Options for Reducing Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft (2021) / Chapter Skim
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4 Changing Operations and Practices at Airports to Reduce Aviation Lead
4 Changing Operations and Practices at Airports to Reduce Aviation Lead
Pages 71-86
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From page 71... ...
At the same time, because many options to influence these practices would not involve burdensome or costly interventions, even the promise of modest lead mitigation could favor their implementation. This chapter begins by identifying practices at airports that create lead emissions and exposures.
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From page 72... ...
has noted that among the potentially largest sources of lead exposure at airports are the following activities (not in any particular order) : • Aircraft fueling operations; • Pre-flight fuel sampling by pilots; • Aircraft maintenance and repair; and • Engine run-ups during pre-takeoff checks (EPA, 2010a)
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From page 73... ...
Exposures of fuel service personnel can also occur when loading and unloading avgas into and from the storage tanks. In its 2002 PBT National Action Plan for Alkyl-lead, EPA identified fuel service personnel, as well as pilots and aircraft technicians, as potentially being exposed to lead by inhaling vapor emitted during refueling, from spills, and from unused gasoline remaining in the engine or fuel tanks (EPA, 2002)
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From page 74... ...
For instance, AC 150/5230-4B (FAA, 2012) requires airport fueling service providers and personnel to follow the codes and standards contained in the most recent edition of National Fire Prevention Association 407, Standard for Aircraft Fuel Servicing Training Programs.
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From page 75... ...
The bottom line is that scant data are available on the frequency and magnitude of lead emissions and exposures from avgas evaporative emissions and spills from fueling operations at airports, in part because of the large number of airports, extensive self-fueling activity, and limited requirements by federal pollution control regulations for monitoring these emissions and discharges. However, even in the absence of information quantifying the extent to which fueling operations may contribute to lead pollution at airports, it is reasonable to assume such contributions are not always trivial and that any opportunities to mitigate them that are not especially costly or burdensome deserve consideration.
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From page 76... ...
The ACRP report also contains findings about airport practices for ensuring the safe disposal of inspected fuel. The researchers observed fuel sampling and disposal practices at three airports and consulted with a number of airport managers, FBOs, flight schools, and airport managers to identify procedures followed by pilots at different airports.
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From page 77... ...
and the adherence of many of their owners to an annual preventive maintenance schedule that usually includes examining, cleaning, and gapping spark plugs implies that aircraft technicians and owners, in the aggregate, are performing thousands of spark plug cleanings per year in which lead exposures are potentially taking place. Although the exposures from these procedures have not been quantified, they would appear to be a candidate for more targeted actions to ensure that aircraft owners and maintenance workers are aware of and protected from the hazards.
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From page 78... ...
In the next section, consideration is given to options for reducing lead emissions from engine run-ups and for controlling lead concentrations in proximity to run-up areas. These options include potential relocation of run-up areas to increase the distance between these checks and takeoff operations (thereby reducing the probability of overlapping plumes)
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From page 79... ...
OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE LEAD EMISSIONS AND EXPOSURES Each of the practices and activities discussed above presents opportunities to reduce lead emissions and exposures at airports through means such as increased education, training, and awareness of pilots, airport managers, and aircraft maintenance personnel; changes in airport environmental planning and policy guidance; and research to obtain a better understanding of how airport activities are contributing to lead emissions and exposures and to identify best practices for reducing those contributions. Examples of opportunities are given next.
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From page 80... ...
However, a review by this committee of the following FAA-issued documents pertaining to aircraft operations, flight training, airport management, and aircraft maintenance protocols, methods, and standards found no mention of lead emissions and exposures as an environmental risk or health hazard: • Airplane Flying Handbook, 2004 (FAA, 2004) ; • Airplane Flying Handbook, 2016 (FAA, 2020)
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From page 81... ...
Nevertheless, to the extent that latitude exists, the manual could be a place to prompt airport operators to follow best practices, such as for designating appropriate locations for engine run-ups and for advising pilots and airport personnel about relevant operational procedures for avoiding fuel spills and managing inspected fuel samples. The previously discussed ACRP report on Best Practices for General Aviation
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From page 82... ...
The handbook points to EPA's methods for calculating lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft operations. The information in this handbook could therefore be expanded to assist airport operators in modeling and calculating lead emissions from other airport sources, such as from engine run-up, refueling, and aircraft maintenance.
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From page 83... ...
In 2013, the Office of Airport Planning and Environmental Division issued the following interim guidance to airports on mitigating public risks associated with lead emissions from pre-takeoff run-ups (FAA, 2013)
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From page 84... ...
The results of the ACRP study, issued 3 years after FAA's interim guidance, suggest that it may be time to update the guidance, in particular to address the desirability of moving run-up areas away from runway ends to other locations as long as they do not expose the general public to emissions or present other concerns such as degraded safety or excessive noise. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A review of FAA-related manuals and handbooks pertaining to flight training, aircraft maintenance, and airport management found scarce mention of lead emissions and exposures as an environmental risk or health hazard nor guidelines for refueling to avoid spills and emissions, ensuring the safe disposal of inspected fuel, and reducing exposures to lead deposits when performing aircraft maintenance and repairs (Finding 4.1)
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From page 85... ...
2003. Controlling Lead Exposure During the Process of Cleaning Aviation Spark Plugs.
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From page 86... ...
2019. Airport Management Guide for Providing Aircraft Fueling Services.
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