Analysis of Airport Runoff Waters

Abstract

A particularly important facet of airport operation is the impact of the pollution caused by runoff waters. Runoff waters at an airport may contain relatively high concentrations of different contaminants resulting from the various aspects of its operation: de/anti-icing operations, washing and cleaning operations, spills of fuel and lubricants, exhaust fumes, and weed removal. The pollution caused by airport operations affects soil, surface waters, and groundwater. This issue is important to various stakeholders, particularly those residing in communities near airports, whose health, property values, and quality of life can be affected by such environmental impacts. The authors’ intention is to present a critical review of literature data concerning (1) the types of pollution generated at airports, (2) methods for sampling runoff waters, (3) the analytical methods available for sample preparation, and (4) the analytical methods available for determining contaminants produced during airport operations. In addition, the article supplies literature information on the analytes contained in samples of runoff water from airports in different parts of the world.

Keywords:

• Airport runoff waters
• pollutants
• sources of emission
• sample collection
• analytical procedures

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors express their gratitude for the grant awarded within the framework of the interdisciplinary project “The development of interdiscplinary PhD studies in modern technologies at the Gdańsk University of Technology,” co-funded by the European Union.

Notes

*Unless otherwise noted.

^aData sample type: peak, composite, and grab.

^bBelow detectable concentrations.