TagEDMS(4)

The FAA, in collaboration with NASA and Transport Canada, has developed a suite of software tools called the Aviation Environmental Tool Suite to assess the environmental impacts of aviation, including noise, air quality, fuel burn, and greenhouse gas emissions. The suite's main components include the Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), Environmental Design Space (EDS), and the Aviation environmental Portfolio Management Tool (APMT), which together help quantify the relationships between aviation-related noise, emissions, and costs. These tools are designed to support policy, technology, and operational decision-making at local, regional, national, and international levels, and are released to the public only after rigorous validation testing.

This 2016 working paper documents the methods and assumptions used to build an air quality emissions inventory for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as part of the Sustainable Airport Master Plan. Using the FAA's EDMS modeling software, analysts estimated pollution from sources including aircraft engines, ground support equipment, parking, and stationary facilities such as generators and boilers. Aircraft operation data for 2014 was gathered from multiple sources, including FAA tower records, airline guides, and the Port of Seattle's own noise monitoring system.

This document debunks common myths about airport air pollution, noise, and emissions regulation, explaining that invisible pollutants can still reach dangerous levels, that fine particles from jet engines bypass the body's natural defenses, and that shoreline communities like those near Sea-Tac may face higher pollution concentrations due to wind patterns. It also reveals that neither the EPA nor FAA effectively regulates aircraft emissions or noise in ways that truly protect nearby residents, as regulatory authority rests with bodies like ICAO that are dominated by airline and airport interests. Additionally, the document highlights that official pollution modeling tools may significantly underestimate actual pollution levels, and that so-called 'noise abatement' programs often fail to reduce noise at all.