title: Ozone levels in passenger cabins of commercial aircraft on North American and transoceanic routes.
abstract: Ozone levels in airplane cabins, and factors that influence them, were studied on northern hemisphere commercial passenger flights on domestic U.S., transatlantic, and transpacific routes. Real-time data from 76 flights were collected in 2006--2007 with a battery-powered UV photometric monitor. Sample mean ozone level, peak-hour ozone level, and flight-integrated ozone exposures were highly variable across domestic segments (N = 68), with ranges of < 1.5 to 146 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), 3--275 ppbv, and < 1.5 to 488 ppbv-hour, respectively. On planes equipped with ozone catalysts, the mean peak-hour ozone level (4.7 ppbv, N = 22)was substantially lower than on planes not equipped with catalysts (47 ppbv, N = 46). Peak-hour ozone levels on eight transoceanic flight segments, all on planes equipped with ozone catalysts, were in the range < 1.5 to 65 [corrected] ppbv. Seasonal variation on domestic routes without converters is reasonably modeled by a sinusoidal curve that predicts peak-hour levels to be approximately 70 ppbv higher in Feb--March than in Aug--Sept The temporal trend is broadly consistent with expectations, given the seasonal cycle in tropopause height. Episodically elevated (>100 ppbv) ozone levels on domestic flights were associated with winter-spring storms that are linked to enhanced exchange between the lower stratosphere and the upper troposphere.
authors.affiliation: Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-1710, USA.
authors.forename: Seema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhangar
authors.forename: Shannon C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Cowlin
authors.forename: Brett C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Sextro
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Nazaroff
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D000401:Aircraft; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D009656:North America; D010083:Oxidants, Photochemical / Q000032:analysis*; D010126:Ozone / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D010083:Oxidants, Photochemical; D010126:Ozone