EPA to evaluate whether lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft endanger human health and welfare
13 January 2022
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will evaluate whether emissions from piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded fuel contribute to air pollution that endangers public health and welfare. The agency plans to issue a proposal for public review and comment in 2022 and take final action in 2023.
EPA has been investigating the air quality impact of lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft near airports for years, and now we’re going to apply that information to determine whether this pollution endangers human health and welfare.
—EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan
Levels of airborne lead in the United States have declined 99% since 1980; piston-engine aircraft that operate on leaded fuel are the largest remaining source of lead emissions into the air.
Lead exposure can come from multiple sources, including leaded paint, contaminated soil, industrial emissions from battery recycling or metals processing, and the combustion of fuel or waste containing lead. Children’s exposure to lead can cause irreversible and life-long health effects. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. In adults, health impacts from lead exposure can include cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive issues.
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA reviews information on air pollutants and sources of air pollution to determine whether they threaten human health or welfare. This is referred to as an “endangerment finding.” EPA currently plans to issue a proposed endangerment finding for piston-engine aircraft that run on leaded fuel in 2022 for public review and comment. After evaluating comments on the proposal, the agency plans to issue any final endangerment finding in 2023.
I doubt that it has much effect on the general public as the amount of fuel burned in piston aircraft is relatively small but it is still extraordinarily dumb to be using to be using leaded fuels and I do worry about the people pumping the fuel. The problem is with outdated aircraft engines that are air cooled with hot spots and no sophisticated controls. These engines were largely designed in the forties and fifties. It would be better to use alcohol as an antiknock agent but many of the aircraft have fuel lines, etc that will not work with alcohol. This has been an ongoing problem for several decades now as various groups have tried to find a fuel that will work with these outdated engines without resorting to the use of tetraethyl lead.
Posted by: sd | 13 January 2022 at 12:01 PM
Many aircraft types have STCs (Supplemental Type Certificates) available which make it legal to run them on unleaded premium auto gas. The obvious solution is to make it available on airports.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 14 January 2022 at 04:52 AM
GAMI has formulated a 100UL that has an STC and will be distributed by AVfuel.
Posted by: electric-car-insider.com | 14 January 2022 at 02:32 PM