The city of San Jose is forcing a local airport to close largely over lead concerns. However research has shown that children living near the airport don't actually have higher blood lead levels.
Although the absolute risk is probably small the aviation industry should have moved faster on this issue. Airplanes last longer than cars but they can't expect the status quo to be tolerated indefinitely. At some point airplane owners need to be forced to upgrade their engines, or quit flying.
> At some point airplane owners need to be forced to upgrade their engines, or quit flying.
It's not about the owners, at all. Airplanes already have a limit on how many hours their engines have, after that it needs to be overhauled or replaced.
It's just that, for many planes, there aren't really any options available, as other engines are not certified for their planes.
Even for the planes that _are_ certified and can be changed to use other fuels, most airports don't have them available (even "mogas", which is automotive gasoline with no ethanol, is difficult to find).
The county of Santa Clara, which owns the airport, is closing it because it is an uneconomical waste of a huge amount of phenomenally valuable land, and it is only 5 miles from a real airport. It serves no legitimate purpose in the society and economy of the Bay Area.
> The county of Santa Clara, which owns the airport, is closing it because it is an uneconomical waste of a huge amount of phenomenally valuable land, and it is only 5 miles from a real airport. It serves no legitimate purpose in the society and economy of the Bay Area.
That is false. It is a "relief" airport precisely because it is close to SJC. That allows slower traffic to land in RHRV instead of SJC. It is a real airport. Has two runways, air traffic control and what have you. What's the threshold for a 'real airport'?
There's a lot of "phenomenally valuable" land nearby with only dirt and maybe trees growing on it. There are parks and wilderness areas. Should we turn them into businesses and houses just because real state values are up?
It's not a real airport because 100% of its operations are wankers flying around in their obsolete mosquitos. The Bay Area has a superabundance of GA airports and RHV is superfluous.
https://sanjosespotlight.com/san-jose-airport-lead-levels-ar...
Although the absolute risk is probably small the aviation industry should have moved faster on this issue. Airplanes last longer than cars but they can't expect the status quo to be tolerated indefinitely. At some point airplane owners need to be forced to upgrade their engines, or quit flying.