title: Sampling and analysis of aircraft engine cold start particles and demonstration of an electrostatic personal particle sampler.
abstract: Aircraft engines emit an aerosol plume during startup in extremely cold weather that can drift into areas occupied by flightline ground crews. This study tested a personal sampler used to assess exposure to particles in the plume under challenging field conditions. Area and personal samples were taken at two U.S. Air Force (USAF) flightlines during the winter months. Small tube-and-wire electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) were mounted on a stationary stand positioned behind the engines to sample the exhaust. Other ESPs were worn by ground crews to sample breathing zone concentrations. In addition, an aerodynamic particle sizer 3320 (APS) was used to determine the size distribution of the particles. Samples collected with the ESP were solvent extracted and analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results indicated that the plume consisted of up to 75 mg/m(3) of unburned jet fuel particles. The APS showed that nearly the entire particle mass was respirable, because the plumes had mass median diameters less than 2 micro m. These tests demonstrated that the ESP could be used at cold USAF flightlines to perform exposure assessments to the cold start particles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, CB#7400, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, USA.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Armendariz
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leith
authors.forename: Maryanne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boundy
authors.forename: Randall
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Les
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carlton
mesh_terms: D000392:Air Movements; D000401:Aircraft; D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D010316:Particle Size; D055672:Static Electricity; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D001335:Vehicle Emissions