Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by JCBird1012 on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @10:30AM
(#28683232)
Smaller general aviation aircraft still use 100LL gasoline (the LL stands for low lead) - and even though there’s lead-free replacement candidates (still going through regulatory approval, at least in the US), it’s been known that areas around airports with frequent GA traffic have higher levels of lead in the air, and children living near said airports may have elevated levels of lead in their blood (https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2021/08/06/new-study-finds-l...)
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Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by throwaway0a5e on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @12:47PM
(#28684824)
>and children living near said airports may have elevated levels of lead in their blood
Or is that because the upper middle class types avoid airport noise like the plague leaving the housing stock around airports cheaper, older and more leaded?
The correlation between low income and lead (all known bad chemicals highly used in the past really) exposure is well studied rather than speculative.
Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by verst on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @11:38AM
(#28684081)
What about the pilots? I always get this fuel on my hands during preflight when sumping the fuel tanks.
Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by stonemetal12 on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @12:59PM
(#28684950)
Lead doesn't absorb through the skin. You have to breathe or eat it. As long as you thoroughly wash your hands after preflight, the only exposure should be the fumes and exhaust in the air.
Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by nate_meurer on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @02:27PM
(#28685881)
No, tetraethyl lead, which is the form of lead found in fuel, is easily absorbed through the skin.
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Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by lutorm on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @02:25PM
(#28685863)
With almost no exceptions, pilots have exactly zero say in what fuel to use. Airplanes are certified to use certain fuels and that's what you have to use. At this point there is no generally approved unleaded replacement for 100-octane avgas (although several are in testing.)
A few engines, mostly low performance ones, have the option to use automobile gas, but even in those cases it's rarely available at airports so it's not really an option either.
Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by coryrc on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @04:00PM
(#28686813)
They own the plane. They choose the engine. They choose to fly. They choose to lobby against engine upgrades.
They choose to poison us.
Re:Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
by jcrben on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @06:00PM
(#28688025)
Many of these pilots are basically just rich people flying for fun.