Dispersion Modeling Guidance for Airports Addressing Local Air Quality Health Concerns (2017)

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A I R P O R T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M ACRP RESEARCH REPORT 179 2017 Research sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration Subscriber Categories Aviation • Environment Dispersion Modeling Guidance for Airports Addressing Local Air Quality Health Concerns Saravanan Arunachalam Alejandro Valencia Matthew C. Woody Michelle G. Snyder Jiaoyan Huang InstItute for the envIronment the unIversIty of north CarolIna at Chapel hIll Chapel Hill, NC i n a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h Jeffrey Weil CooperatIve InstItute for researCh In envIronmental sCIenCes unIversIty of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, CO Philip Soucacos Booz allen hamIlton, InC. Herndon, VA a n d Sandy Webb the envIronmental ConsultIng group, llC Crownsville, MD

AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM Airports are vital national resources. They serve a key role in trans- portation of people and goods and in regional, national, and interna- tional commerce. They are where the nation’s aviation system connects with other modes of transportation and where federal responsibility for managing and regulating air traffic operations intersects with the role of state and local governments that own and operate most airports. Research is necessary to solve common operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to introduce innovations into the airport industry. The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the airport industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for ACRP was identified in TRB Special Report 272: Airport Research Needs: Cooperative Solutions in 2003, based on a study spon- sored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). ACRP carries out applied research on problems that are shared by airport operating agen- cies and not being adequately addressed by existing federal research programs. ACRP is modeled after the successful National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). ACRP undertakes research and other technical activi- ties in various airport subject areas, including design, construction, legal, maintenance, operations, safety, policy, planning, human resources, and administration. ACRP provides a forum where airport operators can cooperatively address common operational problems. ACRP was authorized in December 2003 as part of the Vision 100— Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. The primary participants in the ACRP are (1) an independent governing board, the ACRP Oversight Committee (AOC), appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation with representation from airport operating agencies, other stakeholders, and relevant industry organizations such as the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), the American Associa- tion of Airport Executives (AAAE), the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), Airlines for America (A4A), and the Airport Consultants Council (ACC) as vital links to the airport community; (2) TRB as program manager and secretariat for the governing board; and (3) the FAA as program sponsor. In October 2005, the FAA executed a contract with the National Academy of Sciences formally initiating the program. ACRP benefits from the cooperation and participation of airport professionals, air carriers, shippers, state and local government officials, equipment and service suppliers, other airport users, and research organi- zations. Each of these participants has different interests and responsibili- ties, and each is an integral part of this cooperative research effort. Research problem statements for ACRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the AOC to formulate the research program by identifying the highest priority projects and defining funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each ACRP project is assigned to an expert panel appointed by TRB. Panels include experienced practitioners and research specialists; heavy emphasis is placed on including airport professionals, the intended users of the research products. The panels prepare project statements (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide technical guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing coop- erative research programs since 1962. As in other TRB activities, ACRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Primary emphasis is placed on disseminating ACRP results to the intended users of the research: airport operating agencies, service pro- viders, and academic institutions. ACRP produces a series of research reports for use by airport operators, local agencies, the FAA, and other interested parties; industry associations may arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, webinars, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by airport industry practitioners. ACRP RESEARCH REPORT 179 Project 02-58 ISSN 2572-3731 (Print) ISSN 2572-374X (Online) ISBN 978-0-309-44654-9 Library of Congress Control Number 2017951641 © 2017 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FRA, FTA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, PHMSA, or TDC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the Airport Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. Published research reports of the AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet by going to http://www.national-academies.org and then searching for TRB Printed in the United States of America

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C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling System at Airports (ADMS-Airport) is a proprietary disper- sion model for aircraft-related sources developed and maintained by Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC). The authors of this report would like to thank CERC for allowing the use of the model in this comparative study, and for guidance in its application. The authors also gratefully acknowl- edge the discussions with Christopher DesAutels of Exponent in the use of the CALPUFF model, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for providing an advanced version of the SCIPUFF model before public release, and Biswanath Chowdhury of Sage Management for assistance with troubleshooting and applying the SCIPUFF model for this study. CRP STAFF FOR ACRP RESEARCH REPORT 179 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Lori L. Sundstrom, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Michael R. Salamone, Manager, Airport Cooperative Research Program Joseph D. Navarrete, Senior Program Officer Hana Vagnerova, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Sharon Lamberton, Editor ACRP PROJECT 02-58 PANEL Field of Environment Kristoffer Russell, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, DFW Airport, TX (Chair) Edward L. Carr, ICF, San Francisco, CA Renee L. Dowlin, Jviation, Portland, OR Prem Lobo, Center of Excellence for Aerospace Particulate Emissions Reduction Research, Rolla, MO Randy J. McGill, Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Georgetown, ON, Canada Barbara Morin, Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence, RI Mohammed Majeed, FAA Liaison Christine Gerencher, TRB Liaison

ACRP Research Report 179 provides guidance for selecting and applying dispersion mod- els to study local air quality health impacts resulting from airport-related emissions. The report should be of particular interest to airport environmental practitioners and regulators who wish to learn about the unique challenges associated with modeling emissions in an airport setting for the purposes of understanding their potential impacts on human health. The Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT) is the required regulatory emissions and dispersion model for US airports; it employs the EPA’s AERMOD dispersion model, a Gaussian plume model. AERMOD is typically used to model dispersion from point and area sources (e.g., power plants, industrial activities) and to assess local air quality impacts. In recent years, however, airports have been asked to address more complex public health issues associated with airport activity. These public health studies often call for the use of high-fidelity, time-varying dispersion models such as CALPUFF, SCIPUFF/SCICHEM, ADMS-Airport, and LASPORT, some of which, in addition to their higher resolution, provide additional chemical transformation mechanisms and processes not included in AERMOD. No established process exists for modeling airport sources with these models, however, which has led to inconsistent practices. Research was needed to provide guidance for select- ing and using dispersion models to address local air quality health concerns. The research team, led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, began with a review of recent relevant literature. This was followed by a review of model input require- ments (aircraft activity, ground support equipment, on-road vehicles, stationary sources, and weather). The research team then conducted an intercomparison of four dispersion models, AERMOD, SCICHEM, CALPUFF, and ADMS-Airport, using actual airport air quality monitoring data. The results of this analysis were used to develop the guidance. This guidance document includes a primer on airport air quality and dispersion modeling, a decision matrix to help practitioners select the most appropriate modeling approach based on research needs, and guidance on how to approach an airport air quality study that requires dispersion modeling. Recognizing that the state of the practice would benefit from additional investigation, the guidance document also identifies areas of further research to improve dis- persion models, with specific focus on the unique characteristics of aircraft sources compared to other source types. The contractor’s final report, which provides detail on their research approach and findings, is available at www.trb.org by searching “ACRP Project 02-58”. F O R E W O R D By Joseph D. Navarrete Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

Note: Photographs, figures, and tables in this report may have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions. 1 Summary 4 Chapter 1 Introduction 6 Chapter 2 Primer on Airport Air Quality and Dispersion Modeling 6 2.1 Overview of Airport Air Quality Modeling 11 2.2 Selecting a Dispersion Model for Airport Air Quality Analysis 13 Chapter 3 Airport Modeling Studies 16 Chapter 4 Models versus Data Inputs 16 4.1 Input Data Requirements 16 4.1.1 AERMOD 16 4.1.2 CALPUFF 17 4.1.3 SCICHEM 17 4.1.4 ADMS-Airport 18 4.2 Modeling Systems 20 Chapter 5 Dispersion Model Intercomparison 25 Chapter 6 Future Research Needs 25 6.1 Incorporation of Background Pollutant Concentrations 26 6.2 Source Characterization 26 6.3 Inventory of UFPs 27 6.4 Plume Rise from Aircraft Emissions 27 6.5 Aircraft Downwash Effects on Plume Rise and Dispersion 28 6.6 Aircraft Dispersion Based on Instantaneous “Line Puffs” 29 6.7 Effects of Light Winds and Atmospheric Stability on Dispersion 29 6.8 Other Limitations 30 6.9 Interim Guidance 31 Glossary 34 Bibliography and References C O N T E N T S