Influence of a large commercial airport on the ultrafine particle number concentration in a distant residential area under different wind conditions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Highlights • An airport can result in high particle concentrations in a distant residential area. • The particle size distribution indicated the airport as the main source of particles. • Lower air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic lead to lower particle concentrations. • The particle concentration showed high temporal variations. Abstract Exposure to ultrafine particles has a significant influence on human health. In regions with large commercial airports, air traffic and ground operations can represent a potential particle source. The particle number concentration was measured in a low-traffic residential area about 7 km from Frankfurt Airport with a Condensation Particle Counter in a long-term study. In addition, the particle number size distribution was determined using a Fast Mobility Particle Sizer. The particle number concentrations showed high variations over the entire measuring period and even within a single day. A maximum 24 h-mean of 24,120 cm−3 was detected. Very high particle number concentrations were in particular measured when the wind came from the direction of the airport. In this case, the particle number size distribution showed a maximum in the particle size range between 5 and 15 nm. Particles produced by combustion in jet engines typically have this size range and a high potential to be deposited in the alveoli. During a period with high air traffic volume, significantly higher particle number concentrations could be measured than during a period with low air traffic volume, as in the COVID-19 pandemic. A large commercial airport thus has the potential to lead to a high particle number concentration even in a distant residential area. Due to the high particle number concentrations, the critical particle size, and strong concentration fluctuations, long-term measurements are essential for a realistic exposure analysis.
Author: | Janis DrögeORCiDGND, Doris KlingelhöferORCiD, Markus BraunORCiD, Jan David Alexander GronebergORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-828835 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123390 |
ISSN: | 0269-7491 |
Parent Title (English): | Environmental pollution |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Place of publication: | Amsterdam |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2024/02/20 |
Date of first Publication: | 2024/02/01 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2024/03/14 |
Tag: | Airport-related emissions; Ambient air; Corona pandemic; Long-term-measurements; Particle number size distribution |
Volume: | 345 |
Issue: | 123390 |
Article Number: | 123390 |
Page Number: | 10 |
Institutes: | Medizin |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
Licence (German): | Creative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0 |