Long Island airports likely to shift from leaded fuel used in small planes amid EPA health concerns

The Environmental Protection Agency this week announced a significant step toward prohibiting the use of leaded gasoline in piston-engine aircraft, including many that fly in and out of Long Island, concluding that the fuel contributes to air pollution and endangers public health under the federal Clean Air Act.

The determination, announced in the Federal Register on Wednesday, begins a multiyear process of regulating — and likely transitioning away from 100 octane Low Lead fuel — used in small planes that carry two to 10 passengers, the EPA said. Jet aircraft used in commercial transportation do not use leaded fuel, officials said.

“The science is clear: exposure to lead can cause irreversible and lifelong health effects in children,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “Aircraft that use leaded fuel are the dominant source of lead emissions in our air.”

The agency has indicated that it will not prohibit the use of leaded fuel until an industry alternative is made widely available.

Pilots of small planes on Long Island, from Farmingdale to East Hampton, have long relied on leaded fuel, aviation experts said.

Michael Canders, director of the Aviation Center at Farmingdale State College, said the college-owned aircraft that he uses to train pilot students all run on leaded fuel.

Transitioning away from leaded gasoline, he said, could be "disruptive," but the impact won't be clear until it's known what fuel alternatives are available.

"We're just going to have to wait and see," said Canders, an associate professor of aviation at Farmingdale. "We don't want the bureaucracy overreacting. We want to have all the parties heard, and then all work together to make the transition to protect the aviation industry and the airlines, which are such drivers of the economy."

The majority of aircraft served by Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach use leaded gas, according to Suffolk County, which operates the airport. 

In a statement, the county said it "will continue to assure all measures are in compliance with FAA and federal regulations."

Shelley LaRose-Arken, commissioner of aviation at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, which is run by the Town of Islip, said all of their general aviation planes rely on 100LL fuel.

"We remain committed to following all DEC, EPA and FAA regulations" LaRose-Arken said.

The state Department of Transportation owns Republic Airport in Farmingdale, which also utilizes leaded fuel. The department said it will monitor the regulatory process "to ensure that any new standards are implemented."

A transition away from leaded aircraft fuel, experts said, will not come overnight.

The EPA must first propose and develop regulatory standards for lead emissions on certain aircraft. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration has said it will develop rules that address the composition, chemical, or physical properties of aircraft fuel or additives to control or eliminate lead emissions, officials said. 

The process, which will involve public comment periods, is expected to take several years during which leaded fuel will still be available for use.

Last year, a broad number of aviation stakeholders, including the Federal Aviation Administration and fuel manufacturers, launched the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions initiative, with the goal of transitioning all piston-engine aircraft to lead-free gas by 2030. 

Jim Coon, senior vice president of government affairs and advocacy at the Maryland-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which supports the EPA's regulatory action, said there's no dispute that leaded gasoline should be removed from aircraft.

"The brightest chemists and engineers around the world have been working on this for years, trying to develop a fuel solution that does not contain lead. And progress has been made in that area," Coon said. "We're going to continue to work on it until we remove lead from all aviation gasoline."

The EPA banned leaded gasoline for cars in 1975, leaving piston-powered aircraft responsible for 70% of the total lead emitted into the air nationwide, posing a particularly high risk to communities living near small airports, the agency said. 

But Coon said those numbers can be deceiving.

There are more than 220,000 general aviation aircraft in the United States that collectively burn about 180 million gallons of leaded fuel annually, he said. Comparatively, about 370 million gallons of automobile gasoline is consumed daily in the United States, federal officials said.

Lead exposure can cause high blood pressure, brain, kidney and reproductive health issues in adults and reduced cognitive functioning and academic performance in children, experts said.

The FAA has approved use of a 100 octane unleaded fuel that can be widely used by piston-engine aircraft although it is not yet commercially available. The agency has also approved for use a lower-octane unleaded fuel that is available at nearly three dozen airports in the United States.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.