While the scientific community has acknowledged the health risks of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), research on ultrafine particles (UFPs) remains limited. These particles, finer than PM2.5, are more susceptible to invading the human body. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued warnings about this issue 15 years ago, yet a safety standard for UFP concentrations remains unestablished.
The non-governmental organization Transport & Environment (T&E) released a study in June stating that more than 10% of Europeans, or approximately 52 million people, live near busy airports and may be exposed to UFPs emitted by aircraft taking off and landing. High blood pressure, diabetes, and dementia in these people may be related to UFPs.
PM2.5 refers to particulate pollutants with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. UFPs are even finer than PM2.5, with a diameter of less than 0.1 microns, 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, making them more easily able to enter the body. A 2019 study linked UFPs to brain cancer.
In addition to vehicles, aircraft also emit UFPs during flight, takeoff, and landing. According to T&E, aircraft emissions contribute approximately 3,000 to 10,000 UFP particles per cubic centimeter to the air people breathe within a 5-kilometer radius of an airport. UFPs are associated with the risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and pregnancy.
T&E noted that this is the first study to examine the relationship between UFP emissions from aviation and health risks in Europe. The results found that UFP exposure may be linked to 280,000 cases of hypertension, 330,000 cases of diabetes, and 18,000 cases of dementia in residents near airports. Communities near airports tend to have lower incomes, representing vulnerable groups more vulnerable to air pollution.
These tiny particles have entered the human bloodstream, brain, and placenta, but there is still a lack of concrete data on their exact health effects. Euronews reported that T&E Aviation Technical Manager Carlos López de la Osa said that UFP particles are smaller and can penetrate deeper into the human body, making them "very dangerous."
T&E's research also found that using higher-quality fuel could reduce UFPs by 70%. T&E cites fuel hydrotreatment as an effective way to remove impurities. This technology has been used in automobile and marine fuels for decades, costing less than 5 cents (approximately NT$1.6) per liter. However, improvements in aviation fuel standards have been slow. Furthermore, reducing air traffic, using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and using hydrogen or other low-carbon fuels for aircraft can help reduce UFPs.
References:
*euronews（2024/6/25），High blood pressure, diabetes, dementia: How plane pollution could threaten the health of 52m Europe
*Transportenvironment（2024/6/25），Ultrafine particles from planes put 52 million Europeans at risk of serious health conditions
*Transportenvironment（2024/6/25），Can living near an airport make you ill?
Sources:Environmental Information Center
