Table 1 Overview of reported levels of occupational exposures of PAH, BC, and particles in airports. Mean levels are presented if reported. For detailed data, see references
From: A review of health effects associated with exposure to jet engine emissions in and around airports
Description | Reported mean levels Ambient air | Reported mean levels Personal monitors | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
PAH | |||
 Total mean PAH concentrations in integrated air samples at an airbase on different locations and in different flight-related and ground-support activities | 601.1 ng/m3 (hangar background) 1025.4 ng/m3 (hangar taxiing) 2802.7 ng/m3 (engine test) 6795.3 ng/m3 (engine running on/off) 9811.1 ng/m3 (diesel-fueled aerospace ground equipment) During flight-related exercises, PAH concentrations were 10–15 times higher than in ambient air | NA | Childers et al. (2000) [83] |
 PAH compounds of highest levels measured for 24 h in three different locations | 130–13,050 ng/m3 (naphthalene) 64–28,500 ng/m3 (2-methylnaphthalene) 24–35,300 ng/m3 (1-methylnaphtalene) 24–1610 ng/m3 (biphenyl) 54.2 ng/ m3 (fluoranthene) 8.6 ng/m3 (benzo[a]pyrene) | NA | Iavicoli et al. (2006) [84] |
 Total mean of 23 PAH (vapor and particle-bound) measured during 24 h of 5 work days at the airport apron, airport building and terminal/office area | 27.703 μg/m3 (apron) 17.275 μg/m3 (airport building) 9.494 μg/m3 (terminal departure area) Highest levels in the airport apron particularly for 1 and 2-methylnaphthalene and acenaphthene | NA | Cavallo et al. (2006) [52] |
 Total mean particle-bound PAH measured in the vicinity of LAX to assess the spread of airport emissions in up – and downwind ambient air to the immediate neighborhood | 18.2 ng/m3 (upwind from the airport) 24.6 ng/m3 (downwind from the airport) 50.1 ng/m3 (at the taxiway) 60.1 ng/m3 (terminal region) Particle-bound PAH mean levels measured on two freeways were 47.0 ng/m3 and 169.4 ng/m3 | NA | Westerdahl et al. (2008) [34] |
Black carbon | |||
 Mean black carbon concentrations measured at different micro-environments of airports and in commercial flights | 3.78 μg/m3 (during boarding/disembarking) 3.16 μg/m3 (airport concourse) 2.78 μg/m3 (inside aircraft with open doors) 0.81 μg/m3 (inside aircraft on the ground with closed doors) | NA | Targino et al. (2017) [41] |
 BC levels measured in the vicinity of LAX to assess the spread of airport emissions in up – and downwind ambient air to the immediate neighborhood | 0.3 μg/cm3 (upwind from the airport) 0.7 μg/cm3 (downwind from the airport) 1.8 μg/cm3 (at the taxiway) 3.8 μg/cm3 (terminal region) | NA | Westerdahl et al. (2008) [34] |
 Contributions of airport activities to measured BC levels at Amsterdam Schiphol were measured for 32 sampling days over 6 months | Mean BC: 0.6 mg/m3 | NA | Pirhadi et al. (2020) [85] |
Particles | |||
 UFP and size distributions measured in the vicinity of LAX to assess the spread of airport emissions in up – and downwind ambient air to the immediate neighborhood | Average UFP counts of 5 × 104 particles/cm3 (500 m downwind of the airport), which were significantly influenced by aircraft operations where peaks were observed Maximum UFP measured was 4.8 × 106 particles/m3 downwind from a jet aircraft taking off Particle size: 90 nm (upwind from airport) 10–15 nm (downwind from airport) | NA | Westerdahl et al. (2008) [34] |
 Total mean concentration of 10 daily UFP samples with personal monitors placed with crew chief and hangar operator | 6.5 × 103 particles/cm3 (downwind site) | 2.5 × 104 particles/cm3 (crew chief) 1.7 × 104 particles/cm3 (hangar operator) Median number concentrations for 2 months measurement period | Buonanno et al. (2012) [86] |
 Geometric means of personal exposure to particle number concentration carried out in five different occupational groups | NA | 37 × 103 UFP/cm3 (baggage handlers) 5 × 103 UFP/cm3 (landside security) 12–20 × 103 UFP/cm3 (catering drivers, cleaning staff and airside security) | Møller et al. (2014) [87] |
 Particle and metal exposure in ambient air and in airport workers using exhaled breath condensates | 1.0 × 104–2.1 × 107 particles/cm3 (apron workers) 103–104 (office staff) Airport workers were exposed to significantly smaller particles (mean geometric size: 17.7 nm) compared to office workers (mean geometric size: 23.7 nm). | Particulate content was found in exhaled breath condensates, but no difference was found between the two study groups | Marie-Desvergne et al. (2016) [88] |
 Number concentrations and size distributions inside the cabin of an aircraft waiting for take-off compared to outdoor | 10–40 × 103 particles/cm3 A 40 min wait 100 m downwind of the runway was calculated to be equal to 4 h exposure in a clean urban background environment away from the airport | NA | Ren et al. (2018)a [89] |
 Potential exposure to passengers and indoor airport staff investigated by PM2.5 concentrations in the terminal building at three seasons | Arrival hall: 337 μg/m3 (Winter) 105 μg/m3 (Spring) 167 μg/m3 (Summer) Departure hall: 385 μg/m3 (Winter) 130 μg/m3 (Spring) 170 μg/m3 (Summer) Ambient airport air: 400 μg/m3 (Winter) 156 μg/m3 (Spring) 216 μg/m3 (Summer) 1.9–5.9 times higher particles number concentrations in the terminal buildings than measured in a normal urban environment Total UFP exposure during an entire average waiting period (including in the terminal building and airliner cabin) of a passenger was estimated to be equivalent to 11 h of exposure to normal urban emissions | NA | Ren et al. (2018)b [90] |
 UFP monitoring at several sampling sites in the vicinity of Lisbon Airport for 19 non-consecutive days | Downwind average particle number concentration range: 3.3 × 104 cm3 to 5.9 × 104 particles per cm3 Measured range of peaks: 2.3 × 105 particles per cm3 to 3.4 × 105 particles per cm3 | NA | Lopes et al. (2019) [91] |
 Maximal measurements at a commercial airport and exposure assessment at a non-commercial airfield | 106 -108 particles/cm3 (main combustion events of plane leaving and arriving) 1086 μg/m3 (single peak event of plane leaving) 10.7% was predicted to deposit in the alveolar lung regions | Personal exposure levels were similar to air concentrations | Bendtsen et al. (2019) [36] |
 Maximal UFP number concentration of UFP exposures investigated for 33 male employees working in an airport taxiway | 9.59 × 106 (during support tasks in taxiing and taking off of the aircraft) | 2.44 × 103 particles/cm3 Median UFP number concentration | Marcias et al. (2019) [92] |
 Contributions of airport activities to measured particle number concentrations (PNCs) at Amsterdam Schiphol were measured for 32 sampling days over 6 months | Mean total PNC: 35,308 particles/cm3 Aircraft departures and aircraft arrivals contributed to 46.1 and 26.7% of PNC, respectively. Ground support equipment and local road traffic accounted for 6.5% of PNC and were characterized by diameters of 60–80 nm. Traffic from surrounding freeways was characterized by particles of 30–40 nm and contributed to 18% of PNC Mean PM2.5: 7.4 mg/m3 Particle size range: 10–20 nm | NA | Pirhadi et al. (2020) [85] |