Air pollution accountability and compliance tracking system (A-PACT system)

Aircraft produce emissions and pollution harmful to humans and the environment. Though aircraft are only responsible for a small percentage of transportation industry emissions, higher concentrations of air traffic at lower altitudes around major airports cause increased local pollution levels. Current monitoring systems in place provide no accountability for emissions. There exists a need for a system to ensure compliance and accountability to pollution and emissions regulations for aircraft at major airports. To meet this need, this team has developed the Air Pollution Accountability and Compliance Tracking (APACT) System. This system references existing standardized pollutant index databases using collected flight track data along with each aircraft´s unique identification number to compute a cumulative emissions estimate called the Emissions Inventory (EI). This process was performed for each approaching and departing aircraft within designated boundaries surrounding an airport. The output of the A-PACT System shows the Emissions Inventory of each aircraft and is given in mass of pollutant produced per unit of time. The output was analyzed over a 24 hour period of flights to assess total airport inventory. Particular Airline emissions inventories were analyzed to assess contribution to total inventory. Airports and airlines can use this tool in assessments of pollution mitigation efforts such as fleet mix, level of technology and pollution attainment determination. Similarly, the system can be used as a tool to advise and guide regulatory authorities in making their decisions.