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M-A-G MACC INFO WIGGINS TDC MP's LINKS NEW OOP's
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1st July 1999 "Every breath you take" Airports rank alongside the major polluting industries in the cities where they are located. Air pollution is similar in scope to that generated by local power plants, incinerators and refineries. A study of Chicago's Midway Airport, which moves 3 million passengers per year, revealed that planes were emitting carcinogenic chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde. Few of Chicago's industrial sources were found to emit comparable amounts of these substances. The fumes that you see being emitted from aircraft engines are primarily the unburnt fuel from inefficient engines. This accounts for the stench of aviation fuel when aircraft are taking off. The products of combustion that you do not see contain large quantities of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides - gases that contribute to global warming. Aircraft are currently responsible for 4% of the total emissions of these gases - a figure which is rising rapidly as the volume of air travel increases. Aviation fuels contain additives to prevent the fuel from freezing when the plane is flying at altitude. These toxic additives form part of the emissions from jet engines. Smog is air pollution caused by chemical reactions of various pollutants. In hot weather inversion can occur trapping smog at ground level. This was recently seen in Malaysia. A large passenger jet arriving and departing from an airport produces as much smog as a car driven for over 5,000 miles. The incidence of asthma rises with increasing air pollution. In the Winter toxic chemicals such as ethylene glycol may be used to de-ice runways. These chemicals then form part of the run-off from an airfield entering the water course and local streams and tributaries. The Manston Airport Group are fighting to ensure that the development of Manston is environmentally compatible with the communities living around the airfield.
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