| If lead from avgas was an acute problem, literally everyone who lives near GA airports would have high lead levels. I've not heard of such a situation, though. I think that evidence points to plenty of cases of lead poisoning from lead paint and, yes, lead in water. I have yet to hear of anyone getting lead poisoning from living near a GA airport. Do note that lead paint also leads to contamination of surfaces and soils, as deteriorating paint turns into dust. I don't think water contamination is similar to air dispersal at all. People consume a certain amount of water out of the tap every day, and whatever is in the water ends up in the body. There is a much less clear absorption chain from lead emitted into the air to the body. Edit: I did the math based on the numbers above: Within 1 mile of an airport (typical pattern size) with 100 take-offs per day, each using 1 gallon of avgas so emitting 1g of lead will, over a decade, deposit ~50ug of lead per m^2. If we say a yard is 100m^2, that's 5mg of lead. That's the equivalent lead content of < 1g of lead-based paint. I'm not disputing that if you live in a new house, far away from a highway, but near a GA airport, avgas might be the major contribution to your lead exposure. But compared to the lead exposure risk from houses still containing lead paint, it seems completely insignificant. |