Jet Aircraft: A Growing Pollution Source

Abstract

Pollution from jet aircraft is not a problem confined only to Los Angeles County but one which is of interest and concern wherever a major airport exists. Jet traffic at Los Angeles International Airport has increased from 80 flights daily in 1959 to nearly 1000 a day. This number will more than double in the next decade and its air pollution potential will increase in about the same proportion. The Air Pollution Control District investigated this new source of air pollution in Los Angeles County in 1959. In the absence of any previous research evidence or other information which would allow an evaluation of contaminant emissions from jet aircraft engines, it was necessary to develop original and novel test methods. These tests provided a starting point for a new study in 1968, to update the initial investigations and expand on them to include testing of emissions from a new generation of turbofan, as well as late model turbojet and turboprop engines. The primary interest of this study was to obtain as complete and comprehensive information as possible on the kinds and quantities of air contaminants emitted by jet aircraft, particularly at the Los Angeles International Airport. Equally important were the investigations on possible approaches to control of jet aircraft pollution, as well as the decisions as to the scope of the District’s legal jurisdiction in the field of aviation.