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The federal government is expanding an effort to transition the nation's aviation sector away from leaded aviation gas, known as avgas, through a grant program that will help smaller airports begin the process.
One of the first "pollution prevention" grants targeting the avgas transition was awarded to the California Department of Public Health and was announced Tuesday in Santa Clara County, which eliminated sales of avgas at county airports in 2022 after conducting its own study the year before.
The roughly $750,000 grant comes after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final determination in October that said that avgas posed environmental and health risks and should be regulated under the federal Clean Air Act.
"That's something that we knew already, here in San Jose, but it's important that that finding has been made," U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, said at a press conference Tuesday announcing the grant.
She spoke on the playground of Donald J. Meyer Elementary School as planes from neighboring Reid-Hillview Airport buzzed overhead and could be seen taking off behind her.
The EPA grant is funded through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in 2021, and will provide technical assistance to 25 airports in California over the next two years. That will include roundtable discussions, training, and developing educational materials and case studies, according to an EPA spokesperson.
According to the 2021 study from Santa Clara County, "Children who live within a half-mile of the airport had blood lead levels 20 percent higher than children living between half-mile to 1.5 miles from the airport. The study also correlated blood lead levels with the proximity of a child's home and school to Reid-Hillview Airport. Children who commute toward Reid-Hillview to attend school present substantially higher blood lead levels than children who commute away from the airport."
The county Board of Supervisors voted that year to stop accepting future airport improvement grants for Reid-Hillview and close the airport by 2031.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez highlighted at Tuesday's press conference that the EPA study revealed that children living near the airport had blood lead levels similar to those who were affected by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in 2014.
"The difference here is, that water crisis ended. Now, our children are experiencing this day in and day out," Chavez said.
Nationwide, about 5 million people live near airports that use leaded avgas, including 360,000 children who are 5 years old or younger, according to the EPA.
The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking to transition away from leaded avgas completely by 2030 under a program called Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE).
Avgas is the last leaded fuel used in the nation and accounts for the vast majority of airborne lead pollution.
Nearly all commercial and military jets use fuel that does not contain lead, but smaller planes known as covered aircraft, like Cessnas and Beechcraft, still use fuel that contains lead. The list of airports the state's Department of Public Health will work with has not yet been finalized.
The Department of Public Health recommends testing children who live near an airport for blood lead levels. Other recommendations include using a high-efficiency air particulate filter at home, covering exposed soil with plants or other cover, removing shoes when entering the home, washing children's hands often, and wet-wiping surfaces when cleaning.
