Concorde air quality monitoring and analysis program at Dulles International Airport. Volume I. Final report

Abstract

On February 4, 1976, the Secretary of Transportation ordered the FAA to monitor Concorde emissions at Dulles International Airport during its initial 16 month trial period. To comply with this order, it was necessary to measure the ambient pollution levels (background) in and around Dulles Airport and to trace the dispersion of emissions from a single Concorde aircraft. While the more conventional background measurements could be easily performed, there was no known case where the vertical and horizontal profile of the emission plume from a single aircraft had been identified. Special instruments were required to measure the discrete, non-steady nature of the dispersion of the aircraft plume. The final measurement system, which consisted of continuously recording electro-chemical sensors coupled with high-speed chart recorders, successfully detected CO emissions from a single aircraft. Concorde CO emissions from taxiing aircraft dilute to background levels within 2,000 ft and do not reach the terminal in measurable amounts. Emissions from the airport property could not be detected at Sterling Park, or several more distant communities, even when the winds were blowing toward them from the airport. Actual Concorde operations were less polluting than had been indicated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. (ERA citation 04:001316)