For years health officials have held that there is no safe level of lead exposure for humans. Even low levels can cause irreversible cognitive decline in children. Yet despite the risk, leaded aviation fuel—whose particulates travel in the air and are inhaled or can settle in soil or other substrates—continues to be used in small airplanes and helicopters around the country.
Researchers at Oregon State University and Portland State University found high levels of lead at test sites surrounding the Hillsboro and Troutdale airports in Portland, Oregon. The samples contained isotopes linking the lead to that used in single-piston engine aircraft, like helicopters, crop dusters or antique military planes.
“We see lead that’s about seven times higher than lead in other urban areas near these airports,” said Alyssa Shiel, associate professor at Oregon State University and a contributing author of a new study on the health threat. “With something like 19,000 small airports across the country, this is something that needs more attention.”
The article, published this week in Nature Communications Sustainability, reflects a national problem. Single-piston aircraft in the United States continue to use leaded aviation fuel, a pattern that impacts thousands of airports and their surrounding residents.
“All of the studies are very consistent,” said Bruce Lanphear, a professor in health sciences at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a leading expert in lead exposure. Research shows that children living near such airports have “ higher blood lead levels that can’t be explained by other sources,” he said.
The researchers tested moss on nearby street trees for lead, a method that is cheaper than using air quality monitors. They found the most significant lead impacts within a half mile of the airports. Both the Hillsboro and Troutdale airports are of concern because they serve single-piston aircraft that use leaded fuel, whereas large commercial airliners do not use leaded fuel. The Hillsboro airport ranks tenth in the nation for estimated lead emissions, according to Environmental Protection Agency data, while the Portland International Airport, which serves commercial airliners, ranks 793rd.
“It’s almost unconscionable that there isn’t stronger limitations on the use of lead,” said Dean Atkinson, associate professor in chemistry at Portland State University and contributing author of the study. The first unleaded aviation fuel for single-piston aircraft was approved in 2022, but aircraft must be specially approved to use it and only a handful of airports around the country supply it. There is no federal ban on leaded aviation fuel and it remains the primary source for single-piston aircraft.
But community members, and the Hillsboro City Council, are pushing for just that. In late June, the council voted to urge the Port of Portland, which controls both the Hillsboro and Troutdale airports, to speed up the transition to unleaded aviation fuel at the Hillsboro Airport.
“The Port of Portland strongly supports and advocates for the transition from historic leaded aviation fuel (avgas) to newer lead-free avgas to reduce emissions and improve air quality for our airports’ neighbors,” said the Port of Portland in a statement. “While only the FAA has the legal authority to mandate that aircraft operators switch to unleaded avgas or prohibit the sale of leaded fuel, the Port knows we have a role to play in the transition.”
Banning leaded aviation fuel at local airports has been done. Two small airports in Santa Clara County, California, banned its sale in 2023 after a study found elevated levels of lead for children living near its facilities. But a ban or early transition toward unleaded fuel does not remove nationwide regulatory hurdles. Planes cannot buy leaded fuel at the two airports in Santa Clara County, but they can still fly in and out of the airports using leaded fuel if they buy it elsewhere.
Both the Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Aviation Administration regulate leaded aviation fuel nationally. The Environmental Protection Agency ruled in 2023 that leaded aviation fuel endangers public health under the Clean Air Act, yet no enforcement has occurred. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to phase out leaded aviation fuel by 2030.
As for the Hillsboro and Troutdale airports, researchers plan to test surrounding soil next. Lead in soil does not dissipate on its own and must be remediated. Dust and soil tracked into homes is a common way that lead exposure occurs. “ If we have contaminated soils near these airports that could be a big problem,” said Shiel.
If you live near a local airport and are worried about lead exposure, you can find a map of lead emissions from airports here. Experts suggest that people concerned about lead exposure should take shoes off outside, wet mop and dust indoors, wash homegrown food, wash hands frequently and consider using a HEPA air filter for airborne lead emissions.
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Claire Barber is a fellow at Inside Climate News and a master’s in journalism student at Stanford University. She is an environmental and outdoor journalist, reporting primarily in the American Southwest and the West. Her writing has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Outside, Powder Magazine, Field & Stream, Trails Magazine and more. She loves to get lost in the woods looking for a hot spring, backpacking to secluded campsites and banana slugs.
