TY - JOUR
T1 - Civil aviation, air pollution and human health
AU - Harrison, Roy M.
AU - Masiol, Mauro
AU - Vardoulakis, Sotiris
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2015/4/1
Y1 - 2015/4/1
N2 - Air pollutant emissions from aircraft have been subjected to less rigorous control than road traffic emissions, and the rapid growth of global aviation is a matter of concern in relation to human exposures to pollutants, and consequent effects upon health. Yim et al (2015 Environ. Res. Lett. 3 034001) estimate exposures globally arising from aircraft engine emissions of primary particulate matter, and from secondary sulphates and ozone, and use concentration-response functions to calculate the impact upon mortality, which is monetised using the value of statistical life. This study makes a valuable contribution to estimating the magnitude of public health impact at various scales, ranging from local, near airport, regional and global. The results highlight the need to implement future mitigation actions to limit impacts of aviation upon air quality and public health. The approach adopted in Yim et al only accounts for the air pollutants emitted by aircraft engine exhausts. Whilst aircraft emissions are often considered as dominant near runways, there are a number of other sources and processes related to aviation that still need to be accounted for. This includes impacts of nitrate aerosol formed from NOx emissions, but probably more important, are the other airport-related emissions from ground service equipment and road traffic. By inclusion of these, and consideration of non-fatal impacts, future research will generate comprehensive estimates of impact related to aviation and airports.
AB - Air pollutant emissions from aircraft have been subjected to less rigorous control than road traffic emissions, and the rapid growth of global aviation is a matter of concern in relation to human exposures to pollutants, and consequent effects upon health. Yim et al (2015 Environ. Res. Lett. 3 034001) estimate exposures globally arising from aircraft engine emissions of primary particulate matter, and from secondary sulphates and ozone, and use concentration-response functions to calculate the impact upon mortality, which is monetised using the value of statistical life. This study makes a valuable contribution to estimating the magnitude of public health impact at various scales, ranging from local, near airport, regional and global. The results highlight the need to implement future mitigation actions to limit impacts of aviation upon air quality and public health. The approach adopted in Yim et al only accounts for the air pollutants emitted by aircraft engine exhausts. Whilst aircraft emissions are often considered as dominant near runways, there are a number of other sources and processes related to aviation that still need to be accounted for. This includes impacts of nitrate aerosol formed from NOx emissions, but probably more important, are the other airport-related emissions from ground service equipment and road traffic. By inclusion of these, and consideration of non-fatal impacts, future research will generate comprehensive estimates of impact related to aviation and airports.
KW - air pollution
KW - aircraft
KW - civil aviation
KW - health impacts
KW - mortality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84928725342&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/041001
DO - 10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/041001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84928725342
SN - 1748-9318
VL - 10
JO - Environmental Research Letters
JF - Environmental Research Letters
IS - 4
M1 - 041001
ER -