Team 5: #GetTheLeadOut
* Click on Links Below:
* Lead in Aviation Fuel
There is NO SAFE LEVEL OF LEAD according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Ban the Use, Sale and Storage of Leaded Fuel Sign-On Letter
Click here to sign our letter of organizations and individuals calling for the immediate stop of the sale, use and storage of leaded aviation fuel and all leaded fuel.
Approximately 70% of airborne lead in the U.S. comes from piston-engine aircraft. These aircraft are the largest remaining source of lead pollution in our air.
“5.5 million deaths from heart diseases because of exposure to lead in 2019 alone. Researchers also found that exposure to lead in children under 5 years old led to a loss of more than 750 million IQ points.”
“Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed three bills into law this week that will require Michigan schools and child care centers to install water filters on faucets and conduct routine testing for potential lead contamination in their drinking water.”
“Standardized test results show that in 2014, about 42 percent of Flint’s third graders were proficient in reading. Last year, about 11 percent were found proficient.”
For every 5 microgram per deciliter increase in blood lead levels, the risk of failing reading and math tests increased by a third
"Our research shows an excess risk for criminal behavior in adulthood exists when an individual is exposed to lead in utero or during childhood."
“A one-unit increase in lead increased the probability of suspension from school by 6.4% - 9.3 % and the probability of detention by 27% - 74%…”
“Our estimates suggest that cities' use of lead service pipes considerably increased city-level homicide rates.”
“Reducing blood lead levels to less than 1 μg/dL among all US children between birth and age 6 years would reduce crime and increase on-time high school graduation rates later in life..”
“This would result in overall savings of approximately $1.2 trillion…for US society as a whole.”
“…lead exposure may be contributing to suicidality by harming people’s mental health.”
“But the dollar amount is likely conservative, Lanphear said. “They didn’t look at things like criminal behavior, cardiovascular problems. They focused primarily on children’s intellectual ability,” he said. “The study probably quite substantially underestimates lead’s effect on IQ and GDP.””
Estimated annual economic losses from lead:
Africa: $137.7 billion, 4% of GDP
Latin America: $142.3 billion, 2% of GDP
Asia: $699.9 billion, 1.88% of GDP
US: $50.9 billion
Europe: $55 billion
“Kids in families with one smoker had lead levels 14 percent higher than children who live with non-smokers. That number jumped to 24 percent if children lived with two or more smokers.”
“One in five children under the age of 11 live with at least one smoker.”
“All 25 henna samples contained trace amounts of lead, along with other heavy metals and the highly allergenic colorant p-phenylenediamine.”
Lead is still in Aviation Fuel!
Lead in gasoline for cars was banned 25 years ago, but not in aviation!
Leaded aviation fuel is still used in almost 170,000 piston-engine planes & helicopters (general aviation) in 20,000 airports in the US. Less than 1/4% of Americans are pilots for these aircraft. Link for more info.
These planes and helicopters cause 70% of the lead pollution in our air!
Over 4 million people, including over 360,000 children under the age of 5, live near at least one airport where these aircraft fly. Link for more info.
Multiple studies have shown that children who live near these airports have higher levels of lead in their blood. Most high lead emission airports are in communities of color. Click for study.
Unleaded AVGAS has been approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) for use in these aircraft.
“Aircraft that use leaded fuel are the dominant source of lead emissions in our air,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan recently said.
“The County of Santa Clara, together with a nationwide coalition of community groups represented by Earthjustice, filed a petition today calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take the necessary steps to eliminate lead pollution from aircraft throughout the United States.
“During times of maximum aircraft traffic, children within a half mile of the airport had an increased blood lead level of .83 micrograms per deciliter—nearly twice that observed at the height of the Flint Water Crisis.”
The County of Santa Clara has banned the sale of leaded aviation fuel at county airports. Click here for info.
The City of Santa Monica airport has switched to unleaded. Click here for info.
Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles is going unleaded. Click here for info.
The City of Long Beach airport is providing unleaded and taxing leaded AVGAS. Click here for info.
!! The EPA has announced lead emissions from aircraft operating on leaded fuel cause air pollution…this is called an endangerment finding and is the first step to federal agencies taking action to #GetTheLeadOut! Link to info.
“Efforts…to develop unleaded…have been dependent on the approval of oil and aviation experts who meet through the nonprofit standards organization ASTM International. Whether the inventor was from a maker of piston-engine airplanes or a Swedish chemist, a new formula for lead-free gasoline went first to a committee that included fuel producers like Chevron and Exxon Mobil. And the panel has repeatedly rejected proposals to create unleaded fuels for small aircraft.”
“The presence of this fuel means the areas near these airports are often inundated with tiny lead particles, according to a 2020 report from the EPA. Lead has been proven to have a detrimental impact on children’s brains and nervous systems.”
“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.”
“Since 1990, more than 6,000 studies on lead’s health effects have been produced, notes the EPA. 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. 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.”
“In the United States, hundreds of millions of gallons of tetraethyl lead-formulated gasoline are consumed by piston-engine aircraft (PEA) annually, resulting in an estimated half-million pounds of lead emitted into the environment. About four million persons reside, and about six hundred K-12th grade schools are located, within 500 meters of PEA-servicing airports.”
“Today, the use of lead-formulated avgas accounts for about half to two thirds of current lead emissions in the United States.”
“…we find that children’s BLLs increase with measured concentrations of atmospheric lead at the airport.”
“Across a series of tests, and adjusting for other known sources of lead exposure, we find that child blood lead levels…increase dose-responsively in proximity to airports.”
“We estimated a significant association between potential exposure to lead emissions from avgas and blood lead levels in children.”
Jets do not use leaded fuel, only some piston-engine aircraft use leaded AVGAS.
Unleaded AVGAS has been approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) for use in these aircraft.
Click on Links Below:
Myths and Realities of Leaded Aviation Fuel
CAGE LFA: Citizens Against Gillespie's Expansion & Low Flying Aircraft
Oregon Aviation Watch: great resource for lead in aviation
Click here to see if your local airport sells leaded 100LL AVGAS
Click here for Top 100 Lead Polluting Airports in the US…4 are in San Diego County!
Top 10 Annual Sources of Lead in San Diego from EPA National Emissions Inventory (NEI)
Click here for 2013 San Diego Air Pollution Control District (APCD) study showing McClellan-Palomar airport exceeded National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead
“AvGas has been linked to elevated BLLs in those living in the vicinity of airports. An analysis of children’s BLLs…showed children’s BLLs increased corresponding to their residential proximity to airports using AvGas, the volume of air traffic, and their position downwind from the airport.”
“Tests performed for thousands of Chicago residents found lead…in amounts far exceeding the federal standards.”
“The analysis found that nine of the top 10 zip codes with the largest percentages of high test results were neighborhoods with majorities of Black and Hispanic residents.”
“Groups including the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), the National Rifle Association (NRA), and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) are waging science denial campaigns to keep lead products in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle.”
“The ammunition industry is a financial backer of the CSF, NSSF, and NRA.”
State and Federal Regulations
1971: Lead Poisoning Prevention Act
1978: Federal ban on lead paint
1996: Clean Air Act banned the sale of leaded fuel for use in on-road vehicles. Phase out started in the 1970s
2010: California AB1953 required use of unleaded pipes, fixtures or fittings, solder or flux used in the installation or repair of plumbing
2015: California AB 711 banned lead in bullets for hunting
California does NOT currently restrict lead fishing gear!
“Consumer Reports scientists recently measured the amount of heavy metals in 28 dark chocolate bars. They detected cadmium and lead in all of them.”
Click on Links Below for More Information about Lead:
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Lead Exposure and Lead Poisoning
Center for Disease Control (CDC): Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
CDC: Health Effects of Lead Exposure
Connecticut Dept. of Health: Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Program
EPA: Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water
EPA: Learn About Lead
EPA: Protect Your Family from Sources of Lead
Mayo Clinic: Lead Poisoning
World Health Organization (WHO): Lead Poisoning and Health
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