Living near an airport where thousands of planes take off and land every day means breathing air full of ultra-fine particles (UFP) from the engines that penetrate the human body. The damage they cause to people is beginning to be known: they increase the risk of suffering from diabetes and dementia by at least 20% and high blood pressure by 7%, according to a study by the organization. Transport&Environment based on data from the Netherlands Institute of Public Health (RIVM).
The analysis maintains that these ultra-small particles (with a diameter of less than 100 nanometers, that is, 1,000 times finer than a hair) could be associated with 280,000 cases of high blood pressure, 333,000 of diabetes and about 18,000 of dementia in the environment. 32 major European airports: a population of 52 million people living within 20 kilometers of the runways.
TEA takes the work of the Dutch Institute for the Schipol airport in Amsterdam and applies it to the 32 infrastructures with the most air traffic, superimposing the populations that live in their area of influence in three concentric crowns: 5 km, 5 to 10 km and 10 to 20km away.
Ultrafine particles, due to their smaller size, can penetrate deeper into the body, enter the bloodstream and reach internal organs such as the brain and placenta.
Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Málaga are among those chosen. Around eight million people affected by air with ultrafine particles live around these four infrastructures with the most flights in Spain.
They have focused on UFPs because “due to their smaller size, they can penetrate deeper into the body, enter the bloodstream and reach internal organs such as the brain and placenta,” the report highlights.
Microparticles (whatever size they are) come from the use of fossil fuels in aircraft engines. PM10 and PM2.5 are better known and even European air quality regulations contemplate limits for these toxics. However, UFP have gone more unnoticed until the latest revision of the EU directive that calls for them to be monitored, although it does not draw thresholds.
Takeoff and landing, the dirtiest part
Within the entire pollution process associated with airplanes, the moment of takeoff and landing is one of the most dirty. It is estimated that up to 14% of all ultrafine particles emitted by aviation are produced in the short time of landing or leaving land. And these operations are carried out in the areas closest to the population. These airplane particles also expand more than those that come out of road vehicle exhaust pipes, according to a study of the profile of microparticles carried out by the University of Washington.
“The RIVM study found strong associations between long-term exposure to UFP and self-reported cases of diabetes, and with self-reported use of medication for hypertension and dementia,” the study reads. Also related, in the short term, was a worsening of respiratory problems and increased use of anti-asthma medications.
The citizens most at risk are, logically, those who live less than 5 km from airports. In these areas, the concentrations of microparticles move at an average of 5,000 per cm3 of air. At Heathrow (London) and Charles de Gaulle (Paris) it reaches 10,000. In Madrid they exceed 8,000, in Barcelona 6,000, in Palma 4,000 particles and in Malaga their average in the 5 km area is 2,000 per cm3 of air.
In this radius of influence, when compared with the rest of the population, scientists from the Netherlands Institute of Public Health observed that the probabilities of developing dementia or diabetes were more than 20% higher in airport neighbors. In the case of hypertension, the study detected a 7% increased risk.
These results have then been taken to other points to see the effect of the UFP at a continental level. The two most important factors when evaluating the health damage of these toxics are the volume of air traffic and population density: many operations and many people nearby result in more health problems.
In this sense, the great hubs The international airports of London and Paris present worrying data, but the Lisbon airport, very close to the city although with much less activity, “has a high impact on the population.”
The airports of Madrid and Barcelona combine the two factors: they have a high number of flights and a high population density in the closest ring, the one less than five kilometers from the infrastructure: 207,000 citizens in the case of Barajas-Adolfo Suárez ( for a total of 3.9 million in the 20 km ring) and 159,000 inhabitants in Barcelona’s El Prat (with a total affected population of 2.7 million people).
“Unfortunately, living near the airport can make you sick,” says the head of Transportation at Ecologistas en Acción, Pablo Muñoz. “Policies have ignored this hidden health crisis,” he concludes.
TEA advocates forcing a change in the types of fuel used by airplanes so that they emit fewer pollutants. Now 99% of this fuel is obtained from crude oil. Its sulfur content determines the amount of particles it releases. The organization states that if so-called sustainable fuels are used, “75% of the particles and 90% of the total mass would be reduced.”
Despite fuel considerations, the organization clarifies that it is more direct to target the number of flights: “The growth of air transport constitutes the most effective measure to reduce emissions and air pollution in the sector. Establish limits on operations and replace short flights with rail alternatives.”
It is essential to reduce air traffic and stop airport expansions to mitigate the impacts on the health of millions of people
In this sense, Pablo Muñoz speaks with his sights set on Spain when reflecting that works like this support that “it is essential to reduce air traffic and paralyze airport expansions to mitigate the impacts on the health of millions of people.”
The environmentalist is referring to the project to convert Madrid airport into an international node that would take air operations to a new level. The Government’s forecasts are that this plan will increase Barajas’ annual passengers from the current 60 million to 90 million in 2030. And that is achieved through more flights.
In contrast to the opinion of Muñoz and TEAthe president of Aena, Maurici Lucena, has defended that “air transport is fundamental for the economic and social development of Spain.”
The government pact between PSOE and Sumar cited the push for the “reduction” of short national flights if they have an alternative by train of less than 2.5 hours to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Until now, the measure remains only written.