As if flying the friendly skies weren’t scary enough.
Now it appears that aviation poses hazards to those of us here on the ground. In the air we breathe, in the water we drink and in the fields where we grow our food.
The problem is lead, specifically leaded aircraft fuel, which leaches through the earth and into our drinking water.
In a petition filed today, Bluewater Network urges the EPA to reduce or eliminate lead from general aviation aircraft fuel—something it has failed to do despite well documented human health impacts of lead exposure.
“The potential health impacts from exposure to lead are especially worrisome because studies increasingly show that no exposure to lead is safe,” said Danielle Fugere, legal director for Bluewater Network - a division of Friends of the Earth. The effects are insidious and can range from brain damage, cognitive deficiencies, hypertension, neuropathy and, occasionally, death.
Although the EPA has successfully mandated the phase-out of lead in gasoline, it has been oddly reluctant to address the aviation fuel problem for the last 10 years. “EPA must close the final chapter of leaded fuel by eliminating lead in general aviation aircraft fuel,” concludes Fugere.
Getting the lead out wouldn’t be unduly burdensome. According to David Zizmor, co-author of the petition and clinician with Golden Gate University’s Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, “safe unleaded alternatives…already exist.”
Indeed, “nearly 70% of general aviation aircraft can safely use either standard unleaded automobile gas or a modified alternative. And ethanol-based fuel can potentially be used by the remaining 30% of planes,” noted co-author Damir Kouliev.
The areas near airports are especially contaminated, because lead-based aviation fuel particulates can end up far from the original source, blown into surrounding fields, forests, streams and waterways. When they are deposited in farm soil, forage areas, and ponds, they expose us, without our knowledge or control, to this poison.
Take action on Friends of the Earth's site - Tell EPA to get the lead out!
