Port of Portland: Final Roundtable on Transition to Unleaded Fuel
On Wednesday 11/20/2024, the Port of Portland will hold its third roundtable meeting on transitioning to unleaded aviation fuel. Over the past 22 years, users of the Hillsboro Airport (HIO), the largest facility source of lead in Oregon, have released more than 13 tons of lead into the air during the landing and take-off cycle. Additional lead is released during run-ups and the cruise phase of flight.
Out of 20,000 airports nationwide, HIO ranks eighth in the nation in lead emissions. As a result of the excessive aviation activity at HIO and surrounding airports, Washington County is the most lead polluted jurisdiction in Oregon. The testimony by Dr. James Lubischer below the meeting announcement provides information on the adverse health impacts of exposure to lead.
The following meeting announcement is from the Port's website Bringing Unleaded Aviation Fuel to Hillsboro Airport.
Final Roundtable: November 20th, 2024 from 4 - 5:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81980079791?pwd=5l2It7J1zFFAwLmppMFRbk7GoMexCj.1
Meeting ID: 819 8007 9791; Passcode: 912635
These discussions will go beyond the challenges and threats of continued use of leaded aviation fuel and focus on partnering to drive actionable change across the state.
Testimony from Dr. James Lubischer Urging the Port and EPA to End Lead Poisoning
Dr. James Lubischer (retired pediatrician) has a long and dedicated history of advocating for the elimination of leaded aviation fuel at HIO. He submitted the following comments at the 11/13/2024 Port of Portland Board of Commissioners meeting. Recordings of previous Port Commission meetings are available on the Port of Portland's Commission Materials page.
The Port of Portland's airport in Hillsboro is one of the 10 top emitters of Lead in the U.S.
Studies have concluded that blood lead levels are higher the closer children live near airports where 100LL Avgas is used.
The CDC has concluded that there is no known safe blood lead level.
Studies have concluded that lead causes childhood brain damage (reduced grey matter in regions of the brain known to govern executive judgment which can lead to impulsivity, poor mood regulation), which has been associated with ADHD, speech difficulties, behavioral problems, failure to complete high school, lowered IQ, pregnancy and aggression as a teen, criminal behavior as a young adult...
On 6-14-23 at the Port's Commission Meeting at minute 40:08 the Port stated: "We are one of only six airports nationwide participating in the FAA's EAGLE initiative... Our work with EAGLE will insure that once universal unleaded fuel is available, the infrastructure and policies are in place, to insure transition and adoption."
A "universal" fuel "G100UL" is available for all fixed wing aircraft and all rotary-craft engines. (G100UL is also FAA approved for 98% of rotary airframes to date.)
Pursuant to Title 49, USC Section 47107(a)(22) the Port may prohibit 100LL fuel sales at HIO.
G100UL is fungible (can be mixed) with Avgas 100LL, so current infrastructure can be used.
While a statewide transition to G100UL is laudable, that should not delay the prohibition of Avgas 100LL at the Port of Portland's airport in Hillsboro!
The Port is responsible for their airports' lead pollution, not for the rest of Oregon's airports.
In 1969 Environmentalist Rene Dubos Warned:
"...the [lead] problem is so well-defined, so neatly packaged, with both causes and cures known that if we don't eliminate this social crime, our society deserves all the disasters that have been forecast for it".
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