[TSiege]

Dick move to ban am additive that we've known for over a century has terrible toxic affects on people and the environment from a machine that would release it into the air? Maybe there isn't an alternative, but maybe it doesn't matter?

Edit, looks like there is an alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38040091

[lazide]

The amount of lead taken up from leaded avgas in the community is so close to zero (compared to other sources) that it hasn't outweighed the damage done by essentially banning general aviation. Which is what banning leaded avgas would do without an alternative.

It's already nearly choked to death by regulation, but that was a step too far.

But they also clearly have been working to mitigate it, and now that they have an alternate are banning leaded avgas and launching it.

So what is your rant about exactly?

[stefan_]

The majority of people in the US have not flown on a plane with leaded fuel in their life. It is the furthest thing from “general aviation”.

[hollerith]

"General aviation" is the standard name for the part of aviation that is neither commercial, law-enforcement nor military.

If general aviation were to be banned, then as commercial pilots die off or retire, it would be difficult to hire new commercial pilots with as much experience as new commercial pilots have historically had.

[dicknuckle]

You're going to need to provide a source for "the amount of lead taken up from leaded avgas in the community is close to zero" otherwise it's FUD.

[lazide]

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisonin...

Do you even see it in the list?

This NIH study shows it as ‘small, but significant’ - accounting for anywhere from 2.1-4.4% of the lead found in children’s blood near piston airports.

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1003231

Less than 5% of the amount of lead total in their blood from that source, literally for the highest risk segment you can find. Even if completely eliminated, the other 95% isn’t going anywhere.

Even if you don’t average it out across the population, it’s hard to argue that isn’t so close to zero that nearly any significant benefit anywhere else would make it not a rush.

Most airborne lead pollution now is industrial anyway, and that is clearly the calculus there. As is the #1 and #2 sources of lead ingestion for children, old paint and old pipes.

I’m glad they’re getting rid of it, but I’m not going to complain they didn’t drop everything to rush it. Especially since if they did, they’d almost certainly kill more people in the resulting plane crashes.