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If you live within six miles of an airport, you are at heightened risk of dying prematurely from environmentally induced cancer. The culprit
is the pollution spewing from jet aircraft, ground vehicles and airport maintenance operations. (Click to get a
PDF report).What role does the Wisconsin DNR play in this? They can keep advising us about ozone alerts and bad air
around the airport (see DNR TSP map)
, but they can't do a thing because of provisions in the Federal Clean Air Act that exempt airports from state regulation. Section 231 was bought and paid for by the airline industry. As airport emissions increase the
DNR will have little choice but to put even tighter restrictions on emissions from other sources -- you and me and the places we work, the automobiles we drive, even when we can cut our lawns. When will Milwaukee County inform its residents of the health impacts of its airport? Are you short of breath or wheezing? Are you sick more often and for a longer period of time? What kinds of health effects may be occurring to the population in your
neighborhood can be seen from a report, dated June 20, 1997 to the Georgetown Crime Prevention and Community Council by the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. Georgetown is an area of Seattle, and
surrounds the King County International Airport (Boeing Field), King County, in turn, surrounds greater Seattle. (The Georgetown Council is a sister organization to AReCO and member of US-CAW. When comparing
hospitalization rates for Georgetown (Zip Code 98108) to those of King and North King Counties, the following, alarming statistics resulted:
a 57% higher asthma rate a 28% higher pneumonia/influenza rate a 26% higher respiratory disease rate
an 83% higher pregnancy complication rate a 50% higher infant mortality rate genetic diseases are statistically higher
mortality rates are 48% higher for all causes of death: 57% higher for heart disease, 36% higher cancer death rate with
pneumonia and influenza among the top five leading causes average life expectancy 70.4 years (the same as in many developing nations) compared
to Seattle's of 76.0 The 1997 activity at the Seattle airport approximates 2004 GMIA activity. Air emissions associated
with Mitchell Airport operations include three primary sources: (1) aircraft; (2) ground service equipment (GSE); and (3) motor vehicles. Although a range of other sources including fuel storage, heating and cooling,
also contribute to air emissions at the airport, aircraft are the largest single source of emissions. Four principal air pollutants are
emitted by aircraft: carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and particulate matter (PM10 and PM25 ). Ambient air quality standards exist for CO, sulfur dioxide (SO2), PM10,
PM25 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), one of the NOx compounds. There are no standards for VOCs; however, VOCs are precursors to ozone (O3) for which an air quality standard has been established. CHEMICAL SOUP Did you ever wonder what blows out of a
jet airplane? Here is what you'll find in the air around an airport:
Freon 11, Freon 12, Methyl Bromide, Dichloromethane, cis-l,2-Dichloroethylene, 1,1,1-Trichloro-ethane, Carbon Tetrachloride, Benzene,
Trichloroethylene, Toluene, Tetrachloroethene, Ethylbenzene, m,p-Xylene, o-Xylene, Styrene, 1,3,5-Trimethyl-benzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, o-Dichlorobenzene, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Acetone,
Propinaldehyde, Crotonaldehyde, Isobutylaldehyde, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Benzaldehyde, Veraldehyde, Hexanaldehyde, Ethyl Alcohol, Acetone, Isopropyl Alcohol, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Butane, Isopentane, Pentane, Hexane, Butyl
Alcohol, Methyl Isobutyl Ketone, n,n-Dimethyl Acetamide, Dimethyl Disulfide, m-Cresol, 4-Ethyl Toulene, n-Heptaldehyde, Octanal, 1,4-Dioxane, Methyl Phenyl Ketone, Vinyl Acetate, Heptane, Phenol, Octane, Anthracene,
Dimethylnapthalene (isomers), Flouranthene, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, Naph-thalene, Phenanthrene, Pyrene , Benzo(a)pyrene, 1-nitropyrene, 1,8-dinitropyrene, 1,3-Butadiene, sulfites, nitrites, nitrogen
oxide, nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen trioxide, nitric acid, sulfur oxides, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, urea, ammonia, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5).
What symptoms can occur with prolonged exposure to these chemicals?
ASPHYXIATION
ASTHMA
BRAIN CANCER
CANCER
CONJUNCTIVE IRRITATION
COUGHING
DELAYED HYPERSENSITIVITY
DISTORTED PERCEPTIONS
DROWSINESS
DYSPNEA HEADACHE
EEG [ELECTRO ENCEPHALO GRAPH] CHANGES
EMPHYSEMA FLUSHING
HALLUCINATIONS
HEART DISEASE
HODGKIN'S DISEASE
KIDNEY DAMAGE
LACRIMATION
LIVER DAMAGE
LUNG DISEASE
LUNG STRUCTURE DAMAGE
LUNG TIGHTNESS
LYMPHOMA
MENTAL DEPRESSION
MULTIPLE ORGAN INVOLVEMENT MUSCLE WEAKNESS
MUTATIONS
MYELOID LEUKEMIA
NASAL EFFECTS
NAUSEA, VOMITING
PULSE RATE DECREASE
PULMONARY IRRITATION
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DAMAGE
SKIN AND EYE IRRITATION
SYSTEMIC IRRITATION
TUMORS
WHEEZING
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Carbon Monoxide (CO)
For CO emissions, the growth in aircraft emissions is a concern because of the role CO plays in harming human health. It is important in both the airport occupational and community environments. CO
enters the blood stream and reduces the delivery of oxygen to the body's organs and tissues. CO is most serious for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease, particularly those with angina or peripheral vascular
disease. Exposure to high levels of CO is associated with the impairment of visual perception, work capacity, manual dexterity, learning ability and performance of complex tasks. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, ``National Air Pollutant Emission Trends,'' EPA/454/R-94/027, October 1994; ``Air Quality Criteria for Carbon Monoxide,'' EPA/600/8-90/045F, October 1991.) Is there proof that airports affect health? Take a look at this map of the Minneapolis area. The chart below shows cardiopulmonary deaths per 100,000 population attributable to air pollution for various cities. Notice which one is the highest --
higher than even Minneapolis-St. Paul |
