Equity and health impacts of aircraft emissions at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

The development and expansion of airports has important effects on urban infrastructure, economies, and equity. With air travel demand expected to grow by 77% in the next twenty years, there is a growing need to address airports’ impacts on residents. This study examines the impacts of aircraft emissions on concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a harmful form of air pollution, at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport. Aircraft landing and takeoff emissions were modeled for June–July 2002 using the Advanced Modeling System for Transport, Emissions, Reactions, and Deposition of Atmospheric Matter (AMSTERDAM). Distributional analyses show that within 675 of 710 census tracts of the 29-county Atlanta metropolitan region, the average aircraft contribution to PM2.5 was low (