The science is undisputed.
The solution is cost-effective.
The real problem is apathy.
Lead is still used in fuel in the United States - for general aviation.
|
General aviation aircraft are largely single-engine piston planes, which make up the majority of flights in and out of General Aviation airports in the United States. In 2010, piston-engine aircraft made up approximately 70% of the GA fleet. These fleets are almost entirely fueled by AVgas, which is the most widely commercially available fuel. AVgas (100LL) contains lead; specifically tetraethyl lead, which is used to boost octane in fuel. Until the 1980s, this was commonly
|
used in vehicle gasoline in roughly similar quantities. In 1996, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency phased-out leaded gasoline for cars and trucks due to the serious health hazards. Yet the use of leaded gas in small aircraft was allowed to continue. Lead does not break down but cycles through the environment endangering public health, including negative impacts on child development and higher incidences of heart disease.
|
Leaded aviation fuel is a danger to humans and the environment.
|
The EPA reports that piston-engine aircraft have, since 1930, emitted approximately 113,000 tons (226 million pounds) of lead into the air. According to NIOSH, “It doesn’t really matter if a person breathes-in, swallows, or absorbs lead particles, the health effects are the same; however, the body absorbs higher levels of lead when it is breathed in." Lead exposure is most detrimental to children. It can impact learning, attention, and memory. According to the EPA: "Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in behavior and learning problems; lower IQ and hyperactivity; slowed growth; hearing problems; and anemia”. The Federal Government is concerned about the effects of lead exposure to children. In their 2018 publication, Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead
|
Exposures and Associated Health Impacts, their top priorities include limiting lead exposure in lead-based paints, drinking water, soil, and emissions to ambient air. “Currently, the source category with the greatest contribution to total U.S. air emissions is piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded fuel (EPA, 2018d; Task Force, 2016).” A recent study of children’s blood-lead levels near the Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara, CA showed that children that lived within an 2 mile radius of the airport had higher blood lead levels than children in the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Approximately 360,000 children under the age of 5 in the United States live near a general aviation airport that host piston-engine aircraft, as do over 5 million people nationwide.
|
The EPA and FAA need to phase out the use of leaded fuel - now.
|
The EPA says that 'The most important step parents, doctors, and others can take is to prevent lead exposure before it occurs. We know that small piston-engine planes use lead-based AVgas. We know that for the vast majority of the piston-engine fleet, alternative fuels containing no lead can be used with no modification to the engine. We know that these planes fly over our communities with no limits. It's time to take the advice of the EPA in addressing lead exposure for children in our communities, as well as others, and advocate
|
vociferously for the immediate replacement of leaded fuels for aviation. The FAA has given itself 8 years to phase out leaded fuel - but we’ve heard that for decades now and no change has taken place. Given that lead is a known hazard to health, especially to the health and development of children, why isn't something being done to address this issue? The time is now. Alternatives fuels exist; electric planes are being developed; air traffic can be routed over areas that will less directly impact the health of people below.
|
We have a responsibility for educating our citizens about this issue.
|
The real question is - why haven’t you heard about this before? Why hasn’t your Department of Health, county or state-wide, done anything? Your airport managers? Your governor? Your elected representatives at the state and federal level? Why haven’t they informed you about this danger, and most of all, why haven’t they done anything about it? Some may be unaware of these issues; yet many know, but have chosen so far to do nothing. Unfortunately, that means that the responsibility lies with you. So please, sign the
|
petition below, and send it to everyone you know. And then contact your local representatives and ask what they plan to do about these issues. Don’t know where to start? Click here to find your elected representatives. Click here for a sample letter to your Department of Health, or compose your own. Find your local airports here, and a list of the top 100 lead-emitting airports in the US here. Tell the EPA it’s time to do something, and tell your friends, family and neighbors. The more people that know, the more good we can do.
|
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement: “When it comes to our children the science is clear, exposure to lead can cause irreversible and life-long health effects."