A Quartz Series on Leaded Aviation Fuel
"Why is it taking so long for the US to replace a toxic fuel dating from World War II? It's a tale of bureaucratic obstruction, technical obstacles, and oil companies fighting to protect their profit margins. The delay has exposed millions more children to lead pollution." Michael Coren - Author of Toxic Fuel
On June 16, 2022 Quartz released Toxic Fuel, a Pulitzer Center supported, four-part special series on leaded aviation gasoline. As stated in the report, "Piston aircraft are now the largest source of airborne lead in the US, emitting 468 tons annually, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is aiming to find an unleaded avgas substitute by 2030. But it's been on a quest (pdf) to develop a replacement fuel on and off for three decades, with little to show for it."
The series explores scientific evidence linking elevated blood lead levels found in children living in proximity to airports, "In a 2021 study, lead levels in some children living near Reid-Hillview rivaled those of children in Flint, Michigan, where contaminated drinking water exposed roughly 9,000 kids to elevated lead levels for more than a year. According to Dr. Sammy Zahran, who conducted the Santa Clara County Reid-Hillview Airport study, 'Aviation gasoline exposure is a daily, unabated barrage of lead...The observed increase here will have a detrimental effect on the cognitive performance of children living nearby.'"
In the words of Tulane School of Medicine Professor Howard Mielke, a researcher and educator who has published numerous scholarly articles on the adverse impacts of lead, "We should know now how criminal it is to keep lead in gasoline of any kind."
The series explores a number of topics related to leaded aviation fuel, including but not limited to:
- Obstacles and delays encountered by those seeking to developing a replacement fuel. "Any new unleaded fuel will need to overcome more than bureaucracy. Industry players are defending their control over avgas and its replacement, according to interviews with pilots, aviation executives, and ex-oil company employees."
- Pushback from the oil industry on unleaded aviation fuel alternatives. "For refineries, avgas is a lucrative product. Although the oil industry sells only a small volume each year—less than a day's worth of automobile gasoline—leaded fuel is far more profitable. 'Profit margins on avgas are around 80 cents per gallon, roughly 20 times more than conventional gasoline', says a former oil executive involved in its production. The avgas market is dominated by about eight US refineries and one (troubled) UK company producing the world's supply of tetraethyl lead. "It's a nice business," says the former executive. "It's not worth entering, but it's not worth giving up."
- The effects of lead on the human body, especially the disproportionate impact on children. "Since 1990, more than 6,000 studies on lead's health effects have been produced, notes the EPA (pdf). All show that even "exposures to low levels of lead early in life have been linked to effects on IQ, learning, memory, and behavior," damage that is permanent and untreatable given the brain's limited ability to repair itself. These deficits cascade into adult life.
- There is no safe level of lead. "Blood lead levels as low as one microgram, equivalent to less than a thimble added to a large backyard swimming pool, double the odds of developing ADHD compared to children with no exposure, according to one 2006 study."
- The failure of the EPA to issue an endangerment finding on leaded aviation fuel. According to pediatrician and former director of the EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection, as a result of inaction by the EPA, "[a] whole generation of children has been born and grown up near small airports in the US while [the] EPA has been hitting the snooze button. This is a leadership failure at EPA—the EPA staff have been asking for an endangerment finding for years."
See the excerpt below for practical measures offered by Quartz for putting a stop to aviation generated lead poisoning and exposure.
Immediate action is most likely to come at the local level. Santa Clara County, which owns Reid- Hillview and the nearby San Martin Airport, banned the sale of leaded gasoline at both airports this January. Not all general aviation airports are publicly owned. But other jurisdictions already have reached out to officials in Santa Clara County to use their ban on refueling with leaded avgas as a model.
At the national level, the EPA plans to declare avgas a health hazard by 2023, and the FAA expects to approve a lead-free replacement for avgas by 2030. Deadlines like this have been missed before. Congressional pressure spurred on by voters, as well as legal action by advocacy groups such as Friends of the Earth and Earth Justice, which are pursuing the issue in court, could help ensure the timelines are met.
Finally, share this series. Few people realize lead around small airports poses a risk, if they're aware that the toxic metal is still used in fuel at all. But studies in North Carolina, Michigan, and California have all come to the same conclusion: The amount of lead in children's blood increases with their proximity to small airports. "In the absence of federal action, I think families need to know that living within 13 blocks of a small airport will likely result in an elevation of their child's blood lead level," says Etzel, the former head of the EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection. "Just as a disclosure about lead paint in homes is required upon the sale of a home, we should consider a disclosure to families about living in homes and apartments near a small airport."
If you're worried about your child's lead exposure, local health departments and doctors can provide a simple test covered by insurance or Medicaid. All two-year-olds should get lead tests during a regular doctor's visit. While there is no safe level of lead exposure for children, families can take steps (pdf) to minimize their exposure to lead at home and at school.
If you want to know what's happening at airports in your area, Quartz built a searchable library of maps showing the areas surrounding 95 of the top lead-emitting airports in the US.
Oregon Aviation Watch extends gratitude and appreciation to Michael Coren and Quartz for their instructive, educational, compelling and highly informative report on the dangers of leaded aviation fuel.
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