Ferhat Karaca

This study evaluates the toxicity and genotoxicity levels of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) samples collected at several locations of a megacity (Istanbul, Turkey) with different urban and industrial characteristics. The ambient air samples, in the form of a coarse fraction of inhalable particulates, PM2.5-10, were collected on Teflon filters using a passive sampling method on a monthly basis during a one-year period. Later, they were extracted into both the lipophilic and hydrophilic phases using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ultra-pure water, respectively. The obtained aqueous extracts were tested for acute toxicity and genotoxicity using the photo-luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri Microtox(®) and SOS Chromotest(®) assays, respectively. Statistically significant differences greater than background levels were obtained in both measurements, indicating the presence of toxic substances absorbed on particulate matter. The PM2.5-10 extracts identified significant seasonal and ...

The gaseous and nonvolatile particulate matter (PM) emissions of two T56-A-15 turboprop engines of a C-130H aircraft stationed at the 123rd Airlift Wing in the Kentucky Air National Guard were characterized. The emissions campaign supports the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) project WP-1401 to determine emissions factors from military aircraft. The purpose of the project is to develop a comprehensive emissions measurement program using both conventional and advanced techniques to determine emissions factors of pollutants, and to investigate the spatial and temporal evolutions of the exhaust plumes from fixed and rotating wing military aircraft. Standard practices for the measurement of gaseous emissions from aircraft have been well established; however, there is no certified methodology for the measurement of aircraft PM emissions. In this study, several conventional instruments were used to physically characterize and quantify the PM emissions from the two turboprop engines. Emissions samples were extracted from the engine exit plane and transported to the analytical instrumentation via heated lines. Multiple sampling probes were used to assess the spatial variation and obtain a representative average of the engine emissions. Particle concentrations, size distributions, and mass emissions were measured using commercially available aerosol instruments. Engine smoke numbers were determined using established Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) practices, and gaseous species were quantified via a Fourier-transform infrared-based gas analyzer. The engines were tested at five power settings, from idle to take-off power, to cover a wide range of operating conditions. Average corrected particle numbers (PNs) of (6.4-14.3) x 10(7) particles per cm3 and PN emission indices (EI) from 3.5 x 10(15) to 10.0 x 10(15) particles per kg-fuel were observed. The highest PN EI were observed for the idle power conditions. The mean particle diameter varied between 50 nm at idle to 70 nm at maximum engine power. PM mass EI ranged from 1.6 to 3.5 g/kg-fuel for the conditions tested, which are in agreement with previous T56 engine measurements using other techniques. Additional PM data, smoke numbers, and gaseous emissions will be presented and discussed.

ABSTRACT This paper presents the most comprehensive study conducted so far for evaluating the corrosion levels related to air quality and the seasonal pollutant (NO2, SO2, and O3) exposure levels over 50 monitoring stations distributed on the historical peninsula of Istanbul. Istanbul has been one of the most important as well as most populated major cities in the world during all the ages. Today, owing to its historical and cultural structures, the historical peninsula of Istanbul has become an attraction point of tourism and is one of the most unique and ancient urban settlement areas in the world. However, the cultural heritage stocks in the peninsula are under the risk of corrosion and critical air pollution level exposure caused by chemical reactions under the multi-pollutant situation of the air pollutants, principally SO2, NO2, and O3, as well as meteorological factors, e.g. humidity and temperature. In the present study, seasonal exposure of NO2, SO2, and O3 pollutants were monitored using passive samplers, and corrosion attack values were calculated using dose-response functions. The geostatistical analyst tool of ArcGIS® 9.1 was then used for generating GIS-based surface pollution and corrosion distribution maps. Subsequently, two hotspots were clearly identified, the tip of the peninsula and the area around the Ataturk Bridge, which fall under serious corrosion risks for copper, cast bronze, and carbon steel materials. However, no significant risk was identified for cultural heritage materials made of limestone in the peninsula.

... Biographical notes: Ferhat Karaca received his MSc in Department of Environmental Engineering, Fatih University, Turkey. He is a Lecturer at Fatih University, Department of Environmental Engineering since 2002 and currently a Doctoral Candidate at the Yildiz Technical ...

Page 1. 352 Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 39, Nos. 3/4, 2009 Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. The evaluation of the effect of air pollution on the health status of children in Zonguldak City, Turkey Lokman Hakan Tecer* ...

... Biographical notes: Ferhat Karaca has been a Lecturer at Fatih University's Department of Environmental Engineering since 2002. ... Engineering, Fatih University, Turkey, in 2000 and PhD degree from the Department of Environmental Engineering, Yıldız Technical University ...

ABSTRACT The identification of risk factors and levels for cultural heritage collections in museums, archives, and libraries is an important part of their risk management plans. Air pollutants are some of the most important risk factors, and their synergic impacts on material deformations are well known; thus, they have become important criteria in collection risk management plans. Pollution levels and their potential sources should be identified, monitored, and assessed within such risk management plans. Although pollution identification and monitoring methods are well-known practices, the assessment methodologies are not yet sufficiently developed. In this study, a novel air pollution condition indexing assessment method based on an analytical hierarchy process (AHP), the so-called Air Quality Risk Condition Index (AQRCI), is suggested. It quantifies the relative potential synergic impacts (e.g., soiling and color change, salt crystallization, metal corrosion, biodegradation, swelling/shrinkage, loss of strength, cracking, and embrittlement) of measured pollution levels on collection materials in any selected location. The proposed method is based on quantitative (gaseous and particulate pollutant levels) and qualitative (pairwise comparison scores for associated risks) data. Dolmabahçe Palace was selected as a study site, and the proposed AQRCI method was used to present the relative risk levels for five different categories in several indoor locations where the Dolmabahçe Palace collections are being presented.

In this study PM10 profile of Istanbul atmosphere was investigated. The main scope of this study is to determine the effects of long-range PM10 transport and/or regional PM10 transport to Istanbul. For this purpose PM10 concentration data of 10 air quality monitoring stations belonging to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) were examined. First of all the effects of local sources on

9 Kasım 1937 tarihli TBMM Baş-kanlık Divan kararıyla Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi'ne (Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi) Türk Resim ve Heykel Müzesi ola-rak kullanılmak üzere devredilen Dolmabahçe Sarayı Veliaht Dairesi, TBMM Başkanlık Divanı'nın yerin-de inceleme yapmasından sonra, "Dolmabahçe Sarayı'nın ayrılmaz bir parçası konumunda olması ve en önemli kültür miraslarımızdan birinin üniversite tarafından gerekli bakımlarının yapılmadığından, tah-ribata uğraması nedeniyle", 6 Ocak 2012 tarihli TBMM Başkanlık Divanı 12 no.lu kararıyla, Üniversite'ye yapılan tahsise ilişkin söz konusu kararı yürürlükten kaldırmıştır. Veliaht Dairesi'nin içinde bu-lunan eşyalar ile Dolmabahçe Sarayı'nda bulunan tabloların bir kısmı ise, Bakanlar Kurulu kararı uyarınca TBMM Katib-i Umumiliği tarafından, 14 Aralık 1938 tarih ve 3915/3003 sayıyla Türk Resim ve Heykel Müzesi Müdürlüğü'ne dev-redilmiştir.* * İlgili Bakanlar Kurulu kararı TBMM Katib-i Umumiliği'n...

The PSCF value can be interpreted as the conditional probability that concentrations larger than a given criterion value are related to the passage of air parcels through the grid cell during transport to the receptor site. Grid cells, which have high PSCF values, which resulted from the arrival of air parcels at a receptor site with radioactivity concentrations higher than

Abstract The main objective of this study was to develop an Artificial Neural Net-works (ANN) based model, which could be used as a tool for the predic-tion of traffic related PM2.5 and PM10 emissions. In this purpose, about 70 pairs of daily PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 ...

This paper suggests a method by which a governmental agency can use short term traffic forecasting and air pollution modeling techniques to predict air pollution (i.e., CO, NOx, particulate matter) for major corridors for one or two days in advance to provide a simple advisory system for decision-makers and the public. The authors propose the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) integrated with a travel demand and an air pollution dispersal model. This system will first be tested on a corridor in Istanbul, Turkey. After the model has been tested for this corridor, the authors would discern how it could apply it for the major corridors in Istanbul. It is thought that this system will be a very useful device for decision-makers to warn the public about possible health hazards, but also to view alternatives to mitigate the effect of traffic pollution. The public, in turn, could lessen the situation by choosing alternative routes in predicted areas of high pollution or using pub...

ABSTRACT Recent scientific findings and legislations have clearly highlighted the need for comprehensive approaches and methods to evaluate natural dust contributions to an urban atmosphere. The evaluation of chemical compositions of airborne aerosols is of these methods that may employ several advanced analytical techniques and processes. In this paper, an episodic appearance of Saharan dust incursion over a megacity (Istanbul, Turkey) was investigated using size segregated particulate matter (PM) samples in fine and coarse fractions collected between February 27 and March 8, 2009. The Saharan impact was investigated using satellite observations, backward air trajectory statistics, and chemical analyses of the collected samples. In the chemical analyses, Fourier transform infrared coupled with attenuated total reflectance (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopic method was used to determine the functional groups, namely, alcohols, ammonium, aliphatic carbons, carbonyls, organonitrates, nitrate, silicate, silica, kaolinite, and calcium carbonate. Among all the measured functional groups, it was clearly seen that the intensities of IR peaks related to silicate, silica, kaolinite, and calcium carbonate were associated with the increased mass concentrations during the impact period. The observed IR peaks at 1,030 and 800 cm−1 for silicate ions in the samples can be used as an indicator of the large dust incursion into the atmosphere (e.g., Saharan dust episodes observed in Istanbul). This study showed that the ATR-FTIR spectroscopic method is a fast and convenient method to identify these peaks and the IR method in general is useful for identifying a large dust incursion into the atmosphere.

Epidemiological studies reported adverse effects of air pollution on the prevalence of respiratory diseases in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between air pollution and admissions for asthma and other respiratory diseases among children who were younger than 15 yr of age. The study used data on respiratory hospital admissions and air pollutant concentrations, including thoracic particulate matter (PM(10)), fine (PM(2.5)), and coarse (PM(10-2.5)) particulate matter in Zonguldak, Turkey. A bidirectional case-crossover design was used to calculate odds ratios for the admissions adjusted for daily meteorological parameters. Significant increases were observed for hospital admissions in children for asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), and upper (UPRD) and lower (LWRD) respiratory diseases. All fraction of PM in children showed significant positive associations with asthma admissions. The highest association noted was 18% rise in asthma admissions correlated with a 10-microg/m(3) increase in PM(10-2.5) on the same day of admissions. The adjusted odds ratios for exposure to PM(2.5) with an increment of 10 microg/m(3) were 1.15 and 1.21 for asthma and allergic rhinitis with asthma, respectively. PM(10) exerted significant effects on hospital admissions for all outcomes, including asthma, AR, UPRD, and LWRD. Our study suggested a greater effect of fine and coarse PM on asthma hospital admissions compared with PM(10) in children.

In this study, the particulate matter (with an aerodynamic diameter <10 microm; PM10) profile of Turkey with data from the air quality monitoring stations located throughout the country was used. The number of stations (119) was reduced to 55 after a missing data treatment for statistical analyses. First, a classification method was developed based on ongoing national and international (European Commission directives) legislations to categorize air zones into six groups, from a "Very Clear Air Zone" to a "Polluted Air Zone". Then, a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based interpolation technique and statistical analyses (correlation analysis and factor analysis) were used to generate PM10 pollution profiles of the annual heating time and nonheating time periods. Finally, the coherent air pollution management zones of Turkey, based on air quality criteria and measured data using a GIS-based model supported by statistical analyses, were suggested. Based on the analysis, four hot spots were identified: (i) the eastern part of the Black Sea region; (ii) the northeastern part of inland Anatolia; (iii) the western part of Northeastern Anatolia; and (vi) the eastern part of Turkey. The possible reasons for the elevated PM10 levels are discussed using topographic, climatologic, land use, and energy utilization parameters. Finally, the suggested air zones were compared with the administrative air zones, which were newly developed by the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry, to evaluate the level of agreement between the two.

ABSTRACT This paper presents the most comprehensive study conducted so far for evaluating the corrosion levels related to air quality and the seasonal pollutant (NO2, SO2, and O3) exposure levels over 50 monitoring stations distributed on the historical peninsula of Istanbul. Istanbul has been one of the most important as well as most populated major cities in the world during all the ages. Today, owing to its historical and cultural structures, the historical peninsula of Istanbul has become an attraction point of tourism and is one of the most unique and ancient urban settlement areas in the world. However, the cultural heritage stocks in the peninsula are under the risk of corrosion and critical air pollution level exposure caused by chemical reactions under the multi-pollutant situation of the air pollutants, principally SO2, NO2, and O3, as well as meteorological factors, e.g. humidity and temperature. In the present study, seasonal exposure of NO2, SO2, and O3 pollutants were monitored using passive samplers, and corrosion attack values were calculated using dose-response functions. The geostatistical analyst tool of ArcGIS® 9.1 was then used for generating GIS-based surface pollution and corrosion distribution maps. Subsequently, two hotspots were clearly identified, the tip of the peninsula and the area around the Ataturk Bridge, which fall under serious corrosion risks for copper, cast bronze, and carbon steel materials. However, no significant risk was identified for cultural heritage materials made of limestone in the peninsula.

... Biographical notes: Ferhat Karaca received his MSc in Department of Environmental Engineering, Fatih University, Turkey. He is a Lecturer at Fatih University, Department of Environmental Engineering since 2002 and currently a Doctoral Candidate at the Yildiz Technical ...

Page 1. 352 Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 39, Nos. 3/4, 2009 Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. The evaluation of the effect of air pollution on the health status of children in Zonguldak City, Turkey Lokman Hakan Tecer* ...

... Biographical notes: Ferhat Karaca has been a Lecturer at Fatih University's Department of Environmental Engineering since 2002. ... Engineering, Fatih University, Turkey, in 2000 and PhD degree from the Department of Environmental Engineering, Yıldız Technical University ...

... 36, Nos. 1/2/3, pp.195–203. Biographical notes: Ferhat Karaca received an MSc and a PhD in Environmental Engineering, Yıldız Technical University, Turkey. He has been a Lecturer at Fatih University, Department of Environmental Engineering, since 2002. ...