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Turf By Jim Romeo

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According to the Federal Aviation Administration, airports in the United States were host to more than 600 million passengers on nearly 10 million flights in 2004. Such volume, along with the nature of the vehicles (carrying hundreds of passengers as well as delicate electronics and flammable fuels), makes safety the utmost concern for everyone in the industry. Because even the smallest problem on an airfield has the potential to escalate into the unthinkable, safety is the No. 1 priority when it comes to protecting an airport. Despite such emphasis on safety, however, there are approximately 1,500 runway incidents each year. And although most runway incidents are minor, none are routine, because the presence of jet fuel makes each one a potential disaster. In 2004, Boeing Corp. stated that 66 percent of the companys aviation accidents involving hull loss or fatalities in the last 10 years took place during takeoff or landing operations. The urgency and severity of a runway incident can be quickly compounded by the presence of fire and smoke, especially if fuel is leaking. Because 70 percent of the average airport is made up of natural vegetation, leaking fuel can cause a fire on a dry runway landscape to quickly rage out of control. Dry conditions spreading fire are hardly the only concern in runway incidents. In Boeings findings, weather was the third-leading cause of aviation accidents. In 1999, China Airlines Flight MD11 crashed when it was landing in Hong Kong at night during a very heavy storm. A year later, Ghana Airlink Flight F27-600 crashed during a landing in Accra, Ghana. Both crashes resulted in serious casualties and fatalities, and both happened in torrential rains that made it even more difficult for first responders to get to the scene. During heavy rains, pooling and ponding of water surrounding the runways is a potential hazard not just for transiting aircraft, but also for the supporting ground crews including emergency responders. Standing water poses the risk of hydroplaning for rapid response vehicles and may also inhibit responders from taking a direct route to the incident for fear of getting stuck in the mud. In play Field Turf Inc. supplies much of the artificial turf for athletic surfaces around the world including many within the NFL and the NCAAand has developed a system called Air FieldTurf that is taking root at airports around the nation. The product is an artificial turf system specifically developed as a safety-enhancing surfacing technology for the safezone areas around runways and taxiways of air carrier, military and general aviation airports. The system uses 2 inches of sand for ballast, with about half an inch of the 2.5inch turf fiber exposed above the ground. Because Air FieldTurf replaces natural vegetation, it creates a sterile environment in the airports safe zones. When the system was tested at the FAAs William J. Hughes

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Technical Center, an FAA Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) crew simulated scenarios for fire, heat and smoke from an aviation accident. The FAA tests were unable to cause the turf to propagate a flame or act as an accelerant, even in the presence of 16-kilometer-per-hour winds. The exposed top fibers melted instantaneously, down to the layer of the sand infill, where the sand acted as a barrier or oxygen snuffer. It absorbed the fuels and oils, snuffed out the oxygen content, and broke the oxygen leg of the fire triangle. As expected, the fire quickly burned out, with minimal radiant heat remaining. It was found that the turf did not cause the fire to spread, says Joe Dobson, Air FieldTurfs vice president. When the FAA [crew members] tested the material, they actually put a torch to the fiber and tried to make it propagate a flame; however, they were unable to do so. Wherever that exposed flame was, those fibers melted and the oxygen was snuffed out. That was it. The fire was over. The FAAs crew also found that the turf provided a much more controlled burn than the natural vegetation, because the sand infill snuffed the flames and limited the burn. Even when fuel was added to the fire, it still burned out quickly, and emergency operations were allowed to continue in short order with no additional apparatus required. The existing extinguishing agents in the aircraft and from the emergency response team were sufficient to quench the fire. In a chemical analysis of the fiber after the burn, it was found that there was no additional toxicity to add risk to the environment or personnel. In addition to helping suppress fires, artificial turf also offers a huge advantage to first responders by creating an even, stable and solid foundation for people and apparatus, helping to minimize the response time of ARFF crews to the incident. Responders can travel more direct paths across artificial turf, something rarely possible with a natural vegetation surface, especially during wet or rainy conditions. Now they dont have to take winding roads and go from point A to point B in order to get to point C, adds Dobson. They can now go directly to point C by driving over the turf from their point of origin to the site of the accident. Also, artificial turf blades do not secrete moisture, unlike natural grass, thus limiting the chances that rapid-response vehicles will hydroplane en route to an accident or incident. At Bostons Logan International Airport, 9,000 square feet of Air FieldTurf was installed with a prepared base in a taxiway safety area that had experienced erosion problems in the past, a problem that quickly disappeared after the turf installation. The airports fire department conducted a static-load test of the installation by parking its 66,000-pound ARFF vehicle on the turf, but no rutting or other problems were detected. Similar tests were also conducted during a rainstorm to observe how the turf would support the vehicle when it drove over the turf repeatedly, and the driver actually tried to rip up the turf with sharp turns and by grinding the wheel around to see if the surface would break up, shift, dislodge or encounter any problems in supporting the vehicles transit. The Air FieldTurf passed with flying colors. The product is tough because it is a polyethylene fiber that is 120 microns thick and tufted into a black mesh backing. The turf is ballasted with silica sand infill, which is in turn held in place with a unique honeycomb structure of the artificial blade fiber, which traps the sand to anchor the turf system to the surface it covers. The system components have a 30-year life expectancy, with minimal UV degradation expected. Air FieldTurf is engineered with solid drainage characteristics and is available in both permeable and nonpermeable configurations. The nonpermeable turf allows runoff from

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a grade of 2 to 3 percent off the asphalt shoulder. The water runs down the asphalt shoulder, across the turf and into the airport drainage system. In addition, the turfs sand infill filters any effluent that might contain contaminants or hazardous liquids, such as deicing agents. The permeable turf percolates at a rate of 60 gallons per square foot per hour. After a heavy rain, the soil of the shoulder of a natural area may become saturated and standing water may remain for some time on or near the runways or taxiways. But water percolates through the Air FieldTurf system and is quickly gone. When the FAAs crew tested the turf, they applied water to simulate a pooling effect to see how water percolates through the system. Most of the water percolated through in two to three minutes and was completely gone in five minutes. After 30 minutes, the area was dry to the touch. A clear view Weather conditions also affect visibility for the aircraft crew and those supporting ground operations. Airport emergency responders are always concerned about the environment in which they work and must be prepared to work in some harsh weather conditions. Clear airfield markings are importantnot just for the aircraft, but also for aiding responders in storm conditions. Air FieldTurf allows markings to be embedded right into the turf. Maintenance of stripes and paint markings is easier, because the embedded markings are brilliant and lasting. Artificial turf on an airfield offers favorable burn characteristics, excellent drainage, clear and visible markings, and a ground cover that is sturdy and safe. For emergency responders, it all adds up. The same technology that changed the playing field for sports is now changing the environment for a new playing field: the worlds airport safety zones. For the emergency response teams who serve them, Air FieldTurf provides the safest distance between two points. Jim Romeo is a freelance writer based in Chesapeake, Va.

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