Lecture 7:Airport Environmental

Impacts

By: Zuliana Ismail

Learning Outcome

Student able to:• Describe the environmental impact of airports

Introduction

• Commercial aviation is experiencing dramatic growth in regions throughout the world.

• However, growth in air travel affects the environment

How does Airport Impact the environment?

Airport & Environment

• Airport operations involve a range of activities that affect the environment.

• This effect can be categorized into three issues which are:

1. Noise Issues

2. Water Quality Issues

3. Air Quality Issues

1. Noise Issues

• Simply, noise is defined as unwanted sound.• Aircraft engine emits noise & this noise has the potential to

affect the quality of life of at least half a million people living close to airports.

• Larger numbers of people would be exposed to the risks of sleep disturbance, annoyance and possible health effects of aircraft noise.

• Therefore, aircraft noise is often the principal focus for community groups nearby the airport that oppose runway expansion.

Noise Impact

• Sleep disturbance• High stress levels• Inability to concentrate• Health effects

How to Reduce Noise?

• The solution are:

A. Noise Mitigation Programme

B. Noise Abatement Procedures

C. Quieter aircraft technology

a)Noise Mitigation

1. Sound insulation programs• Reduced indoor noise levels from aircraft operations By

installing the sound-proofing materials at nearby homes, schools, and hospitals.

• **Sound-proofing materials : windows are mostly made of double-glass, similar to aircraft windows, which provide sound and heat insulation.

2. Sound insulation standards for new construction• Concrete walls are made of cool block bricks with foam in the

middle, which also shield the house against noise and heat.

Challenges: limited funds.

Noise mitigation is an effort to reduce the aircraft noise impact on the community. How??

b) Noise abatement procedures

• Noise abatement (NA) is an action that minimizes impact of noise at airport.

• Most airport that are located very close to community have number of regulations in place designed to reduce noise levels. These regulations include • Aircraft may not fly at certain areas• Use or disuse of certain runways .

• Limiting the number of departures and arrivals per runway during hours of restriction;

• Limit the maximum thrust allowed when flying over certain areas; • Forbidden use of reverse thrust at night on some airports.

Disadvantages of Noise Abatement

• Many operational noise abatement procedures may be easily implemented .

• However, operational restrictions may limit an airport’s capacity, further contributing to airport congestion and travel delays, and to higher airline operating costs.

c) Quieter aircraft technology

• Aircraft manufacturer like Airbus & Boeing need to design and produce quieter engines and airframes.

• The latest large aircraft, the Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 equipped with the engine that can cut noise and emissions.

• The Bombardier C-Series uses Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan engines, which help reduce its noise footprint

2)Water Quality Issues

• Airport operations include many activities likely to result in reducing water quality.

• Those activities include:• Anti-icing of aircraft and airfields;• Fuel /Oil spills

Anti-icing effect

• The anti-icing of aircraft and runway surfaces is required to ensure the safety of passengers.

• However when performed without discharge controls in place, airport anti-icing operations can result in environmental.

• Anti-icing chemical solution used on aircraft are toxic to aquatic life.

• When it is sprayed on aircraft, some of it falls onto the ground, where it mix with melting ice and snow.

• Discharges from deicing operations have the potential to cause fish kills and contamination to surface or ground waters

Alternative

• Newark and John F Kennedy airports have recently embraced infrared anti-icing. The unique thermal de-icing method uses natural gas or propane to produce infrared energy efficiently.

• This energy is focused in an optimal manner to remove frost, snow, ice and water from aircraft surfaces quickly and safely, without adversely affecting the aircraft or ground personnel.

• Infrared process eliminates the need for glycol reducing the environmental impact of de-icing operations.

Fuel/Oil Spills

• Fuel/Oil spills can also lead to environmental damage.

• Most airports are required to develop a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan.

• These requirements are designed to ensure that• Facilities that store oil have planned for and taken measures

to prevent environmental damage resulting from oil spills.

3) Air Quality Issues

• Aircraft engine emissions affecting local air quality.• Major pollutants release by aircraft engine are carbon dioxide

(CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur oxides (SOx), water vapour and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

• These gases, once release into the Earth's atmosphere, will contribute to the Climate Change &

Global Warming.

What is Global Warming?

• Global warming means gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, cfcs, and other pollutants.

• What do you means by greenhouse effects???

Air Quality Issues• When modern jet aircraft burn fuel at

altitudes of 10-12 km the water vapour that is produced is injected into the atmosphere .

• The water vapour then freezes to produce tiny ice particles which form the familiar trails behind aircraft when viewed from the ground. These are known as "contrails".

• They can be long lasting depending on weather conditions and spread to a width of tens of kilometres.

• Contrails could have a greater greenhouse effect.

How to Reduce the impact of Air Pollution?

1. Significant improvements in jet engine design• **Airliner manufacturers are committed to achieving reductions in

both CO2 and NOx emissions with each new generation of design of aircraft engine.

2. Providing electrical power and pre-conditioned air to aircraft at terminal gates allows aircraft to switch off their auxiliary power units (APU), reducing fuel burn and pollutants.

3. Reducing taxiing and queuing times can be achieved by construction of more direct taxiways.

4. Green Airport: Plant a tree (trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen)

5. New Technology

New Technology

• Arlanda has made use of a variety of measures to reduce carbon emissions in the first instance.

• Save energy and offset carbon emissions using aquifer .

• Aquifer is a groundwater reservoir located close to the airport site which pumps cold water to the airport buildings to provide natural cooling.

Stockholm-Arlanda Airport has achieved a "neutrality" rating on ACI Europe's airport carbon accreditation

scheme by offsetting carbon emissions and reducing energy

consumption.

New Technology

On 11 October 2010, London Heathrow Airport achieved an "optimisation" award from the airport carbon accreditation

scheme.