraft is necessary so that airport management can develop effective strategies to reduce strikes with those species. Of particular importance in developing such strategies is the identification of regional, seasonal, and temporal patterns in collisions with unidentified bird species that may limit the effectiveness of regional habitat management to reduce bird strikes. The authors analyzed 105,529 U.S. civil aviation strike records from 1990 to 2012 in the FAA's National Wildlife Strike Database to examine patterns of collisions involving unidentified birds. Factors that affected identification were airport certification class, FAA region, mass of struck species, state species richness (if damage was reported), and interactive effects between the last four factors. Identification varied by region and declined with increasing species richness; this identification was greater for general aviation (GA) airports and the mass of struck species, especially when damage was reported. Species identification might be improved by increasing reporting efforts relative to species richness, especially by GA airport managers and operations staff, who may have a higher propensity of reporting bird strikes, and by collecting more field-based data on avian populations. The results can provide guidance for the development of airport management and personnel training.

Kajian Kecukupan dan Kompetensi Personel Bandara UPT Kelas Utama Han Nadim – Batam

Flight conditions in Indonesia is currently experiencing very significant growth. In accordance with the terms of the aviation world, which is changing around the world in turn requires increasing the competence of human resources in the field of aviation. Human resources competence of aviation (airport personnel) is an important part in supporting aviation safety, it is a key requirement in the implementation of aviation services suppressing the accurence of aviation accidents.Systems and procedures, competence technicians, adequate facilities and support a favorable working environment in one Sigle unit. Therefore the adequacy of human resources personnel who operate and maintain facilities that have licensed some of these officers have not had licensed/ceriificate of competency, than the minimum requirements of human resources.

Tularemia Outbreak at a Metropolitan Airport, Texas

A jackrabbit die-off near a metropolitan airport was observed by an airport contractor. Further investigation determined that this die-off was probably due to epizootic tularemia. Because of proximity to areas of heavy human traffic and fears of transmission of tularemia to humans, the local health district and department of emergency management organized a multiagency response involving local animal control, environmental health, public health, law enforcement, and airport personnel, in addition to state and federal agencies. The tularemia epizootic subsequently ended, and no cases of human tularemia occurred. In our after-action analysis, we identified several lessons learned: the importance of animal illness surveillance, which can serve as a warning for potential human illness and epidemic; the usefulness of pre-event planning, training, and exercises in facilitating a coordinated response; the usefulness of an effective communication system with the healthcare community; the importance of responders being familiar with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Category A bioterrorism agents when considering a rapid response; and the fact that attempts at environmental control may result in perturbations in animal populations with unintended consequences.

Applications of Geographic Information System in Airfield Infrastructure System Management and Maintenance

New geographic information system (GIS) applications in airfield infrastructure system management and maintenance are discussed. Aviation activity is steadily increasing, and U.S. airport facilities must provide higher service quality and must increase capacities to accommodate projected aviation growth. In response to the increasing requirements from passengers and airliners, efficiency is the most important factor in airport operations and airfield facilities maintenance. Airport authorities, particularly at large commercial airports, increasingly understand the benefits in using GIS-based programs to plan and manage their airport facilities. An integrated GIS system combined with Geographic Positioning Systems and personal digital assistants provides a powerful tool that helps airport operators and engineers improve regular airfield inspection, management, and reporting processes, resulting in a more efficient airport operation system. GIS applications associated with other tools are introduced, and airport personnel are given several easy-to-learn GIS approaches and techniques. This is intended to help airports improve current airfield facility inspection processes and maintenance mechanisms. An implementation plan achieved at Kaohsiung International Airport in Taiwan was used to demonstrate how an integrated GIS system can help airport operators and engineers receive real-time facilities data, evaluate deterioration rates, and make policy decisions on maintenance and rehabilitation within a short time. This implementation plan is designed on a step-by-step basis that allows airport personnel to easily follow and apply the system to airport practice. Another example carried out at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) in Utah was used to show GIS applications in facilitating skid resistance evaluation of runway surfaces. By adding projection data to the airport image, SLC airport maintenance crews can graphically evaluate friction capacities of Runway 16L-34R and investigate potential factors that result in a reduction of skid resistance. Up-to-date GIS application approaches are shown so that airport personnel may develop a suitable GIS system that enables airports to improve their operation systems and increase aviation safety.

Development and evolution of a crisis support service at an international airport

In response to increasing concerns about the impact of disaster recovery work on responders, Pearson International Airport (PIA) in Toronto established Canada's first airport based 'critical incident stress team' in the fall of 1989. The original aim was to support the local airport community particularly in the event of an air disaster. Over the 17 years of operation, the goals and services of the team have shifted, founded on emerging theory and evidenced based practices and in keeping with the changes in emergency management systems. The service component of the team expanded beyond emergency workers and airport personnel to families and friends of those affected by disaster; the nature of the service became broader and more prevention focused. In addition, a research and training component has been added with the intent of better addressing the needs of those affected by disaster.

Indirect Flight of an African Bat to Israel: An Example of the Potential for Zoonotic Pathogens to Move between Continents

The transmission of harmful pathogens during commercial air flights is an increasing health concern. A potential, yet relatively overlooked source of zoonotic infectious diseases involves collisions of birds and bats with aircraft and long distance transport of their carcasses. We report a case of aerial transportation of the remains of an African fruit bat over three continents, following a collision with an aircraft, and demonstrate the relative ease with which zoonotic pathogens, such as rabies virus or other viruses associated with bats, may cross national boundaries and continents even. Improper handling and disposal of animal remains by airport personnel, may lead to exposure of both humans and local fauna to exotic pathogens. This in turn may trigger an epidemic with potentially devastating results.

Occupational exposure in airport personnel: Characterization and evaluation of genotoxic and oxidative effects

Airport personnel can be exposed to several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from jet fuel vapours, jet fuel combustion products and diesel exhaust. The aim of this study was to characterize the exposure and to evaluate genotoxic and oxidative effects in airport personnel ( n = 41) in comparison with a selected control group ( n = 31). Environmental monitoring of exposure was carried out analysing 23 PAHs on air samples collected from airport apron, airport building and terminal/office area during 5 working days. The urinary 1-hydroxy-pyrene (1-OHP) following 5 working days, was used as biomarker of exposure. Genotoxic effects and early direct-oxidative DNA damage were evaluated by micronucleus (MN) and Fpg-modified comet assay on lymphocytes and exfoliated buccal cells, and by chromosomal aberrations (CA) and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) analyses. For comet assay, tail moment (the product of comet relative tail intensity and length) values from Fpg-enzyme treated cells (TMenz) and from untreated cells (TM) were used as parameters of oxidative and direct DNA damage, respectively. We found 27,703 μg/m 3 total PAHs in airport apron, 17,275 μg/m 3 in airport building and 9,494 μg/m 3 in terminal/office area. Urinary OH-pyrene did not show differences between exposed and controls. The exposed group showed a higher mean value of SCE frequency in respect to controls (4.6 versus 3.8) and an increase (1.3-fold) of total structural CA in particular breaks (up to 2.0-fold) and fragments (0.32% versus 0.00%), whereas there were no differences of MN frequency in both cellular types. Comet assay evidenced in the exposed group a higher value in respect to controls of mean TM and TMenz in both exfoliated buccal cells (TM 118.87 versus 68.20, p = 0.001; TMenz 146.11 versus 78.32, p < 0.001) and lymphocytes (TM 43.01 versus 36.01, p = 0.136; TMenz 55.86 versus 43.98, p = 0.003). An oxidative DNA damage was found, for exfoliated buccal cells in the 9.7% and for lymphocytes in the 14.6% of exposed in respect to the absence in controls. Our findings furnish a useful contribution to the characterization of civil airport exposure and suggest the use of comet assay on exfoliated buccal cells to assess the occupational exposure to mixtures of inhalable pollutants at low doses since these cells represent the target tissue for this exposure and are obtained by non-invasive procedure.

94 Examination of various biomarkers measuring genotoxic endpoints from Barcelona airport personnel

94 Examination of various biomarkers measuring genotoxic endpoints from Barcelona airport personnel

The Healing Hand

This article focuses on engineers who are making unique contributions behind the headlines of the World Trade Center disaster. To do the job, engineers at the site had been using technology created by distant colleagues. Excavators, specialized vehicles, and robots are navigating the area, and teams of workers and technologists are slowly removing the concrete and steel shards of the fallen buildings. Robots moved on crawler tracks to carry video and infrared cameras into the ruins. Some worked at the ends of tethers as they dragged power and communications links behind them. High-flashpoint fuels are being discussed as a way of mitigating the damage if all else fails. Additives, for instance, could preclude violent explosions, but they are also likely to make the fuels less efficient. There are also highly sensitive sensors that can detect minute quantities of substances such as explosives, and improved 3D luggage-screening technologies to help airport personnel interpret what they see.

Rapid multivariate curve resolution applied to identification of explosives by ion mobility spectrometry

Ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) are routinely used by airport personnel to screen for explosive residues on luggage, and law enforcement officials use ion mobility spectrometers to screen samples at crime scenes for drugs of abuse. IMS has several advantages when screening which include high sensitivity, low detection limits, and short analysis times. The Barringer Ionscan ® 350, coupled to LabVIEW™ for data acquisition, can collect 50 spectra per second. These features are very important because of the high throughput demanded for screening luggage. Carry-on luggage in airports undergoes screening for explosive residues by swiping a small filter over the surface. The filter is then inserted into the spectrometer and analyzed. Results of the analysis are available in a matter of seconds. The detection method used must be accurate and rapid because of the large number of samples that must be analyzed in short periods. Unfortunately, IMS spectra can contain interferents because of the sample collection method. Rapid temperature programming coupled with chemometrics has been shown as a useful tool for the separation of analytes from interferents. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and cyclotetramethylene tetranitrate (HMX) are nonvolatile explosives. They decompose rapidly upon heating, making traditional analyses by gas chromatography difficult. In this work, PETN and HMX with interfering compounds were analyzed using rapid temperature programming. The Barringer Ionscan ® 350, was modified so that the desorber heater could be programmed and the spectra acquired in real-time. Simple-to-use interative self-modeling mixture analysis (SIMPLISMA) was applied to the data to resolve spectral features that vary with respect to temperature.

International Airports and Pulmonary Thromboembolism.

It is now 24 years since the opening of New Tokyo International Airport. Nippon Medical School New Tokyo International Airport Clinic (Airport Clinic) was opened in December 1992 and is located in terminal 2 of the airport. We have treated 85,545 airport personnel (72.5%), 28,662 passengers (24.3%) and 3,746 other patients (3.2%), a total of 117,953 patients in its 8 years and 4 months of services so far. There were 8,485 non-Japanese patients (7.2%). There were 47 incidents of cardio-pulmonary arrest at the clinic of which 25 were suspected to be caused by pulmonary thromboembolism, otherwise known as the economy-class syndrome. Furthermore, out of the 75 severe and serious cases of pulmonary thromboembolism, there were 50 survivals and 25 fatalities. 14 of these cases were confirmed to be pulmonary thromboembolism while 61 cases were suspected of this disease. The age ranged from 21 to 95 with an average age of 59.1 years and the ratio of male to female patients was 31:44. The age range of the 14 confirmed cases were from 48 to 78 with an average age of 62.0 years and the male to female ratio was 1:13. There were 2 fatalities in the confirmed cases; both were women aged 66 and 69. The age of the 12 survival cases ranged from 48 to 78 with and average age of 61.0 years and the male to female ratio was 1:11. All these patients are now socially rehabilitated. The medical consultation rate was 1 in 4,000, the number of emergency medical care was 1 in 80,000 and the number of fatalities was 1 in 4 million passengers, roughly calculating from the figure of 26 million passengers a year at Narita Airport. The number of fatalities resulting from pulmonary thromboembolism was estimated at 1 in 7.5 million.

Diet, body mass and condition of Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni in South Africa

Anderson, P.C., Kok O.B. & Erasmus, B.H. 1998. Diet, body mass and condition of Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni in South Africa. Ostrich 70(2):112-116. A total of 229 Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni shot by airport personnel as part of their bird control programme, was obtained from the Bloemfontein and Kimberley airports during the 1984/85, 198986 and 1986/87 austral summers. Analysis of stomach contents of non-breeding individuals visiting South Africa's Free State and Northern Cape Provinces indicated that Arthropoda comprise 90% of the diet, with Solifugae (30%), Orthoptera (23%). Chilopoda (20%) and Isoptera (10%) being the most important food items. Vertebrates were virtually absent from the diet. No sex-related dietary differences were found. Lesser Kestrels are opportunistic invertebrate feeders which mainly utilise available and most abundant prey species. Female birds are significantly heavier than males, but the latter maintain higher body fat reserves for the larger part of their stay in South Africa.

US Airways Automates Its Weekend Fleet Assignment

Assigning fleets of aircraft to a weekend schedule is more difficult than assigning them to a weekday schedule. The reason is that we must balance two conflicting objectives. We must meet passenger demand that is different from weekday demand. We must also minimize the costs of realigning airport facilities and personnel that we would incur by changing flight patterns too much. To support US Airways' schedule planners in this balancing act, we built a specialized fleet-assignment model and integrated it into a graphical environment for schedule development. The planners use the system to create safe, profitable, and robust flight plans.

Examination of various biomarkers measuring genotoxic endpoints from Barcelona airport personnel

Three different biomarkers: sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE), micronuclei (MN), and the Comet assay, were used to evaluate different kinds of genetic damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes from 34 male workers at Barcelona airport, exposed to low levels of hydrocarbons and jet fuel derivatives. The control group consisted of 11 unexposed men. We also investigated the ras p21 protein levels in plasma, in order to evaluate whether the ras gene could serve as a suitable potential marker of carcinogenic pollution in occupationally exposed cohorts. SCE and MN analyses failed to detect any statistically significant increase in the airport workers when compared with the controls, and in fact, the frequency of binucleated cells with MN in the exposed group was significantly lower than that obtained in the control. However, slight but significant differences in the mean comet length and genetic damage index were observed between the exposed and control groups when using the Comet assay. There were no statistically significant differences between both groups in p21 plasma levels. Smoking was shown to affect significantly both SCE and high frequency cells (HFC) in the exposed group.

Jane's airports and handling agents, 1995-96. Europe

Jane's Airports and Handling Agents is an in-depth flight planning publication that provides airport contact information, personnel, technical data, restrictions, services and ground handling capabilities. Each guide is available to purchase by region, and contains extensive details of all the major airports worldwide and their handling agents and fixed-base operators. The key contents include: details on over 2,200 airports; IATA/ICAO codes; runway statistics; navigation aids, frequencies, lighting systems and fire/rescue rating; noise abatement, obstructions, fees and charges; Customs and Immigration contacts, ATC, Met Office and AIS telephone numbers; engineering companies, fuelers and caterers; banks and hotels; transportation details; and, more than 4,000 handling agents/FBOs with contact information, personnel and details of passenger, VIP, cargo and livestock handling.