County Supervisors Consider Closing San Jose's Reid-Hillview Airport

Elevated Blood Lead Levels, Airborne Lead Exposure, Shortage of Affordable Housing, Noise, Costs and Accident Risks Impact Their Decision

February 11, 2019

The Mercury News, on 12/5/18, published an article by Thy Vo entitled Reid-Hillview Airport's Days May Be Numbered After Supervisor's Action.

Some of the key points addressed in the article are noted below.

On Dec. 4, 2018, the board of Santa Clara County supervisors declined to accept further FAA grant money so that the property on which the county-owned Reid-Hillview Airport is located can be opened up for non-aviation uses. According to the County CEO, Jeffrey Smith, the airport is not financially sustainable. "You have at least 12 million in capital improvements that are needed, another six million dollars of long term debt already incurred...that's 13 times the revenue that's generated currently...You will not be able to make that pencil out in the long run."

Reid-Hillview Airport is a general aviation facility located in San Jose. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Terminal Area Forecasts TAF) in 2016, Reid-Hillview logged around 143,000 operations, mostly training flights and recreational hobbyists.

Per the article, "Discussion about closing the airport ­ fueled by concerns about plane crashes, airborne lead exposure, noise and, most recently, the need for new affordable housing ­ has been brewing for nearly 40 years."

In addition racial and class tensions surfaced. The following quote helps illustrate the economic disparities between local residents and aircraft owners. "I heard a person say he had two airplanes, when I myself can barely rent a place for my family."

There were also concerns about elevated blood lead levels in children living near the airport.

"A state report found elevated levels of lead in blood among a higher percentage of children in two ZIP codes near the airport compared to three other county ZIP codes where children showed elevated exposure. In the 95122 and 95127 ZIP codes, 2.48 percent and 3.02 percent of children, respectively, showed elevated levels of lead in their blood. In the three other ZIP codes, between 1.68 percent and 1.93 percent of children had elevated exposure.

A 2008 study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked Reid-Hillview Airport 25th out of 3,414 airports across the country with an estimated 1,279 pounds of lead emitted annually."

Reid-Hillview was one of 17 airports included in an EPA airport study on leaded aviation fuel. Though the EPA found that this airport was not in violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead concentration, which is currently 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter, children living within the vicinity of the airport have higher blood lead levels. This is a serious finding, especially in light of the CDC's warning that there is no safe level of lead in a child's blood.

Lead is a pernicious neurotoxin and a probable carcinogen. It is linked to a host of negative health impacts including miscarriages, ADHD, birth defects, learning and behavior problems, increased violence, elevated risk of cardiovascular problems and a host of other serious medical conditions.

The elevated blood lead levels in the vicinity of Reid-Hillview suggests that the NAAQS for lead do not adequately protect children or adults who live near an airport where many of the aircraft continue to use leaded aviation fuel.

For additional information on the results of the EPA airport study, see the Friends of the Earth 4/21/14 update, EPA Report Shows Violation of Federal Airborne Lead Standards at Two California Airports, Yet it Continues to Delay Action.

Commonalities between Reid-Hillview and the Hillsboro Airport

There are significant similarities between Reid-Hillview and the Hillsboro Airport (HIO). Both are general aviation airports that primarily serve the student pilot population and recreational flyers. However, HIO, the largest general aviation airport in Oregon, actually logs more annual operations than Reid-Hillview, close to 200,000 compared to 143,000. In their 2008 study, the EPA ranked HIO 21st in the nation in lead emissions with .68 tons of lead emitted that year. By comparison Reid-Hillview ranked 25th and emitted .53 tons during that same time-frame. See pages 2-4 of the 11/18/10 EPA Memorandum on the Selection of Airports for the Airport Study for a list of the 58 airports in the 2008 EPA National Emissions Inventory known to release more than a half ton of lead into the air annually.

In addition, in Hillsboro where 25% of the population is non-white, the lack of affordable housing is an ongoing issue. Yet Portland Community College and the flight training industry recruit students from out-of-state and overseas to train at HIO, thereby forcing members of the diverse local community to compete for already limited housing options.

Hopefully, the finding of elevated lead levels in children residing near the Reid-Hillsview Airport will spur the State of Oregon to mandate blood lead level testing of all children impacted by the Hillsboro Airport. In addition, the testing of children residing in the vicinity of all of Oregon's more than 450 airports is especially urgent in light of EPA documentation revealing that airports are the largest facility sources of airborne lead emissions in the majority of the 36 counties in the state.

Related Articles on Lead Emissions and Children's Health

Environmental Health Perspectives 2011 article entitled A Geospatial Analysis of the Effects of Aviation Gasoline on Childhood Blood Lead Levels. "Our results suggest that children living within 500 m of an airport at which planes use leaded avgas have higher blood lead levels than other children. This apparent effect of avgas on blood lead levels was evident also among children living within 1,000 m of airports."

Duke University 10/20/09 study Children's Blood Lead Levels Linked To Lower Test Scores. "Exposure to lead in early childhood significantly contributes to lower performances on end-of-grade reading tests among minority and low-income children, according to researchers."