Solutions for Ending Lead Pollution in Hillsboro and Washington County

Miki Barnes
May 19, 2023

The City of Hillsboro and Washington County are the most lead-polluted municipalities in Oregon. A review of 2017 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI) data, reveals that 93% of the airborne lead emissions in the county, 1,369 lbs (.68 tons), are released by airports and aircraft. The worst offender is the Hillsboro Airport (HIO) which is responsible for 88% of the lead in the air. According to EPA data, in 2017 HIO released 1,212 lbs during the landing and take-off phase of flight. Additional lead was emitted during ground run-ups, training maneuvers and overflights.

HIO ranks eighth among 20,000 airports nationwide in lead emissions. It is the largest facility source of lead in Oregon.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Blaine Ackley, Jim Lubischer and Miki Barnes presented public comments before the Hillsboro City Council, offering solutions for ending the terrible scourge of lead poisoning in this community. Towards this end we made the following requests:

1. We request that the City issue a proclamation in support of the EPA, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sponsored National Lead Prevention Week scheduled for October 22-29, 2023. We further request that the proclamation include language requiring the elimination of lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft.
2. We request the city provide information on National Lead Prevention Week in the September / October edition of the "City Views" newsletter.
3. We request the city post warning signs on city property located within a two to four mile radius of the airport. We believe it is the city's obligation to ensure our community is made aware of this dangerous pollution.
4. We request that the City Council pass a resolution to the Port of Portland requesting that the Port expedite the transition from leaded avgas to an unleaded fuel alternative. General Aviation Modifications, Inc (GAMI) has developed an FAA approved unleaded fuel alternative, G100UL which will start being deployed to West Coast airports in the summer of 2023.
5. We request that the city collaborate with the Oregon Health Authority and the Hillsboro School District to begin testing the blood of children who are living or attending school within a 2 to 4 mile radius of the airport and ensure compliance with the Medicaid directive, "All children enrolled in Medicaid…are required to receive blood lead screen tests at age 12 months and 24 months." As of 2018 only 5.8% of Oregon's children under 72 months were tested for lead. (Source: Oregon Health Authority)

To access full versions of the written comments submitted by Blaine Ackley, Jim Lubischer and Miki Barnes click on their respective names.

To view a February 27, 2023, Fox 12 News interview with Dr. Lubischer on the Hillsboro Airport click here.

Why is Lead a Problem?

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there is no safe level of lead in a child's blood. This agency's website includes living near airports as a risk factor for exposure to lead in air or soil from aviation gas used in piston-engine aircraft. A number of schools, parks, daycare centers, and homes are located within one mile of HIO.

Children, newborns, minority populations, and low-wealth communities are disproportionately impacted by lead poisoning. Lead damages the brain causing lower IQs, speech difficulties, ADHD, risk of failing to complete high school, behavioral problems, pregnancy and aggression as a teen, criminal behavior as a young adult, reduced grey matter in regions of the brain known to govern executive judgment, impulsivity and mood regulation.

Lead poisoning is an environmental justice issue. Minorities and low wealth communities are disproportionately impacted and more likely to have higher blood lead levels than higher income white communities. Hillsboro, the most diverse city in Oregon is also the most lead polluted city in the state.

Adults are also negatively affected. In the U.S., nearly a half million deaths from coronary heart disease each year are caused by lead poisoning. Lead is also linked with miscarriages, kidney ailments, reproductive problems, and increased violence in adults.

A Health Impact Project report posted on the CDC website revealed that "eliminating lead from airplane fuel would protect more than 226,000 children born in 2018 who live near airports, generate $262 million in future benefits, and remove roughly 450 tons of lead from the environment every year."

The recommendations suggested in this email are crucial and necessary steps for eliminating airborne lead pollution in Hillsboro and the surrounding community.