Modeling variability in air pollution-related health damages from individual airport emissions

Evaluating reduced-form modeling tools for simulating ozone and PM2.5 monetized health impacts

Reduced-form modeling approaches are an increasingly popular way to rapidly estimate air quality and human health impacts related to changes in air pollutant emissions. These approaches reduce computation time by making simplifying assumptions about pollutant source characteristics, transport and chemistry. Two reduced form tools used by the Environmental Protection Agency in recent assessments are source apportionment-based benefit per ton (SA BPT) and source apportionment-based air quality surfaces (SABAQS). In this work, we apply these two reduced form tools to predict changes in ambient summer-season ozone, ambient annual PM2.5 component species and monetized health benefits for multiple sector-specific emission control scenarios: on-road mobile, electricity generating units (EGUs), cement kilns, petroleum refineries, and pulp and paper facilities. We then compare results against photochemical grid and standard health model-based estimates. We additionally compare monetized PM2.5 health benefits to values derived from three reduced form tools available in the literature: the Intervention Model for Air Pollution (InMAP), Air Pollution Emission Experiments and Policy Analysis (APEEP) version 2 (AP2) and Estimating Air pollution Social Impact Using Regression (EASIUR). Ozone and PM2.5 changes derived from SABAQS for EGU scenarios were well-correlated with values obtained from photochemical modeling simulations with spatial correlation coefficients between 0.64 and 0.89 for ozone and between 0.75 and 0.94 for PM2.5. SABAQS ambient ozone and PM2.5 bias when compared to photochemical modeling predictions varied by emissions scenario: SABAQS PM2.5 changes were overpredicted by up to 46% in one scenario and underpredicted by up to 19% in another scenario; SABAQS seasonal ozone changes were overpredicted by 34% to 83%. All tools predicted total PM2.5 benefits within a factor of 2 of the full-form predictions consistent with intercomparisons of reduced form tools available in the literature. As reduced form tools evolve, it is important to continue periodic comparison with comprehensive models to identify systematic biases in estimating air pollution impacts and resulting monetized health benefits.

Characteristics, sources, and health risks of inorganic elements in PM2.5 and PM10 at Tianjin Binhai international airport

To study air pollution from aircraft activity at airport and its risks to human health, we conducted an experiment near Tianjin Binhai International Airport from November 11 to November 24, 2017. The characteristics, source apportionment, and health risk of inorganic elements in particles were determined in the airport environment. The mean mass concentrations of inorganic elements in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were 17.1 and 5.0 μg/m³, accounting for 19.0% of PM₁₀ mass and 12.3% of PM_2.5 mass, respectively. Inorganic elements, including arsenic, chromium, lead, zinc, sulphur, cadmium, potassium, sodium, and cobalt, were mainly concentrated in fine particulate matter. The particle number concentration within the 60-170 nm particle size range was significantly higher under polluted than non-polluted conditions. A principal component analysis revealed important contributions of Cr, Fe, K, Mn, Na, Pb, S, and Zn originating from airport activities, including aircraft exhaust, braking, tire wear, ground service equipment, and airport vehicles. Based on analyses of the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of heavy metal elements in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, there were notable human health impacts, emphasising the importance of relevant research.

Sustainable Aviation—Hydrogen Is the Future

As the global search for new methods to combat global warming and climate change continues, renewable fuels and hydrogen have emerged as saviours for environmentally polluting industries such as aviation. Sustainable aviation is the goal of the aviation industry today. There is increasing interest in achieving carbon-neutral flight to combat global warming. Hydrogen has proven to be a suitable alternative fuel. It is abundant, clean, and produces no carbon emissions, but only water after use, which has the potential to cool the environment. This paper traces the historical growth and future of the aviation and aerospace industry. It examines how hydrogen can be used in the air and on the ground to lower the aviation industry’s impact on the environment. In addition, while aircraft are an essential part of the aviation industry, other support services add to the overall impact on the environment. Hydrogen can be used to fuel the energy needs of these services. However, for hydrogen technology to be accepted and implemented, other issues such as government policy, education, and employability must be addressed. Improvement in the performance and emissions of hydrogen as an alternative energy and fuel has grown in the last decade. However, other issues such as the storage and cost and the entire value chain require significant work for hydrogen to be implemented. The international community’s alternative renewable energy and hydrogen roadmaps can provide a long-term blueprint for developing the alternative energy industry. This will inform the private and public sectors so that the industry can adjust its plan accordingly.

Assessment of Airport-Related Emissions and Their Impact on Air Quality in Atlanta, GA, Using CMAQ and TROPOMI

Impacts of emissions from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL) on ozone (O₃), ultrafine particulates (UFPs), and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) are evaluated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and high-resolution satellite observations of NO₂ vertical column densities (VCDs) from TROPOMI. Two airport inventories are compared: an inventory using emissions where landing and take-off (LTO) processes are allocated to the surface (default) and a modified (3D) inventory that has LTO and cruise emissions vertically and horizontally distributed, accounting for aircraft climb and descend rates. The 3D scenario showed reduced bias and error between CMAQ and TROPOMI VCDs compared to the default scenario [i.e., normalized mean bias: -43%/-46% and root mean square error: 1.12/1.21 (1015 molecules/cm²)]. Close agreement of TROPOMI-derived observations to modeled NO₂ VCDs from two power plants with continuous emissions monitors was found. The net effect of aviation-related emissions was an increase in UFP (j mode in CMAQ), PM_2.5 (i + j mode), and O₃ concentrations by up to 6.5 × 10² particles/cm³ (∼38%), 0.7 μg/m³ (∼8%), and 2.7 ppb (∼4%), respectively. Overall, the results show (1) that the spatial allocation of airport emissions has notable effects on air quality modeling results and will be of further importance as airports become a larger part of the total urban emissions and (2) the applicability of high-resolution satellite retrievals to better understand emissions from facilities such as airports.

Air quality and health-related impacts of traditional and alternate jet fuels from airport aircraft operations in the U.S

Aviation emissions from landing and takeoff operations (LTO) can degrade local and regional air quality leading to adverse health outcomes in populations near airports and downwind. In this study we aim to quantify the air quality and health-related impacts from commercial LTO emissions in the continental U.S. for two recent years' inventories, 2011 and 2016. We quantify the LTO-attributable PM_2.5, O₃, and NO₂ concentrations and health outcomes for mortality and multiple morbidity health endpoints. We also quantify the impacts from two scenarios representing a nation-wide implementation of 5% or 50% blends of sustainable alternative jet fuels. We estimate 80 (68-93) and 88 (75-100) PM_2.5-attributable and 610 (310-920) and 1,100 (570-1,700) NO₂-attributable premature mortalities in 2011 and 2016, respectively. We estimate a net decrease of 28 (14-56) and 54 (27-110) in O₃-attributable premature mortalities across the U.S. in 2011 and 2016, respectively due to the large O₃ titration effects near the airports. We also find that the asthma exacerbations due to NO₂ exposures from LTO emissions increase from 100,000 (2,500-200,000) in 2011 to 170,000 (4,400-340,000) in 2016. Implementing a 5% or 50% blend of sustainable alternative jet fuel in 2016 results in a 1% or 18% reduction, respectively in PM_2.5-attributable premature mortalities. Monetizing the value of avoided total premature mortalities, we find that a 50%-blended sustainable alternative jet fuel results in a 19% decrease in PM_2.5 damages per ton of fuel burned and a 2% decrease in total damages per ton of fuel burned as compared to damages from traditional jet fuel. We also quantify health impacts by state and find California to be the most impacted by LTO emissions. We find that LTO-attributable PM_2.5 and NO₂ premature mortalities increase by 10% and 80%, respectively from 2011 to 2016 and that NO₂-attributable premature mortalities are responsible for 91% of total LTO-attributable premature mortalities in both 2011 and 2016. And since we find LTO-attributable NO₂ to be unaffected by the implementation of sustainable alternative jet fuels, additional approaches focused on NO_X reductions in the combustor are needed to mitigate the air quality-related health impacts from LTO emissions.

A review of health effects associated with exposure to jet engine emissions in and around airports

BACKGROUND

Airport personnel are at risk of occupational exposure to jet engine emissions, which similarly to diesel exhaust emissions include volatile organic compounds and particulate matter consisting of an inorganic carbon core with associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and metals. Diesel exhaust is classified as carcinogenic and the particulate fraction has in itself been linked to several adverse health effects including cancer.

METHOD

In this review, we summarize the available scientific literature covering human health effects of exposure to airport emissions, both in occupational settings and for residents living close to airports. We also report the findings from the limited scientific mechanistic studies of jet engine emissions in animal and cell models.

RESULTS

Jet engine emissions contain large amounts of nano-sized particles, which are particularly prone to reach the lower airways upon inhalation. Size of particles and emission levels depend on type of aircraft, engine conditions, and fuel type, as well as on operation modes. Exposure to jet engine emissions is reported to be associated with biomarkers of exposure as well as biomarkers of effect among airport personnel, especially in ground-support functions. Proximity to running jet engines or to the airport as such for residential areas is associated with increased exposure and with increased risk of disease, increased hospital admissions and self-reported lung symptoms.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that though the literature is scarce and with low consistency in methods and measured biomarkers, there is evidence that jet engine emissions have physicochemical properties similar to diesel exhaust particles, and that exposure to jet engine emissions is associated with similar adverse health effects as exposure to diesel exhaust particles and other traffic emissions.

Assessment Method of Fuel Consumption and Emissions of Aircraft during Taxiing on Airport Surface under Given Meteorological Conditions

Reducing fuel consumption and emissions of aircrafts during taxiing on airport surfaces is crucial to decrease the operating costs of airline companies and construct green airports. At present, relevant studies have barely investigated the influences of the operation environment, such as low visibility and traffic conflict in airports, reducing the assessment accuracy of fuel consumption and emissions. Multiple aircraft ground propulsion systems on airport surfaces, especially the electric green taxiing system, have attracted wide attention in the industry. Assessing differences in fuel consumption and emissions under different taxiing modes is difficult because environmental factors were hardly considered in previous assessments. Therefore, an innovative study was conducted based on practical running data of quick access recorders and climate data: (1) Low visibility and taxiing conflict on airport surfaces were inputted into the calculation model of fuel consumption to set up a modified model of fuel consumption and emissions. (2) Fuel consumption and emissions models under full- and single-engine taxiing, external aircraft ground propulsion systems, and electric green taxiing system could accurately estimate fuel consumption and emissions under different taxiing modes based on the modified model. (3) Differences in fuel consumption and emissions of various aircraft types under four taxiing modes under stop-and-go and unimpeded aircraft taxiing conditions were obtained through a sensitivity analysis in Shanghai Pudong International Airport under three thrust levels. Research conclusions provide support to the airport management department in terms of decision making on taxiway optimization.

Socio-economic and environmental factors influenced the United Nations healthcare sustainable agenda: evidence from a panel of selected Asian and African countries

The objective of the study is to evaluate socio-economic and environmental factors that influenced the United Nations healthcare sustainable agenda in a panel of 21 Asian and African countries. The results show that changes in price level (0.0062, p < 0.000), life risks of maternal death (4.579, p < 0.000), and under-5 mortality rate (0.374, p < 0.000) substantially increases out-of-pocket health expenditures, while CO₂ emissions (5.681, p < 0.003), prevalence of undernourishment (15.184, p < 0.000), PM_2.5 particulate emission (1557, p < 0.000), unemployment, and private health expenditures (30.729, p < 0000) are associated with high mortality rate across countries. Healthcare reforms affected by low healthcare spending, unsustainable environment, and ease of environmental regulations that ultimately increases mortality rate across countries. The Granger causality estimates confirmed the different causal mechanisms between socio-economic and environmental factors, which is directly linked with the country's healthcare agenda, i.e., the causality running from (i) CO₂ emissions to life risks of maternal death and under-5 mortality rate, (ii) from depth of food deficit to incidence of tuberculosis and unemployment, (iii) from PM_2.5 emissions to infant mortality rate, (iv) from foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to PM_2.5 emissions, (v) from trade openness to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and (vi) from mortality indicators to per capita income, while there is a feedback relationship between health expenditures and per capita income across countries. The variance decomposition analysis shows that (i) under-5 mortality rate will increase out-of-pocket health expenditures, (ii) unemployment rate will increase mortality indicators, and (iii) health expenditures will increase economic well-being in a panel of selected countries, for the next 10 years.

Monetized health benefits attributable to mobile source emission reductions across the United States in 2025

By-products of mobile source combustion processes, such as those associated with gasoline- and diesel-powered engines, include direct emissions of particulate matter as well as precursors to particulate matter and ground-level ozone. Human exposure to fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) is associated with increased incidence of premature mortality and morbidity outcomes. This study builds upon recent, detailed source-apportionment air quality modeling to project the health-related benefits of reducing PM_2.5 from mobile sources across the contiguous U.S. in 2025. Updating a previously published benefits analysis approach, we develop national-level benefit per ton estimates for directly emitted PM_2.5, SO₂/pSO₄, and NO_X for 16 mobile source sectors spanning onroad vehicles, nonroad engines and equipment, trains, marine vessels, and aircraft. These benefit per ton estimates provide a reduced-form tool for estimating and comparing benefits across multiple mobile source emission scenarios and can be applied to assess the benefits of mobile source policies designed to improve air quality. We found the benefit per ton of directly emitted PM_2.5 in 2025 ranges from $110,000 for nonroad agriculture sources to $700,000 for onroad light duty gas cars and motorcycles (in 2015 dollars and based on an estimate of PM-related mortality derived from the American Cancer Society cohort study). Benefit per ton values for SO₂/pSO₄ range from $52,000 for aircraft sources (including emissions from ground support vehicles) to $300,000 for onroad light duty diesel emissions. Benefit per ton values for NO_X range from $2100 for C1 and C2 marine vessels to $7500 for "nonroad all other" mobile sources, including industrial, logging, and oil field sources. Benefit per ton estimates increase approximately 2.26-fold when using an alternative concentration response function to derive PM_2.5-related mortality. We also report benefit per ton values for the eastern and western U.S. to account for broad spatial heterogeneity patterns in emissions reductions, population exposure and air quality benefits.

An air quality index-based multistage type-2-fuzzy interval-stochastic programming model for energy and environmental systems management under multiple uncertainties

In this study, a multistage type-2-fuzzy interval-stochastic programming (MTIP) method is developed, which extends upon the existing multistage stochastic programming (MSP) by allowing uncertainties expressed as probabilistic distributions, interval values and type-2 fuzzy sets to be effectively incorporated within the optimization framework. Through coupling air quality index (AQI) with MTIP, an AQI-MTIP model is formulated for energy and environmental systems (EES) management of Tianjin. A number of scenarios based on changed AQIs are examined to analyze the impacts of environmental requirements on the city's energy system. Results indicate that (i) with the improvement of environmental requirement, utilization of clean energies (especially natural gas) is provoked markedly; (ii) PM_2.5 is the primary pollutant, 64.50% of which should be reduced each period to maintain the city's air quality at a health-safe level. These findings can help decision makers adjust energy structure, make effective mitigation strategy, and gain deep insight into the relationship between energy consumption and environmental requirement.