Do you live anywhere near a non-commercial airport? Most of the airplanes flying above you are powered by propellers and piston engines. In fact, approximately 70% of GA (general aviation) fleet rely on piston engine technology. The bad news is that piston engines run on leaded fuel (100LL , also known as avgas). That makes piston engine aircraft the primary source of airborne lead in the United States.

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."

In the 1970s, a series of governmental policies removed lead from paint, plumbing, food cans and automotive gasoline. These actions were followed by a significant decline in blood lead levels of children. However, lead is still allowed in avgas. After decades of pressure (and following a landmark study of the negative impacts of lead from avgas on children), the EPA is finally expected to issue an Endangerment Finding on leaded avgas in 2023. But we are a long way from real change. Special interests have taken hold and the conversion to lead free fuels is at least eight years away. Meanwhile, we can expect the spreading of tons of lead over our homes and schools to continue (estimated at 113,000 tons since 1930). The EPA cannot mandate change at the FAA, only recommend it, even if the EPA does rule that avgas is a threat to human health.

“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."

There is NO safe level of lead for human consumption and, once introduced to the environment, it remains there forever. Lead contamination from avgas is especially devastating. As it burns, it breaks down into microscopic particles in the air that we breathe, particles so small that they can pass through the blood-brain barrier. It contaminates soils; we pick it up as we walk around, bringing it into our homes where it remains to be inhaled or swallowed by small children when they crawl or put objects in their mouths; it leaches into the soil where it contaminates crops and water sources forever. 

Lead exposure is most detrimental to children and the harm is lifelong. It impacts 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.” In its 2018 publication, Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts, the Federal government made note of the primary sources of childhood lead exposure: 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". 

New science clearly shows the link between piston engine aircraft and childhood lead exposure. A 2021 report showed that blood lead levels (BLLs) in children living near the Reid-Hillview Airport, especially during times of peak air traffic, were in excess of those seen in children affected by the Flint, Michigan water crisis. While those who lived within a half mile of the airport were most affected, children living upwind and downwind from the airport also had elevated BLLs.

What is being done about this lead contamination from general aviation airplane traffic?

The good news: Alternative fuels (without lead) are available for all piston engine aircraft; these fuels are safe and require no modification of engines or existing aviation infrastructure.

The bad news: Although both federal and local officials are aware of the dangers that leaded fuel presents to their communities (many local county and municipal authorities own and operate GA airports across the country), little real change is ahead. With the exception of Reid-Hillview airport in Santa Clara, CA, almost no GA airport authorities have even begun to prepare for the sale of unleaded alternatives. Instead, special interests have prevailed and little real change can be expected in the next decade. Even local health departments have demurred when asked to protect their communities from this source of lead exposure.

It is up to US! Here is what YOU CAN DO:

• Sign the petition below and send it to everyone you know. 
• 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 representatives and find a sample letter to send to them here.
• 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 take action and submit a comment to the EPA here.
• Learn more about the problem and see more primary-source documents here.