Aviation emissions are a climate concern, and also have a serious impact on air quality. Yet, this issue has not received much attention from regulators or the aviation industry.
When jet fuel is burnt, it releases particulate matter (PM) of different sizes, including ultrafine particles (UFPs), tiny particles below the size of 100 nanometre in diameter – approximately 1000 times smaller than a human hair. Despite growing evidence that UFP exposure can contribute to respiratory symptoms, heart rate variability, blood pressure problems and have long-term effects on mortality, this pollutant remains largely under researched and unregulated.
The study provides a first estimate of the health effects caused by aviation-related UFPs in Europe, by summarizing the available scientific evidence, and extrapolating data from the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport area to the main European airports. The analysis estimates that a total of 280,000 cases of high blood pressure, 330,000 cases of diabetes, and 18,000 cases of dementia may be linked to UFP emissions among the 51,5 million people living around the 32 busiest airports in Europe.