New Study Calls For Legislative Change After Children Living Near One California Airport Were Found To Have High Levels Of Lead Exposure

kieferpix - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
kieferpix - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person

According to the Mayo Clinic, there is technically no “safe” level of lead in blood. But, the level of 5 mcg/dL is used to suggest possibly unsafe levels for children.

Over the past 40 years, blood lead levels among children living in the United States have significantly declined as a result of policies that stipulated the removal of lead from food cans, paint, plumbing, and automotive gasoline.

Most notably, the phasing-out of tetraethyl lead from automotive gasoline via the Clean Air Act of 1970 is generally agreed to have been the most effective of these legislative actions.

But, just a few days ago, one new study published in PNAS Nexus found that children living near a California airport– known as Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County– have higher blood lead levels.

This is alarming since leaded gasoline continues to be utilized by piston-engine aircraft throughout the U.S. in spite of policymakers’ efforts.

Leaded gasoline has remained a standard component of aviation fuel, being used by approximately one hundred and seventy thousand piston-engine aircrafts throughout the nation.

And today, the utilization of lead-formulated aviation gasoline actually accounts for up to 66% of all lead emissions in the U.S.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 4 million people live within half a mile of an airport that services piston-engine planes. On top of that, about 600 elementary and secondary schools reside in the same vicinity.

In this specific study, though, a research team analyzed the lead levels in the blood of children under the age of six who resided near Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County. This study spanned a 10-year period, taking place from 2011 to 2020.

kieferpix – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person

The results indicated that the closer children resided to this particular airport, the greater the probability their blood lead level would exceed the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) threshold– which is 4.5 micrograms per deciliter.

The researchers also noted that the children who lived east– or downwind– of the airport had much higher blood lead levels and that children’s lead levels increased when there was higher piston-engine aircraft traffic. Likewise, when the airport sold greater quantities of leaded aviation gasoline.

Among children who lived at least one mile or further away from the airport, the probability of blood lead levels exceeding the CDPH threshold was over 21% lower than the children who resided within half a mile.

Finally, in regards to geographic location, the children who lived east of the airport were over two times more likely to have blood lead levels about the threshold.

So now, the researchers are confident that their study results represent a dire need for policy change that specifically targets the aviation industry.

“Across an ensemble of tests, we find consistent evidence that the blood lead levels of children residing near the airport are pushed upward by the deposition of leaded aviation gasoline,” said Sammy Zahran, the study’s lead author.

“This indicates we should support policy efforts to limit aviation lead emissions to safeguard the welfare of at-risk children.”

To read the study’s complete findings, visit the link here.

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Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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