What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to hire a college or university to study tiny air particles called ultrafine particles around major airports. The study will examine how these particles affect human health and where they come from, including whether aircraft and airport operations contribute to the problem.
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Who It Affects
* The Federal Aviation Administration
* The Environmental Protection Agency
* Colleges and universities in major airport areas
* People living near large commercial airports in nine specific cities
* The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
* The Committee on Energy and Commerce
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Key Provisions
* The FAA and Environmental Protection Agency must sign an agreement with a college or university to conduct the study within 180 days of the bill becoming law (Sec. 2(a)).
* The study must examine ultrafine particles and their health effects at nine major airports: Seattle, Boston, Chicago, New York, Northern California, Phoenix, Southern California, Washington D.C., and Atlanta (Sec. 2(b)(2)).
* The college or university selected must be located in one of these nine airport areas, apply in a timely manner, show it is qualified to do the work, and agree to deliver results within 2 years (Sec. 2(c)).
* The study must identify what causes ultrafine particles, whether aircraft and airport operations contribute to them, and whether sustainable aviation fuels (cleaner jet fuel) or other measures could reduce emissions (Sec. 2(b)(4)).
* The FAA must report the study results to Congress within 180 days after the college or university submits its findings (Sec. 2(e)).
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the FAA will be required to fund and oversee a research study on tiny air particles near nine major U.S. airports. A college or university will be hired to examine whether these particles harm human health and whether airplane activities are responsible. The results will be reported to Congress.
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Important Definitions
* **Ultrafine particle (UFP)**: Particles with diameters (width measurements) less than or equal to 100 nanometers (extremely tiny particles invisible to the human eye) (Sec. 2(f)).
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1049
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct
a study relating to ultrafine particles, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Mr. SMITH of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration to conduct a study relating to ultrafine particles,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Airport
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Communities from Particle Emissions Act’’.
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SEC. 2. AIRBORNE ULTRAFINE PARTICLE STUDY.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
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date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the
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•HR 1049 IH
Federal Aviation Administration, jointly with the Adminis-
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trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall enter
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into an agreement with an eligible institution of higher
3
education to conduct a study examining airborne ultrafine
4
particles and their effect on human health.
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(b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The study conducted under
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subsection (a) shall—
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(1) summarize the relevant literature and stud-
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ies done on airborne ultrafine particles worldwide;
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(2) focus on large hub commercial airports in—
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(A) Seattle;
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(B) Boston;
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(C) Chicago;
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(D) New York;
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(E) the Northern California Metroplex;
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(F) Phoenix;
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(G) the Southern California Metroplex;
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(H) the District of Columbia; and
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(I) Atlanta;
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(3) examine airborne ultrafine particles and
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their effect on human health, including—
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(A) characteristics of UFPs present in the
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air;
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(B) spatial and temporal distributions of
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UFP concentrations;
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•HR 1049 IH
(C) primary sources of UFPs;
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(D) the contribution of aircraft and airport
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operations to the distribution of UFP con-
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centrations when compared to other sources;
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(E) potential health effects associated with
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elevated UFP exposures, including outcomes re-
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lated to cardiovascular disease, respiratory in-
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fection
and
disease,
degradation
of
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neurocognitive functions, and other health ef-
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fects, that have been considered in previous
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studies; and
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(F) potential UFP exposures, especially to
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susceptible and vulnerable groups;
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(4) identify measures, including the use of sus-
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tainable aviation fuels, intended to reduce emissions
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from aircraft and airport operations and assess po-
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tential effects on emissions related to UFPs; and
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(5) identify information gaps related to under-
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standing relationships between UFP exposures and
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health effects, contributions of aviation-related emis-
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sions to UFP exposures, and the effectiveness of
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mitigation measures.
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(c) ELIGIBILITY.—An institution of higher education
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is eligible to conduct the study if the institution—
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•HR 1049 IH
(1) is located in one of the areas identified in
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subsection (b);
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(2) applies to the Administrator of the Federal
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Aviation Administration in a timely fashion;
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(3) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Ad-
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ministrator that the institution is qualified to con-
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duct the study;
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(4) agrees to submit to the Administrator, not
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later than 2 years after entering into an agreement
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under subsection (a), the results of the study, in-
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cluding any source materials used; and
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(5) meets such other requirements as the Ad-
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ministrator determines necessary.
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(d) COORDINATION.—The Administrator may coordi-
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nate with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
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tion Agency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
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and any other agency head whom the Administrator deems
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appropriate to provide data and other assistance necessary
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for the study.
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(e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after submis-
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sion of the results of the study by the institution of higher
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education, the Administrator shall submit to the Com-
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mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the
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Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
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Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
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•HR 1049 IH
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the
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study including the results of the study submitted under
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subsection (c)(4) by the institution of higher education.
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(f) DEFINITION.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘ultrafine
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particle’’ and ‘‘UFP’’ mean particles with diameters less
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than or equal to 100 nanometers.
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Æ
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