Pandemic Hospital in Atatürk Airport Should Be Removed and Broken Runways Must Be Repaired
It is estimated that the number of patients will increase during the covid-19 epidemic that emerged in March 2020 in Turkey, and two pandemic hospitals were built, one near Samandıra Airport on the Anatolian side of Istanbul and the other inside Atatürk Airport on the European side. The hospital on the Anatolian side was built on an empty land in the northwest of Samandıra Airport. The pandemic hospital in Atatürk Airport, on the other hand, was built on the runways 17/35 in the north-south direction, which are active and usable and have electronic navigation and lighting systems that allow landing and take-off in all weathers.
In the decision of the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMI), which is the authority responsible for the location, maintenance, repair and various activities of airports in Turkey, to break the Atatürk Airport runways and build a field hospital on it, Atatürk Airport runways and the newly built Istanbul Airport runways should be in the same direction and Due to the proximity of the two airports to each other, difficulties in the management of flight traffic were cited as the reason. However, Air Traffic Controllers responsible for the management of air traffic, this justification is not true; With the ARR (arrival) and DEP (departure) drawings they will arrange on Jeppesen maps and graphics (where all information for navigation is included), they have proven that all flight traffic in Istanbul Airspace can be safely managed.
Atatürk Airport, whose two runways have been rendered unusable, is still running from the existing 05/23 runway to the T.C. Presidential planes, business jets, planes arriving for maintenance and Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, wide-body Airbus A300 and A330 cargo planes fly. With the new flight planning, it has been learned that approximately 140 arrivals and 140 departures, and approximately 280 flights at the most, with a maximum of 6 arrivals and a maximum of 6 departures per hour.
There are two negative aspects of building a hospital on a runway, one legal and the other technical.
1. LEGAL FACTORS
a) The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) Chamber of Architects filed a criminal complaint to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on 27 May 2020, regarding the accusation of damaging public property due to the two runways of Atatürk Airport being rendered unusable. In the petition submitted to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the criminal complaint, it was stated that an indictment should be drawn up in order to investigate and identify the perpetrators of this crime and to prosecute those concerned. In the criminal complaint of TMMOB, TCK article 152/1 (a) (damaging public property), TCK article 250 (extortion) and TPC article 251 (neglect of inspection duty in case of extortion), TCK 184 (causing zoning pollution) and/or a public action for their punishment pursuant to Article 257 of the TCK.
b) The issue of breaking the runways was brought to the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly with a parliamentary question given by Istanbul Deputy Gaye Akkuş İlgezdi on May 7, 2020. In the parliamentary question: “Is there a logical reason for these runways to be broken? Isn't it dangerous in terms of flight safety that the hospital construction, which is made by breaking the runways, is built at the starting point of the runway, which is still in use? questions were asked to be answered.
TECHNICAL FACTORS
a) Engine noise problem
The distance from the corner of the Prof.Dr.Murat Dilmener pandemic hospital, built on the runways, to the 05/23 runway is 346 meters (1,135 feet). Aircraft taxiing for takeoff pass 168-241 meters (551-790 feet) on the taxiway very close to the corner of the hospital (See figure below). It is an undoubted physical fact that the sound of the engines will make a noise that will disturb the hospital staff and the patients receiving treatment, especially during the taxi and especially in the case of departure when the engines are running at full power.
A health worker from the hospital staff stated that they were disturbed by the engine noise caused by the planes landing and taking off about every ten minutes at any time of the day and night, but they could not do anything. This officer said that especially Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet and Airbus A300, A330 cargo planes using the airport make an intolerable noise as if they are being passed over when they take off to the sea side.
As is known, the degree of noise is measured in dB (decibel). In scientific language, the weakest sound starts from zero dB and goes up to 194 dB. Decibel degrees are proportional to distance. The measured decibel value of a jet engine is between 120-140. Decibel values are measured with special devices. Decibel value of noise levels that will affect healthcare workers and patients, when wide-body two- and four-engine airplanes pass the Pandemic Hospital level at take-off, can also be easily measured when desired.
The noise effects of the take-offs and landings from the 05 beginning of the runway (050 degrees Ataköy direction) and the landing and take-offs made from the 23 end (230 degrees Florya direction) differ. Exhaust gas emission can be effective in the hospital area when the wind is blowing from the east while the planes are taxiing from the immediate vicinity of the pandemic hospital, from a distance of approximately 170-240 meters, during departures from 05. The degree of this gas emission will be determined by devices that can measure it.
After the plane is in runway 05 for takeoff, the engine noise that occurs when the pilot opens the gasses for takeoff reaches a level that will cause discomfort in the hospital area. At that point of the runway, where full power is given for take-off, the distance of the plane to the hospital is around 350 meters. As an example, the position of the Airbus A300B4 aircraft belonging to MNG Airlines, which is scheduled to fly to Istanbul-Leipzig, at 22:21 at night, copied from Flightradar24, is shown on the left below. Below on the right is the Flightradar24 image of another cargo plane landing on runway 05 on the same night (runway 05 is easily read at the bottom of the tail of the plane). When the aircraft is on final approach for landing, it flies at low engine power compared to takeoff. However, when the pilot touches the runway and turns the engines into thrust/reverse and opens the throttle fully, an annoying noise can be heard around the hospital.
Below on the left is the Flightradar24 image of the MNG Airlines Airbus A300B4 aircraft entering the runway to take off at the beginning of 23 for the Istanbul-London flight. In the image on the right, the moment when the plane was cut off from the ground was detected (if you look at the number at the rear of the plane from the tail level, 05 runway text can be read). Here, the position of the aircraft engines at this point, where they work with full take-off power, is only 350 meters from the pandemic hospital, and the noise with the highest Decibel value disturbing from the pandemic hospital is heard as the aircraft passes through this point.
Medical scientists have made and published detailed evaluations of the sources and effects of noise and vibration in aviation. The most intense noise occurs in high-performance fighter jets and two- and four-engine airliners. Sudden, unexpected and irregular noises are more disturbing than monotonous noises. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exposure to sound above 85 decibels (dB) for more than 8 hours a day causes hearing loss. Noises of 130-140 dB cause palpitations, increased blood pressure, disturbances in metabolism and hormone balance, muscle tension, vasospasm and headache, mostly acoustic trauma and hearing loss. Mental and psychological disorders caused by noise; stress, inattention, memory and perception defects, forgetfulness, inability to focus, learning disorders in children, insomnia, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, decrease in labor and productivity.
T.R. The information included in the NOISE CONTROL section titled ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AT AIRPORTS, dated January 2010 and numbered HAD/T-11, of the Ministry of Transport, General Directorate of Civil Aviation (SHGM) Aviation Department:
Although noise disturbance is often a subjective issue, it is recognized that the noise surrounding an airport should be evaluated based on objective, measurable criteria and other relevant factors. Noise at points on the ground caused by aircraft flying to and from a nearby airport depends on several factors. These include the types of aircraft using the airport, the total number of takeoffs and landings, the time of day aircraft operations occur, the runways used, the weather conditions and the airport-specific flight procedures that affect the noise created. Noise control equipment alone should be able to capture noise from aircraft or some method of eliminating noise not originating from aircraft should be used. Placing noise monitors at different distances can identify the noise energy in different areas around the airport. However, their location should not be closer to the aerodrome than defined for noise certification to ensure accurate measurement at at least three certification points.
As it is understood from the publication of DGCA Aviation Department, monitors placed at different distances are used to measure the noise occurring at an airport. Currently, we do not have any information about whether the noise that occurs during taxi and take off at Atatürk Airport is measured by NOISE MONITORS.
- b) Exhaust gas emission of aircraft engines
Aircraft exhaust gases contain “benzene, arsenic, formaldehyde, nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide” which are very dangerous for human health.
As it is known, it is vitally important to provide ventilation, pressurization, air-conditioning (humidity, temperature) criteria in hospital buildings. Sections of infection must gradually be at negative pressure. Infection services and intensive care units should be independent of hospital general ventilation. These services should be constantly fed with 100% fresh, clean air with hygienic conditions. Fresh air should be distributed from the top and the environment should be kept at negative pressure by collecting exhaust from the floor level (bottom). The aim is to absorb and expel the viruses that spread from the patient to the environment by directing them towards the floor without allowing them to rise upwards.
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance) filters used in hospital ventilation systems can hold particles such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, pollen, but cannot filter gas molecules and odor molecules. As a result, jet exhaust gases are mixed with the outside air and blown into the hospital with all their harmful components, and are circulated in the ventilation system. This situation, which is continuous, may have a negative impact on both patients and healthcare personnel.
The paragraph in the 4.3.IATA RECOMMENDATIONS E4.IR1 Air Quality” section of the HAD/T-11 document published in January 2010 by the DGCA Aviation Department is as follows: “Local air quality is determined by various sources at and around the airport, including aircraft. . Efforts to reduce the overall impact of the airport should therefore address all resources in a balanced way, with a range of measures aimed at improvements in environmental performance being used in the most cost-effective way”.
According to the information in the document in question, it is understood that the local air quality at an airport can be determined with special devices, including the exhaust gas emissions of the aircraft. It is not clear whether such an evaluation was made by using special devices in Atatürk Airport and especially in the pandemic hospital area built on the runway.
No information could be obtained from the mirrors.
After the pandemic problem is over, news have been published that the hospital can be used by foreigners for health tourism. However, taking into account the fact that foreigners will prefer modern, well-established and specialized hospitals such as Acıbadem International and Medipol in the vicinity, close to the airport, instead of this hospital, which is built in the form of prefabricated barracks with the concept of a field hospital, gives the impression of a construction site and also has an inevitable noise and exhaust gas problem due to its proximity to the flight track. should be taken.
In conclusion; This hospital, which was established as a field hospital under the conditions of the day, must be dismantled and removed from its location, repaired the broken runways, and reopening of Atatürk Airport, which is the birthplace and cradle of Turkish aviation, with a historical value of 109 years.
İrfan Sarp
20 December 2021
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