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 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a study relating to ultrafine particles, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Airport 

5 Communities from Particle Emissions Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AIRBORNE ULTRAFINE PARTICLE STUDY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 


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1 Federal Aviation Administration, jointly with the Adminis2 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall enter 

3 into an agreement with an eligible institution of higher 

4 education to conduct a study examining airborne ultrafine 

5 particles and their effect on human health. 

6 (b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The study conducted under 

7 subsection (a) shall— 

8 (1) summarize the relevant literature and stud9 ies done on airborne ultrafine particles worldwide; 

10 (2) focus on large hub commercial airports in— 

11 (A) Seattle; 

12 (B) Boston; 

13 (C) Chicago; 

14 (D) New York; 

15 (E) the Northern California Metroplex; 

16 (F) Phoenix; 

17 (G) the Southern California Metroplex; 

18 (H) the District of Columbia; and 

19 (I) Atlanta; 

20 (3) examine airborne ultrafine particles and 

21 their effect on human health, including— 

22 (A) characteristics of UFPs present in the 

23 air; 

24 (B) spatial and temporal distributions of 

25 UFP concentrations; 


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1 (C) primary sources of UFPs; 

2 (D) the contribution of aircraft and airport 

3 operations to the distribution of UFP con4 centrations when compared to other sources; 

5 (E) potential health effects associated with 

6 elevated UFP exposures, including outcomes re7 lated to cardiovascular disease, respiratory in8 fection and disease, degradation of 

9 neurocognitive functions, and other health ef10 fects, that have been considered in previous 

11 studies; and 

12 (F) potential UFP exposures, especially to 

13 susceptible and vulnerable groups; 

14 (4) identify measures, including the use of sus15 tainable aviation fuels, intended to reduce emissions 

16 from aircraft and airport operations and assess po17 tential effects on emissions related to UFPs; and 

18 (5) identify information gaps related to under19 standing relationships between UFP exposures and 

20 health effects, contributions of aviation-related emis21 sions to UFP exposures, and the effectiveness of 

22 mitigation measures. 

23 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—An institution of higher education 

24 is eligible to conduct the study if the institution— 


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1 (1) is located in one of the areas identified in 

2 subsection (b); 

3 (2) applies to the Administrator of the Federal 

4 Aviation Administration in a timely fashion; 

5 (3) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Ad6 ministrator that the institution is qualified to con7 duct the study; 

8 (4) agrees to submit to the Administrator, not 

9 later than 2 years after entering into an agreement 

10 under subsection (a), the results of the study, in11 cluding any source materials used; and 

12 (5) meets such other requirements as the Ad13 ministrator determines necessary. 

14 (d) COORDINATION.—The Administrator may coordi15 nate with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec16 tion Agency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

17 and any other agency head whom the Administrator deems 

18 appropriate to provide data and other assistance necessary 

19 for the study. 

20 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after submis21 sion of the results of the study by the institution of higher 

22 education, the Administrator shall submit to the Com23 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the 

24 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

25 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 


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1 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 

2 study including the results of the study submitted under 

3 subsection (c)(4) by the institution of higher education. 

4 (f) DEFINITION.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘ultrafine 

5 particle’’ and ‘‘UFP’’ mean particles with diameters less 

6 than or equal to 100 nanometers. 

Æ 


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