Assessment of the Variability of Many Years of Thunderstorm Activity in the Aspect of Potential Threats to Aircraft at Selected Airports in Poland.

The article presents an assessment of the long-term variability of storm activity in the aspect of potential threats to aircraft. The analysis of data from the period 1970-2018 was conducted for selected airports in Poland: Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport, IATA code: GDN, ICAO code: EPGD (54°22'39″N 18°27'59″E, altitude above sea level 149 m above sea level); Solidarity Szczecin- Goleniow Airport, IATA code: SZZ, ICAO code: EPSC (53°35'05″ N 14°54'08″ E, altitude above sea level 47 m above sea level); Poznan-Lawica Henryk Wieniawski Airport, IATA code: POZ, ICAO code: EPPO (52°25'16″ N 16°49'35″ E, altitude above sea level 94 m above sea level); Warsaw Chopin Airport, IATA code: WAW, ICAO code: EPWA (52°09'57″ N 20°58'02″ E, altitude above sea level 110 m above sea level); Copernicus Airport Wroclaw, IATA code: WRO, ICAO code: EPWR (51°06'10″ N 16°53'10″ E, altitude above sea level 123 m above sea level); John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice, IATA code: KRK, ICAO code: EPKK (50°04'40″ N 19°47'06″ E, altitude above sea level 241 m above sea level). The purpose of this paper is to assess the long-term variability of storm activity in the aspect of potential threats to air operations in Poland with the examples of six selected airports. In order to achieve the goal, an analysis of the frequency of storm phenomena in Poland was carried out both in annual and long- term terms. The analysis will allow the assessment of the geographical diversity of the distribution of storm phenomena and their variability in the years 1970-2018. The next stage of the work will be to determine the climatic conditions that exert the greatest impact on the formation of storms. The important factors include atmospheric circulation, which, over the Polish territory, is shaped by the influence of air masses from the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea and in addition, from the vast continental area. All these air masses clash over the area of Poland causing large variability in the frequency of occurrence of hazardous atmospheric phenomena. For this reason, the Polish climate is defined as a moderate warm climate with transitory features. The important factors affecting regional diversity are local conditions, such as terrain, nature of the land, and distance from water reservoirs. The thermal, humidity and aerodynamic properties of the substrate, which are components of radiation processes, determine the exchange of energy at the interface between the atmosphere and the earth, and largely determine the intensity of selected hazardous atmospheric phenomena. Each occurrence of a storm is a potentially dangerous meteorological event that threatens the environment and human activities, including all types of transport. The studied phenomenon of storms is particularly dangerous for air transport. Literature shows that storm phenomena in Poland are characterized by a large regional diversity, both during the year and over many years. The greatest threat of storm phenomena occurs in the warm period of the year-spring and summer.

Ebola, Zika and the International Health Regulations - implications for Port Health Preparedness.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa in 2014-2015 was unprecedented in terms of its scale and consequence.  This, together with the emergence of Zika virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in 2016, has again highlighted the potential for disease to spread across international borders and provided an impetus for countries to review their Port Health preparedness. This report reviews the legislative framework and actions taken under this framework in advancing and improving Port Health preparedness in Ireland, in response to the declaration of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern for Ebola Virus Disease in August 2014. FINDINGS: Infectious disease Shipping and Aircraft Regulations were brought into force in Ireland in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Preparatory actions taken under these and the International Health Regulations necessitated significant levels of cross disciplinary working with other organisations, both within and beyond traditional healthcare settings. Information packs on Ebola Virus Disease were prepared and distributed to airports, airlines, port authorities and shipping agents, and practical exercises were held at relevant sites. Agreements were put in place for contact tracing of passenger and crew on affected conveyances and protocols were established for the management of Medical Declarations of Health from ships coming from West Africa. CONCLUSIONS: The outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa resulted in significant strengthening of Ireland's Port Health preparedness, while also highlighting the extent to which preparedness requires ongoing and sustained commitment from all stakeholders, both nationally and internationally, in ensuring that countries are ready when the next threat presents at their borders.

Airport noise and self-reported sleep insufficiency, United States, 2008 and 2009.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep insufficiency is a major health risk factor. Exposure to environmental noise may affect sleep duration and quality. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between airport noise exposure and insufficient sleep in the United States by using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). METHODS: Data on the number of days without enough rest or sleep for approximately 750,000 respondents to the 2008 and 2009 BRFSS were linked with data on noise exposure modeled using the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Integrated Noise Model for 95 major US airports for corresponding years. Noise exposure data were stratified into 3 groups depending on noise levels. People living outside airport noise exposure zones were included as a reference category. RESULTS: We found 8.6 mean days of insufficient sleep in the previous 30 days among 745,868 adults; 10.8% reported insufficient sleep for all 30 days; and 30.1% reported no days of insufficient sleep. After controlling for individual sociodemographics and ZIP Code-level socioeconomic status, we found no significant differences in sleep insufficiency between the 3 noise exposure zones and the zone outside. CONCLUSION: This research demonstrates the feasibility of conducting a national study of airport noise and sleep using an existing public health surveillance dataset and recommends methods for improving the accuracy of such studies; some of these recommendations were implemented in recent FAA-sponsored studies. Validation of BRFSS sleep measures and refined ways of collecting data are needed to determine the optimal measures of sleep for such a large-scale survey and to establish the relationship between airport noise and sleep.

Administrando yodo radioactivo. Piensa en las alarmas de seguridad de los aeropuertos / Giving radioiodine? Think about airport security alarms

La sensibilidad aumentada de los detectores en los aeropuertos, el aumento del número de pruebas isotópicas y la globalización de la sociedad han dado lugar a varias falsos positivos en las alarmas de radioactivos de los aeropuertos y lugares públicos. Este trabajo presenta dos nuevos casos de pacientes que alertaron las alarmas de seguridad en el aeropuerto después de haber recibido 740MBq de 131I en bocio no-tóxico. Los intentos de comparar la literatura son sorprendentemente limitados en relación a este problema. Un hombre de 57 años desencadenó una alarma en tres aeropuertos diferentes durante los días 17, 28 y 31 después de haber recibido exposición a yodo radioactivo. Curiosamente, mientras tanto, en los días 18 y 22, no se detectó la radiación en el aeropuerto, donde fue detenido dos veces más adelante como fuente de radiación. El segundo caso presenta una mujer de 45 años que activó los detectores de la alama de seguridad cuando cruzó una frontera en un viaje en autobús después de haber recibido yodo radioactivo(AU)

An increased sensitivity of airport detectors, a growing number of isotopic tests, and globalization of the society have raised a number of false positive radioactive alarms at airports and public places. This paper presents two new cases of patients who triggered airport security alarms after receiving 740MBq of 131I for non-toxic goitre and attempts to compare surprisingly limited literature concerning this problem. A 57-year-old man triggered a security alarm at three different airports on the 17th, 28th, and 31st day after radioiodine exposure. Interestingly enough, in the meantime, on the 18th and 22nd day, no radiation was detected in him at the airport where he was twice detained as a source of radiation later on. The second case presents a 45-year-old woman who activated security alarm detectors while crossing a border on her coach trip 28 days after radioiodine administration(AU)