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2 ACRP Research Report 185: Airport Air Quality Management 101 is an introduction to the air quality issues that are important for any airport, large or small, that is operating in the United States. It was produced for airport staff or stakeholders who are air quality novices, whether new employees, career airport managers, board members, or interested neighbors. It will also be useful for those who have worked in the area but do not have current experience. The report touches on all aspects of managing an air quality program, highlighting its importance to overall airport operations. It presents summary information on many topics and guides the user to more detailed and comprehensive references available in the companion product to ACRP Research Report 185, the Airport Air Quality Resource Library, a website that can be accessed at https://crp.trb.org/acrp0267/. Airports typically make only a small contribution to a regionâs total pollution load. However, an airportâs neighbors, the local community, and nearby schools may view airports as the source of any and all air quality concerns. As a result, airports have a responsibility for managing the emissions and pollutants that arise from activity at their facility. This includes emissions from activities like heating and cooling terminals; operating equipment like snowplows, sweepers, and mainte- nance trucks; and maintaining and cleaning airport facilities. It further includes emissions from passenger and commercial vehicles while they are on airport property and emissions from airline-owned ground support equipment (GSE) operating on the airside of the airport. Finally, it includes emissions from aircraft operating within airport boundaries from ground level to the top of the local mixing height. Generally, anything that emits pollutants within the airport boundary is a component of the airportâs air quality program even though the airport does not have direct control of passenger vehicles or aircraft, both of which are owned by other entities. For these emission sources, airports exercise their responsibility indirectly. The report is divided into 12 sections. Following this introduction, Section 2: Overview of Air Quality Management Functions sets the context of air quality management with an overview of the laws that guide the structure for managing an airport air quality program. Various manage- ment functions are also described to break down the skills and knowledge needed for different responsibilities. Section 3: Airport Emissions and Sources describes airport operations, equipment, and activi- ties such as construction that are sources of emissions. In Section 4: Air Quality Analysis, the process of developing an emissions inventory is described. Following that, the concept of air S E C T I O N 1 Introduction
Introduction 3 quality computer modeling, especially dispersion modeling, is presented. Section 5: Tools for Airport Air Quality Analysis discusses the various computer models used to support air quality analysis and regulatory compliance. In Section 6: Air Environmental Regulations Applicable to Airports, the regulatory structure and limits on exposure to airport pollutant emissions are described. The federal laws that establish the regulatory structure are discussed as well. Section 7: Mitigation Strategies reviews approaches used by airports to reduce or otherwise limit emissions and identifies sources of funding that can be used to mitigate emissions. Section 8: Decision Support for Air Quality Management provides guidance for navigating some of the more complex management requirements such as determining the need for air quality models, conformity analysis, hazardous air pollutant (HAP) inventory development, and greenhouse gas inventory development. This section presents decision trees to support these different requirements. Section 9: Stakeholder Engagement Strategies discusses the ways airports interact with their stakeholders with regard to the airportâs air emissions. Different outreach approaches are described for addressing different stakeholder groups. Several areas where current research into fundamental science or new ways to approach environmental topics may lead to changes in approach or understanding of air quality impacts are described in Section 10: Emerging Issues in Airport Air Quality. These issues may become the focus of greater attention in the future. Topics in this section include greenhouse gases (GHGs), particulate matter (PM), HAPs, lead, and sustainability. Section 11: Frequently Asked Questions includes a quick reference list of notable topics in airport air quality with guidance for finding pertinent information. Following Section 11 is the Glossary, which defines terms used throughout the report, and a list of acronyms. The Airport Air Quality Resource Library User Guide is provided as an appendix.
