Banned nearly everywhere else, leaded fuel remains widely used in the general aviation industry, where tiny planes emit the neurotoxin into the air that people breathe. Researchers have estimated that exposure to atmospheric lead from aviation has cost the U.S billions of dollars annually because of its blunting effect on people’s IQs. But the extent to which it affects the people who breathe it in is unknown in South Florida, where several airports are top emitters, particularly North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the airport, owned and operated by Broward County, ranks fifth of all airports in the country for lead emissions. The county has never attempted to study the air surrounding the airport.
