“I feel like we’re living in a war zone, they come in so incessantly. Coming in, taking off, coming in, taking off. It’s out of control,” says Gutierrez-Hedges. The school is beneath the flight path from Van Nuys Airport, one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country. …Since the pandemic, it’s gotten busier as more wealthyContinue reading “As private jet traffic increases at Van Nuys Airport, locals fume”
Category Archives: Leaded AV Gas Pollution
City Council Votes To Close Santa Monica Airport
From Flying magazine… “The airport’s closure is set to begin by 2028.”
‘My kids are being poisoned’: How aviators escaped America’s war on lead
By Politico… “Lead was removed from gasoline decades ago. So why is aviation fuel still laced with the metal — a neurotoxin tied to developmental problems in children? …. Today, toddlers in East San Jose have concentrations of lead in their blood on par with children tested at the height of the drinking water crisisContinue reading “‘My kids are being poisoned’: How aviators escaped America’s war on lead”
Attorney General Bonta Leads Multistate Comment Letter Supporting EPA Finding on Leaded Aviation Gas
By the State Attorney General’s Office Wednesday, January 18, 2023 Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a multistate coalition of 12 attorneys general, today submitted a comment letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supporting its proposed finding that emissions from the combustion of leaded aviation gasoline (avgas) in piston-engine planes cause orContinue reading “Attorney General Bonta Leads Multistate Comment Letter Supporting EPA Finding on Leaded Aviation Gas”
EPA knows what it must do: End the use of leaded aviation fuels
From Seattle Times op-ed… By Nathan DonleySpecial to The Times “Even small amounts of lead pollution can cause nervous system damage, reduced intelligence, behavioral changes and developmental harms that are often irreversible, especially in children. Given those well-documented risks, the millions of Americans who live or work in neighborhoods bumping up against the nation’s airstripsContinue reading “EPA knows what it must do: End the use of leaded aviation fuels”
EPA Releases Proposed Finding on Leaded AvGas
From Flying magazine… “The aviation community was expecting the announcement and points to progress on unleaded fuel in the market. On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed finding on leaded aviation fuel, triggering a response from the consortium of general aviation associations that have been working on the removal of lead fromContinue reading “EPA Releases Proposed Finding on Leaded AvGas”
Getting the lead out — at long last
“The performance-enhancing additive prevents engine knock that can lead to sudden engine failure. But its toxicity has been known since the 1920s, when scientists and health experts warned the federal government in public hearings of the dangers of using it in gasoline fuel.”
Lead spews from some Southern California airports; cleaner fuel is coming
“She discovered lots of not great news, with studies showing higher instances of everything from asthma to heart disease to preterm births for those who live and work near airports. But one fact she found stopped her in her tracks. Shepler learned that, while leaded gas has been fully banned in automobiles due to health concerns sinceContinue reading “Lead spews from some Southern California airports; cleaner fuel is coming”
Leaded gas was phased out 25 years ago. Why are these planes still using toxic fuel?
“That’s because Reid-Hillview is one of 13,000 so-called general aviation airports, from which leaded-fuel piston-engine aircraft fly. While leaded gasoline was fully phased out in 1996 with the passage of the Clean Air Act, it still fuels a fleet of 170,000 piston-engine airplanes and helicopters. Leaded aviation fuel, or avgas, now makes up “the largest remaining aggregateContinue reading “Leaded gas was phased out 25 years ago. Why are these planes still using toxic fuel?”
Hawthorne Quiet Skies 