Landfills, nocturnal foraging, and risk to aircraft

Authors
Citation
J. Burger, Landfills, nocturnal foraging, and risk to aircraft, J TOX E H A, 64(3), 2001, pp. 273-290
Citations number
41
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology,"Pharmacology & Toxicology
Journal title
JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH-PART A
ISSN journal
1528-7394 → ACNP
Volume
64
Issue
3
Year of publication
2001
Pages
273 - 290
Database
ISI
SICI code
1528-7394(20011012)64:3<273:LNFART>2.0.ZU;2-P
Abstract
Open landfills serve as an attractant to birds, with increasing risk of bir d-plane collisions. Managers are searching for methods to allow landfilling while reducing potential bird problems near airports. Some municipalities are considering nighttime landfilling as an avian deterrent, particularly w here waste management facilities are located near airports. The objective o f this report was to evaluate whether nighttime landfilling will result in increased risk to aircraft from birds at the Atlantic County Airport in coa stal New Jersey. The risk to nearby aircraft from nighttime landfill is a f unction of (1) attractiveness of landfills, airports, or other habitats, (2 ) nocturnal behavior of gulfs and other birds, (3) elevations and flight pa ths of birds, (4) changes in population levels of gulls and other potential ly hazardous birds, and (5) harassment techniques that can deter birds from the landfills, adjacent habitat, and airports. The latter, however, can se rve to move birds to locations or attitudes that pose an even greater risk to aircraft. The number of strikes is generally increasing. While most air strikes occur during the day at the Atlantic County Airport, over 12% occur at night and nearly 20% occur at dawn when any garbage remaining from nigh ttime landfilling would be an attractant. The peak of strikes occurs in the early fall, when young birds are learning to forage. Risk data suggests th at gulls and a wide variety of other birds are active at night, and if any garbage is available they will be attracted, increasing the risk to aircraf t landing at night. Some actual night dumping has been carried out since Oc tober 3 1997 without apparently attracting gulls, suggesting that careful o perations with appropriate institutional controls can make nighttime dumpin g feasible.