Lead Poisoning Reparations
Flint, Michigan, Water Crisis
According to a 11/10/2021 NPR Associated Press report U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy has approved a $626M settlement to compensate residents exposed to lead-tainted water during the Flint water crisis. "The deal makes money available to every Flint child who was exposed to the water, every adult who can show an injury, certain business owners and anyone who paid water bills."[1] Historically, minority populations are disproportionately impacted by lead exposure and this was no exception. The majority of residents in Flint identify as Black or African American.
Per a CDC summary, "During April 25, 2014–October 15, 2015, approximately 99,000 residents of the City of Flint, MI, were exposed to lead when the drinking water source was switched from the Detroit Water Authority to the Flint Water System (FWS). On December 14, 2015, lead contamination in the FWS was declared a state of emergency and, by January 2016, CDC – led by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – assisted the City of Flint and the State of Michigan to develop a response and recovery plan."[2]
As explained in an 11-10-2021 NBC report on the settlement "People will be eligible for compensation if elevated lead levels were found in their blood or bones, for instance, or if they suffer from cognitive problems that can be traced to the lead..."[3]
Lead exposure and poisoning are linked with a number of negative health outcomes including but not limited to brain damage, ADHD, miscarriages, learning and behavior problems, slowed growth and development, hearing and speech problems, increased violence, coronary heart disease, renal failure, and an array of other health conditions. As stated by the CDC, "No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement."[4]
Aviation Generated Lead Poisoning
Sadly, Flint is not the only location where minority residents are carelessly, willfully, and relentlessly exposed to the potentially irreversible effects of lead. Three comprehensive studies have now provided compelling evidence that people who reside in proximity to airports that serve piston-engine general aviation aircraft are at an increased risk. In this regard, it is important to bear in mind that piston-engine aircraft, frequently used by flight training companies, private pilots, and recreational flying enthusiasts who operate primarily out of general aviation airports, are now responsible for 70 percent of all airborne lead emissions nationwide. In some states, well over 90 percent of total airborne lead emissions are due to piston-engine air traffic.
To quote Michael Green, chief executive officer of the Center for Environmental Health, "Many of the airports with the highest general aviation lead emissions in the United States are located in communities of color...Exposure to airborne lead from leaded aviation gasoline is an issue of environmental justice because it disproportionately affects children of color, who often bear an uneven burden of multiple chemical exposures."[5]
Elevated Blood Lead Levels Found in Children Living Near Reid-Hillview Airport
An 8-3-2021 lead study commissioned by Santa Clara County in response to concerns about the toxic lead emissions generated by aviation activity at the Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV) found that "Under periods of high piston-engine aircraft traffic, children proximate to Reid-Hillview airport experience an increase in BLLs [blood lead levels] in excess of what the children of Flint experienced during the FWC [Flint Water Crisis]."[6] The study also found that the volume of piston-engine air traffic and the amount of leaded fuel sold on a monthly basis to fixed based operators at RHV also contributed to increased blood lead levels.[7]
An 8-14-2021 San Jose Spotlight op-ed column further elaborates,
"...flights from the Reid-Hillview Airport continue to fly over a part of East San Jose with a large number of Latinx residents as well as other people of color including Filipino, Vietnamese, and Indian immigrants."
"Time after time, various health studies have shown that Latinx, recent immigrants and low-income communities in the U.S. are far more likely to live, play and work in places that expose us to toxic chemicals, including lead, increasing our risk for cancer and other serious health conditions."[8]
In the words of Dr. Sammy Zahran, a leading researcher on the study, "The Flint water crisis from start to finish unfolded in less than a year and a half. By contrast at Reid-Hillview, the release of lead into the lived environment is a continuous, non-stop, daily unabated flow of an undeniably harmful toxicant. I remind you that we are talking about more than a thousand pounds of lead released annually on nearby populations."[9]
The chilling reality is that RHV is but one of more than 19,000 U.S. airports that service lead spewing piston-engine aircraft. According to 2017 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI) data, RHV ranked 34th out of 100 of the top lead polluting airports in the U.S. Eight other California airports annually release more lead emissions than RHV: Long Beach Daugherty Field (2), Van Nuys (7), Montgomery Field (11), Gillespie (13), John Wayne Airport (16), Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (19), Chino Airport (21), and Livermore Municipal (28). The numbers in parenthesis note the ranking on the top 100 list.[10]
Three Oregon airports are also among the top 100. The Hillsboro Airport, which has the dubious distinction of being the largest facility source of airborne lead pollution in the state, holds the #8 spot. Bend Municipal and Troutdale were also on the list.
In addition, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Florida, North Dakota, New York and a number of other states host airports that emit high levels of lead.
Leaded Aviation Fuel Reparations
Just as the State of Michigan and the City of Flint are required to compensate Flint residents for exposing them to lead, the FAA, port authorities, airport owners, flight training schools, aviation businesses, individual pilots and government entities that promote this wholesale poisoning of large swaths of the population, should also be required to pay for the irreparable harm they have done and are continuing to inflict on millions of children, unborn fetuses, and other injured parties across this land. In addition, they should be required to pay the costs of soil contamination and clean-up as well as harm to flora and fauna.
As pointed out by Dr. Sammy Zahran in the Reid-Hillview lead study, "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that four million persons reside, and about six hundred K-12th grade schools are located within 500 meters of PEA [Piston-Engine Aircraft] servicing airports. Zahran et al (2017a) estimate that sixteen million persons – and about three million children – live within a kilometer of such airport facilities."[11]
If these long overdue financial settlements transpire in a fair and equitable manner, the $626M reparation payout in Flint will seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the widespread, pervasive and on-going damage caused by the aviation industry.
Just as in Flint, the lead poisoning and exposure caused by emissions released by general aviation piston-engine aircraft poses a significant threat to public health and the environment. To remedy this situation, it is imperative to declare a state of emergency, mount a legal challenge, and let the reparations begin!
Sources
1. People Exposed to Lead in Flint, Mich. Water Will Get a $626 Million Settlement. National Public Radio. (11-10-2021). Last accessed online on 11-11-2021.
2. Flint Lead Exposure Registry. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. CDC. (Last reviewed 11-03-2021). Last accessed online on 11-11-2021.
3. Stelloh, Tim. Judge Approves $626M Settlement in Flint Water Crisis. NBC News.(11-10-2021). Last accessed online on 11-10-2021.
4. Health Effects of Lead Exposure. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. CDC. (Last reviewed 10-26-2021) Last accessed online on 11-11-2021.
5. Groups Ask EPA to Regulate Lead Pollution Around Nation's Airports. Earthjustice.(10-24-2021). Last accessed online on 11-11-2021.
6. Mountain Data Group. Leaded Aviation Gasoline Exposure Risk at Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County, California. (8-03-2021). Last accessed online on 11-11-2021. Pg. xviii.
7. Ibid. Pgs. 82-83.
8. Op-ed: San Jose Can Reckon with and Heal the Damage of Redlining and Racism. San Jose Spotlight. (8-14-2021). Last accessed online on 11-11-2021.
9. Santa Clara Community Meeting on the Reid Hillview Airport Lead Study (8-11-2021). Last accessed online on 10-22-2021. Quote begins at the 33 minute 47 second mark in the recording.
10. Top 100 Lead Polluting Airports. Last accessed on line on 11-11-2021.
11. Mountain Data Group. Leaded Aviation Gasoline Exposure Risk at Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County, California. (8-03-2021). Last accessed online on 11-11-2021. Pg. 5.
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