Options for Reducing Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft
Small gasoline-powered aircraft are the single largest emitter of lead in the United States,
as other major emission sources such as automobile gasoline have been previously addressed.
A highly toxic substance that can result in an array of negative health effects in humans,
lead is added to aviation gasoline to meet the performance and safety requirements of a sizable
portion of the country’s gasoline-powered aircraft.
Significantly reducing lead emissions from gasoline-powered aircraft will require the leadership
and strategic guidance of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and a broad-based and sustained
commitment by other government agencies and the nation’s pilots, airport managers, aviation fuel and
service suppliers, and aircraft manufacturers, according to a congressionally mandated report from the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
While efforts are
underway to develop an unleaded aviation fuel that can be used by the entire gasoline-powered fleet,
the uncertainty of success means that other steps should also be taken to begin reducing lead emissions
and exposures, notes the report, titled
TRB Special Report 336:
Options for Reducing Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft.
Piston-engine aircraft are
critical to performing general aviation (GA) functions
like aerial observation, medical airlift, pilot training, and business
transport. Other GA functions, such as crop dusting, aerial firefighting, search and rescue, and air taxi service, have
particular significance to communities in rural and remote locations.
Accompanying the report is
a three-page highlight summary that provides a condensed version of the findings.
This Summary Last Modified On: 12/2/2021