TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatial Differences and Costs of Emissions at U.S. Airport Hubs
AU - Nahlik, Matthew J.
AU - Chester, Mikhail
AU - Ryerson, Megan S.
AU - Fraser, Andrew
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Chemical Society.
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/5/3
Y1 - 2016/5/3
N2 - As local governments plan to expand airport infrastructure and build air service, monetized estimates of damages from air pollution are important for balancing environmental impacts. While it is well-known that aircraft emissions near airports directly affect nearby populations, it is less clear how the airport-specific aircraft operations and impacts result in monetized damages to human health and the environment. We model aircraft and ground support equipment emissions at major U.S. airports and estimate the monetized human health and environmental damages of near airport (within 60 miles) emissions. County-specific unit damage costs for PM, SOx, NOx, and VOCs and damage valuations for CO and CO2 are used along with aircraft emissions estimations at airports to determine impacts. We find that near-airport emissions at major U.S. airports caused a total of $1.9 billion in damages in 2013, with airports contributing between $720 thousand and $190 million each. These damages vary by airport from $1 to $9 per seat per one-way flight and costs per passenger are often greater than airport charges levied on airlines for infrastructure use. As the U.S. aviation system grows, it is possible to minimize human and environmental costs by shifting aircraft technologies and expanding service into airports where fewer impacts are likely to occur.
AB - As local governments plan to expand airport infrastructure and build air service, monetized estimates of damages from air pollution are important for balancing environmental impacts. While it is well-known that aircraft emissions near airports directly affect nearby populations, it is less clear how the airport-specific aircraft operations and impacts result in monetized damages to human health and the environment. We model aircraft and ground support equipment emissions at major U.S. airports and estimate the monetized human health and environmental damages of near airport (within 60 miles) emissions. County-specific unit damage costs for PM, SOx, NOx, and VOCs and damage valuations for CO and CO2 are used along with aircraft emissions estimations at airports to determine impacts. We find that near-airport emissions at major U.S. airports caused a total of $1.9 billion in damages in 2013, with airports contributing between $720 thousand and $190 million each. These damages vary by airport from $1 to $9 per seat per one-way flight and costs per passenger are often greater than airport charges levied on airlines for infrastructure use. As the U.S. aviation system grows, it is possible to minimize human and environmental costs by shifting aircraft technologies and expanding service into airports where fewer impacts are likely to occur.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84964888500&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84964888500&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.5b04491
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.5b04491
M3 - Article
C2 - 27007187
AN - SCOPUS:84964888500
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 50
SP - 4149
EP - 4158
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 8
ER -