Abstract
Airports are significant contributors of atmospheric pollutant aerosols, namely ultrafine particles (UFPs). This study characterizes the particle number concentration (PNC), the median particle size (dmn50), and the metallic composition of medium-haul area and engine aerosols at two French air-ports (Paris-CDG and Marseille). This study followed the standard operating procedures for char-acterizing aerosol emissions from 5 nm to 8 µm (OECD, 2015; EN 17058:2018). It allows determin-ing which are the specific parameters directly related to the emission sources and their contribu-tion to the overall aerosols measured at workplace in airports. The particulate emissions observed during aircraft engine start-up were ~19× higher than the average airborne concentration. The particle size distributions remained mostly <250 nm with dmn50 < 100 nm (showing a specificity for the medium-haul area with an average dmn50 of ~12 nm). The dmn50 can be used to distinguish emis-sion peaks due to aircrafts (dmn50~15 nm) from those due to apron vehicle activities (dmn50 > 20 nm). Chemical elements (titanium and zinc) were identified as potential tracers of aircraft emissions and occurred mainly at the micrometric scale. For aircraft engine emissions, UFPs are mainly due to fuel combustion with the presence of carbon/oxygen. The study concludes with suggestions for future research to extend on the findings presented.