An environmental group that has been urging the EPA to regulate avgas in piston-powered aircraft released a new report this week on lead emissions in its ongoing campaign to remove 100LL from airport pumps. Friends of the Earth says that EPA data shows that piston-engine aircraft using leaded avgas account for about 50 percent of lead emissions in the U.S., with 34,000 tons of lead emitted between 1970 and 2007. The emissions have affected millions of people who live near airports, including children whose schools are within a kilometer of an airport, the report says. They “have demonstrably higher blood lead levels than those further from airports,” FOE says, citing a 2011 Duke University study.
Alternates to 100LL, including unleaded replacement fuels, diesel and hybrid electric, are under development in with the support of engine and aircraft makers. Meanwhile, the FAA is supporting alternate fuel development under its Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative, which has resulted in fuels from Shell and Swift Fuel that began further testing this year, with a new fuel expected to be ready for approval by 2018. Other companies, such as GAMI, also are testing unleaded fuels and their success in the market would depend in part on future regulations on lead, availability and approvals for aircraft use. The FOE report discusses these efforts and argues that along with EPA regulation, alternative fuels, along with mogas, can replace 100LL in the nation’s GA fleet. FOE and other organizations want the government to issue an official “endangerment finding” for 100LL, which would start a process to draft regulations on lead emissions.
