Flight line personnel are exposed to exhaust emissions from aircraft engine during line maintenance work. The exhaust emissions include volatile monocarboxylic acids (VMCAs) that can cause sensory irritation of eyes, nose and throat. The purpose of our study was to determine levels of VMCAs in the exhaust emissions from F-15 fighter aircraft and T-4 JASDF jet trainer. The VMCAs in the exhaust emissions were collected by using a honeycomb diffusion denuder device, and analyzed by gas chromatography. Formic acid and acetic acid were detected in both F-15 and T-4 aircrafts. Higher levels of formic acid (163 ppb) and acetic acid (104 ppb) were detected in T-4, although those were under irritation threshold and the exposure limitations. The present results suggested that health risk of flight line personnel to those volatile acids were limited.

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