Maricopa County in Arizona - Most Lead Polluted Jurisdiction in U.S.
According to the 2017 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI), Mobile Aircraft are responsible for emitting 34,660 lbs, 17.3 tons, of lead into the air in Arizona every year.
Nationwide, Maricopa County has earned the dubious distinction of being the most lead polluted county, not just in Arizona but in the entire country. Of the 137 facility sources of lead in this jurisdiction, 116 are airports. As pointed out in the article discussed below, the CDC states that those who live near airports, "have a higher risk of air and soil lead exposure from aviation gas used in piston-engine aircraft."
The following article by Michael McDaniel, EPA to Publish Aircraft Lead Emission Regulations, Maricopa County Top Emitter, was published in the Daily Independent on 11/28/2023. Below are some excerpts.
According to environmental nonprofit Earth Justice, five Maricopa County airports made the top 100 in a 2021 survey of the top lead polluting airports. The survey used NEI data from 2017 to aggregate the results nationwide.
Maricopa County scores the highest in lead emission at 2.9 tons from air traffic.
Leading the way in the report is the city of Phoenix's Deer Valley Airport, with nearly 1 ton (1,851 pounds) of lead spewed out in the year. Also mentioned are Chandler Municipal, Mesa's Falcon Field, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway and Scottsdale airports at 1,194, 1,078, 1,033 and 740 pounds of lead emitted in the year, respectively.
Absent from the top lead-emitting list is Phoenix Goodyear Airport. The airport added United Airline's United Aviate Academy, last year after Earth Justice's rankings were published.
According to reports, the year-to-date general aviation operations at Phoenix Goodyear Airport increased 88% from 70,020 in 2021 to 132,000 in 2022. Analysts believe that Phoenix Goodyear Airport's numbers will surpass Scottsdale Airport's 2022 numbers with 200,000 takeoffs and landings in 2023.
According to Gary Keller, a lead poisoning advocate and former firefighter, certain low-altitude maneuvers can exacerbate pollution concerns.
Keller bears an interest because firefighters are often embedded or stationed near airports.
"Even though at higher altitudes the lead has to go somewhere, the argument no longer exists when flight schools engage in touch-and-go pattern work," he said. "This activity consists of a continuous, concentrated circular pattern at low altitudes as they are always in a takeoff or landing mode. Though not the only ones, these flight schools contribute the largest to the amount of lead that children are breathing in that live near these airports."
Lead exposure from these planes disproportionally affects younger children, who could start behind the proverbial IQ eight ball.
In a 2021 study, researchers predict by 2030, early childhood lead exposure will reduce population IQ by 709,054,633 total points, an average deficit of 2.03 IQ points per person. In 2006, a study by Cincinnati Children's Hospital also found that heightened exposure could increase the odds of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Plane emissions and exposure also affect minority populations disproportionately.
To read the article in full click here.
Given the enormous amount of fossil-fuel burning aviation activity, it should come as no surprise that lead is not the only toxin plaguing this area. Per the American Lung Association, Maricopa County "ranked seventh among most-polluted counties in the United States for ozone pollution and it received failing grades for high ozone days and particle pollution in the association's county report card."
For more information see the 4/19/2023 Cronkite News article by Kylie Werner, Phoenix Again Ranks Among Most Polluted; People of Color More Likely to be Exposed and Develop Health Issues, Report Says.
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