Aircraft

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This page provides information about air pollutant emissions from aviation. It includes regulations, guidance, and other information related to aircraft.

Regulations and Guidance
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Regulations and Guidance

EPA Adopts NOx Emission Standards for Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines
EPA adopted emission standards and related provisions for aircraft gas turbine engines with rated thrusts greater than 26.7 kilonewtons. These engines are used primarily on commercial passenger and freight aircraft. The requirements were previously adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Included in the rule are two new tiers of more stringent emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx). These are referred to as Tier 6 standards and Tier 8 standards. The Tier 6 standards become effective for newly-manufactured aircraft engines beginning in 2013.
- Fact Sheet: EPA Adopts NOx Emission Standards for Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines (PDF) (2 pp, 138K, EPA-420-F-12-027, May 2012)
- Control of Air Pollution From Aircraft and Aircraft Engines; Final Emission Standards and Test Procedures (PDF) (46 pp, 732K, published June 18, 2012)
- Control of Air Pollution From Aircraft and Aircraft Engines; Summary and Analysis of Comments (PDF) (32 pp, 718K, EPA-420-R-12-011, May 2012)
EPA Proposes NOx Emission Standards for Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines
EPA is proposing to adopt emission standards and related provisions for aircraft gas turbine engines with rated thrusts greater than 26.7 kilonewtons. These engines are used primarily on commercial passenger and freight aircraft. The proposed requirements were either previously adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), or agreed on at ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) in 2010. Included in the proposal are two new tiers of more stringent emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx). These are referred to as Tier 6 (or CAEP/6) standards and Tier 8 (or CAEP/8) standards. The proposed standards would become effective for newly-manufactured aircraft engines beginning in 2013.
- Fact Sheet: EPA Proposes NOx Emission Standards for Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines | PDF Version (3 pp, 124K, EPA-420-F-11-019, July 2011)
- Control of Air Pollution From Aircraft and Aircraft Engines; Proposed Emission Standards and Test Procedures (PDF) (41 pp, 567K, published July 27, 2011)
EPA Response to Petition from Friends of the Earth
EPA issued a response to the 2006 petition from Friends of the Earth, which requested that the Administrator find that aircraft lead emissions cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare, and that EPA regulate those emissions.
- Fact Sheet: EPA Response to the 2006 Petition from Friends of the Earth Regarding Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft (PDF) (2 pp, 135K, EPA-420-F-12-050, July 2012)
- EPA Response Memorandum to the 2006 Petition from Friends of the Earth Regarding Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft (PDF) (20 pp, 9.96MB, July 2012)
Final Lead Ambient Air Monitoring Requirements
On December 14, 2010, EPA finalized revisions to the ambient monitoring requirements for measuring lead in the air. These amendments expand the nation's lead monitoring network to better assess compliance with the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for lead. EPA will continue to monitor at airports emitting at least one ton of lead per year. EPA will also require the states to conduct a year-long monitoring study at 15 airports that emit less than one ton to determine how these sources impact air quality.
- Selection of Airports for the Airport Monitoring Study (PDF) (40 pp, 14MB, November 18, 2010) This document describes EPA’s selection of the 15 airports included in the airport lead monitoring study.
Notice of Extension of Public Comment for the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft Using Leaded Aviation Gasoline
EPA is extending the comment period for the “Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft Using Leaded Aviation Gasoline.” Under the Federal Register Notice, published April 28, 2010, the public comment period was set to end on June 28, 2010. The purpose of this document is to extend the comment period an additional 60 days until August 27, 2010. This extension of the comment period is provided to allow the public additional time to provide comment on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
- Federal Register Notice | PDF Version (2 pp, 57K, published June 24, 2010)
Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft Using Leaded Aviation Gasoline
EPA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft using leaded aviation gasoline. EPA is describing and inviting comment from all interested parties on the data available for evaluating lead emissions, ambient concentrations and potential exposure to lead from the use of leaded aviation gasoline in piston-engine powered aircraft.
- Fact Sheet: Lead Emissions from Piston Engine Aircraft Using Leaded Aviation Gasoline | PDF Version (3 pp, 560K, EPA-420-F-10-013, April 2010)
- Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft Using Leaded Aviation Gasoline, EPA- Preamble | PDF Version (29 pp, 702K, published April 28, 2010)

The ANPR is one of the steps EPA has taken in response to a petition from Friends of the Earth (FOE). In 2007, EPA issued a notice requesting public comment and information related to a wide range of issues regarding exposure to lead from combustion of leaded aviation gasoline, emissions of lead, fuel options, and piston-engine technology. The comments received to date are publicly available in the docket (EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0294).

Petition from Friends of the Earth (PDF) (12 pp, 303K, October 3, 2006) This petition requests that the Administrator find that aircraft lead emissions cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare, and that EPA regulate those emissions.
Federal Register Notice Requesting Public Comment on Petition to Limit Lead Emissions from General Aviation Aircraft | PDF Version (4 pp, 108K, published November 16, 2007)

The following documents provide information on inventory documentation and additional data:

Calculating Piston-Engine Aircraft Airport Inventories for Lead for the 2008 National Emissions Inventory (PDF) (22 pp, 738K, December 23, 2010, EPA-420-B-10-044) This Technical Support Document (TSD) provides the most recent methodology used to estimate airport-specific lead emissions for the 2008 National Emissions Inventory (NEI). The 2008 NEI can be accessed from EPA’s 2008 National Emissions Inventory Data & Documentation website.
Lead Emissions from the Use of Leaded Aviation Gasoline in the United States (PDF) (82 pp, 2.5MB, October 2008, EPA-420-R-08-020) This Technical Support Document (TSD) provides the methodology used to estimate airport-specific lead emissions for the 2002 inventory year. The 2002 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) does not use the method described in this document so the airport-specific lead estimates for 2002 are provided in this TSD.
Development and Evaluation of an Air Quality Modeling Approach for Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft Operating on Leaded Aviation Gasoline (PDF) (86 pp, 6.5MB, February 2010, EPA-420-R-10-007) This final report presents the results of EPA's study to develop a modeling approach to quantify how emissions from piston-engine aircraft affect ambient lead levels at the local scale.
- Appendix A (PDF) (50 pp, 1.3MB)
- Appendix B (PDF) (14 pp, 165K)
- Appendix C (PDF) (12 pp, 2.1MB)
- Appendix D (PDF) (14 pp, 2.1MB)
- Appendix E (PDF) (14 pp, 7.6MB)
- Appendix F (PDF) (18 pp, 10.7MB)

Aircraft - Related Organic Gases
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Transportation Air Quality (OTAQ) and the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Environment and Energy (AEE) are pleased to provide the organic gas speciation profile for use in emission inventories of aircraft equipped with turbofan, turbojet, and turboprop engines fueled with kerosene-based jet-A fuel. The development of this profile is the combined work of both agencies, taking into account the most recent data sets available at this time. EPA and FAA have agreed to continue further development of this speciated organic gas profile as new scientific information becomes available. Because this effort is a "living" methodology, air quality practitioners should verify that they have the most recent version of the documents (by date and version number on the cover) and associated speciated profile before preparing an emissions inventory.
- Recommended Best Practice for Quantifying Speciated Organic Gas Emissions from Aircraft Equipped with Turbofan, Turbojet, and Turboprop Engines (PDF) (26 pp, 626K, EPA-420-R-09-901, May 2009)
  This document will assist aviation air quality practitioners in preparing an emissions inventory of organic gases (OGs) emitted by aircraft equipped with turbofan, turbojet, and turboprop engines.
- Aircraft Engine Speciated Organic Gases: Speciation of Unburned Organic Gases in Aircraft Exhaust (PDF) (27 pp, 613K, EPA-420-R-09-902, May 2009) - Technical Support Document
  Provides the scientific details of the various datasets that were evaluated during the development of the aircraft-related OG speciation profile. The Technical Support Document (TSD) is supported by the Technical Support Spreadsheet listed below.
- Aircraft Engine Speciated Hydrocarbons (Turbofan, Turbojet, and Turboprop Engines) (3 pp, 928K, EPA-420-R-09-903, May 2009, Free Excel Viewer is available at Microsoft ) - Technical Support Spreadsheet
  This spreadsheet provides the technical data, algorithms, and computations used to derive the speciated OG profile.
- Quality Assurance Project Plan for the Development of a Commercial Aircraft Hazardous Air Pollutants Emission Inventory Methodology (PDF) (21 pp, 287K, EPA-420-R-09-904, May 2009)
  Outlines the procedures and datasets used to develop the data and methodology provided/discussed in the Recommended Best Practice (RBP).
Final Rule: Control of Air Pollution from Aircraft and Aircraft Engines; Emission Standards and Test Procedures (published November 17, 2005)
EPA is amending the existing emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) for new commercial aircraft engines. These standards are equivalent to the NOx emission standards of the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and thereby will bring United States aircraft standards into alignment with the international standards. These standards will go into effect on December 19, 2005 and they will apply to new aircraft engines utilized on commercial aircraft that include small regional jets, single-aisle aircraft, twin-aisle aircraft, and 747s and larger aircraft.
- Final Rule | PDF Version (24 pp, 240K)
- Correction (typographical) to Final Rule | PDF Version (1 pg, 40K, published November 25, 2005)
- Fact Sheet: Aircraft Engine Emission Standards | PDF Version (3 pp, 51K, EPA420-F-05-015, November 2005)
- Emission Standards and Test Procedures for Aircraft and Aircraft Engines: Summary and Analysis of Comments (PDF) (55 pp, 477K, EPA420-R-05-004, November 2005)
Proposed Rule: Control of Air Pollution from Aircraft and Aircraft Engines (published September 30, 2003)
- Proposed Rule | PDF Version (26 pp, 612K)
- Fact Sheet: Proposed Aircraft Engine Emission Standards (PDF) (5 pp, 117K, EPA420-F-03-029, September 2003)

Aircraft Contrails Fact Sheet (PDF) (6 pp, 1.6MB, EPA430-F-00-005, September 2000)

Evaluation of Air Pollutant Emissions from Subsonic Commercial Jet Aircraft (PDF) (77 pp, 412K, EPA420-R-99-013, April 1999)
- Executive Summary 7K TXT
Direct Final Rule: Aircraft Emission Standards Harmonizes US Aircraft Standards with International Standards (published May 8, 1997)
- Direct Final Rule
- Direct Final Rule Regulations 13K WP5
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
- Regulatory Support Document (PDF) (25 pp, 81K, February 1997)
- Fact Sheet: Adopted Aircraft Engine Emission Standards (PDF) (5 pp, 17K, EPA420-F-97-010, April 1997)
Fact Sheet: Reducing Aviation Emissions in the South Coast (PDF) (3 pp, 10K, EPA420-F-96-010, July 1996, also available as a 5K TXT)
Draft Technical Data to Support FAA Advisory Circular on Reducing Emissions from Commercial Aviation (September 1995)
- Abstract 12K TXT
- Report (PDF) (76 pp, 276K)
- Appendices (PDF) (33 pp, 221K)

For aviation emission inventory analysis, a useful tool is the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Emissions and Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS).
In cases where EDMS does not include necessary emission factors, such as aircraft particulate matter (PM), use the best available information. Available information on particulate matter emission factors includes EPA documentation, available through contacting the ASD information phone number and e-mail address shown above.
Aircraft Engine Emissions Data Bank A comprehensive database of aircraft engine emissions certification data has been developed during the course of work carried out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This data and related information are available at the ICAO Aircraft Engine Exhaust Emissions Data Bank.

November 1991: Nonroad Engine and Vehicle Emission Study Report (PDF) (141 pp, 1.8MB, EPA-21A-2001 or EPA460/3-91-002).
- Appendices (PDF) (415 pp, 7.7MB)

This "nonroad study" quantifies the contribution of nonroad sources to air pollution, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM). The study covers 10 equipment categories, including: lawn and garden equipment, farm and construction equipment, recreational vehicles, marine vessels, and airport service equipment.

Paper copies of this study are available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) - Publication #PB-92-126960.

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