THE IMPACT OF AIRPORT ACTIVITY ON LOCAL AIR QUALITY

The increase in air traffic during the last decade, indicated by an 89 percent increase from 2004 to2022 (IATA,2022) has made airports a substantial source of local air pollution (EPA, 2017). Atmospheric concentrations and dispersion of particulate matter depend not only on their sources but also on meteorological variables such as wind, humidity, and precipitation. The goal of this thesis is to establish whether the Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), one of the busiest airports in North America, has an impact on the atmospheric concentrations of particulate matter in the surrounding areas. In this paper, atmospheric concentrations of PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter smaller than 2.5 μm) from PurpleAir air quality monitors and meteorological data from NOAA were obtained for a full year (September 1st, 2022, to August 31st, 2023). IAD is surrounded by an almost even distribution of PurpleAir monitors, and the surrounding mix of urban and suburban neighborhoods make it an ideal location to study how local meteorology influences particulate matter transport and depositions. Using Generalized Additive Models, this work shows that these datasets cannot prove that IAD impact particulate matter concentrations in the surrounding area above other sources. Elevated PM2.5 levels at these sites appear to be mostly attributable to other localized emission sources (e.g., roadways) and the Washington DC urban area.