Airport Lead Monitoring
This Program Update provides a summary of the data currently
available on concentrations of lead measured at 17 airport
facilities in the U.S.
Concentrations of Lead at Airports
Outdoor concentrations of lead have greatly declined over the past few decades, in
large part due to regulations that removed lead from fuels used in cars and trucks.
However, lead continues to be emitted into the air from certain sources, such as ore
and metal processing and aircraft that use leaded aviation gasoline (avgas). These
aircraft are typically used for activities including business and personal travel, in-
structional flying, aerial surveys, agriculture, firefighting, law enforcement, medical
emergencies, and express freight. Lead is not contained in jet fuel, which is used
by commercial aircraft.
To protect the public from harmful levels of lead in outside air, EPA has established
a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead. In late 2008, EPA
substantially strengthened this standard, revising the level from 1.5 micrograms per
cubic meter (ug/m3), to 0.15 ug/m3, for a 3-month average concentration of lead in
total suspended particles. This revised standard improves health protection for at-risk
groups, especially children.
In conjunction with strengthening the lead NAAQS, EPA improved the existing
lead monitoring network by requiring monitors to be placed in areas with sources
such as industrial facilities and airports. State and local air quality agencies are now
required to monitor near industrial facilities with estimated lead emissions of 0.50
tons or more per year and at airports with estimated emissions of 1.0 ton or more
per year, as well as, on a case-by-case basis in locations where information indicates
a significant likelihood of exceeding the standard. EPA required a 1 -year monitor-
ing study of 15 airports with estimated lead emissions between 0.50 and 1.0 ton per
year in an effort to better understand how these emissions affect the air at and near
airports. Airports for this 1-year monitoring study were selected based on factors such
as the level of piston-engine aircraft activity and the predominant use of one runway
due to wind patterns, in order to help evaluate airport characteristics that could lead
to ambient lead concentrations that approach or exceed the lead NAAQS,
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-13-032
June 2013
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As a result of these requirements, lead monitoring has been conducted at 17 airports. As of May
2013, states and local air authorities have collected and certified lead concentration data for at
least 3 months from the 17 airports. The certified data are available in the table below. EPA
anticipates having a full year of certified data from all 17 airports by May 2014, at which time
the airport study will be complete.
Concentrations of Lead at Airports
Airport, State
Auburn Municipal Airport, WA
Brookhaven Airport, NY
Centennial Airport, CO
Deer Valley Airport, AZ
Gillespie Field, CA
Harvey Field, WA
McClellan-Palomar Airport, CA
Merrill Field, AK
Nantucket Memorial Airport, MA
Oakland County International Airport, Ml
Palo Alto Airport, CA
Pryor Field Regional Airport, AL
Reid-Hillview Airport, CA
Republic Airport, NY
San Carlos Airport, CA
Stinson Municipal, TX
Van Nuys Airport, CA
Lead Design Value,*
pg/m3
0.06
0.03
0.02
0.04
0.07
0.02
0.17
0.07
0.01
0.02
0.12
0.01
0.09
0.01
0.33
0.03
0.06
*The design value for lead is the maximum value of three-month average concentrations
measured at that location.
Two airports have monitored lead concentrations that exceed the lead NAAQS. Fact sheets
specific to these airports have been developed and are available at the EPA Region 9 webpage
provided below. Supplemental sampling is being conducted at these two airports to evaluate lead
concentrations at additional locations at and near the airport. Information from other airports
that have previously been studied in greater detail indicates that air lead concentrations
decrease within short distances from aircraft emissions.
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EPA's Actions Regarding Lead Emissions from Aircraft Operating on
Leaded Fuel
EPA is currently conducting the analytical work, including modeling and monitoring, to evalu-
ate under section 231 of the Clean Air Act whether lead emissions from the use of leaded avgas
in piston-engine aircraft cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated
to endanger public health or welfare. Any proposed determination with regard to endangerment
would be subject to public notice and comment, and we estimate the final determination will be
in mid-to-late 2015. Additional details regarding EPA's evaluation are available in the Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Lead Emissions From Piston-Engine Aircraft Using Leaded
Aviation Gasoline, and the associated public docket (links provided below).
If EPA makes a final positive endangerment finding (i.e., EPA finds that lead emissions from
general aviation cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to
endanger), the agency would initiate rulemaking to establish standards concerning lead emis-
sions from piston-engine aircraft. FAA would then be required to prescribe regulations to insure
compliance with such standards, and prescribe standards for the composition of aircraft fuel to
control or eliminate certain emissions.
For Additional Information
For more information regarding monitoring at the San Carlos Airport and San Diego airports
(McClellan-Palomar and Gillespie Field), please visit:
www.epa.gov/region9/air/airport-lead/
For more information on EPA's actions regarding the endangerment evaluation, please visit:
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-04-28/pdf/2010-9603.pdf
and
www.epa.gov/otaq/aviation.htm
For access to the rulemaking docket containing documents relevant to EPA's evaluation,
please visit:
www.regulations.gov and enter EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0294
For information on the Federal Aviation Administration's actions to eliminate leaded aviation
fuels, please visit:
www. faa. gov/ne ws/
For information on the Federal Aviation Administration's actions to reduce lead concentrations
at airports, please visit:
www.faa.gov/airports/environmental/
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For more information on how you can reduce your family's risk of lead exposure, please visit:
www.epa.gov/lead/parents.html*
For more information on lead in air, please visit:
www.epa.gov/airquality/lead/
Contact
Marion Hoyer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI48105
734-214-4513,
E-mail: hoyer.marion@epa.gov
Or:
Meredith Pedde
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
734-214-4748
E-mail: pedde.meredith@epa.gov
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