Lead is a proven neurotoxin. There is no safe level of lead exposure, especially for children, whose developing brains are particularly vulnerable. Emissions from leaded aviation fuel can settle into soil and dust, accumulating over time and increasing long-term exposure risks for residents living under common flight paths.
Every flight using leaded fuel releases toxic lead into the air we breathe. That pollution doesn’t disappear, it falls back into our neighborhoods, settling into yards, rooftops, and soil where children play.
Families living near flight paths have no warning, no choice, and no easy way to protect themselves. Children are especially at risk: lead exposure is linked to learning difficulties, behavioral problems, and lifelong health impacts. These risks are preventable.
Private recreational flying should not come at the expense of public health. Communities should not be treated as dumping grounds for pollution that has already been deemed too dangerous for road vehicles.
This petition is about fairness, health, and common sense. We deserve clean air in our own neighborhoods, and policies that reflect modern science and basic public responsibility.
Unlike commercial aviation or essential services, private recreational flights are discretionary. Allowing these flights to emit lead pollution over densely populated areas places unnecessary health burdens on communities who did not consent to the risk and do not benefit from the activity.
Safer unleaded alternatives already exist or are in development, and many aircraft are capable of transitioning to them. Protecting public health, especially that of children, should take priority over the continued convenience of outdated fuel use.
This petition urges policymakers and aviation authorities to take immediate action to protect residential communities by restricting leaded fuel use where people live.