A Century of Hair Samples Proves Leaded Gas Ban Worked (arstechnica.com)
(Monday February 02, 2026 @10:46PM (msmash)
from the proof-is-in-the-hair dept.)
- Reference: 0180722632
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/02/02/2029212/a-century-of-hair-samples-proves-leaded-gas-ban-worked
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/a-century-of-hair-samples-proves-leaded-gas-ban-worked/
Scientists at the University of Utah have analyzed nearly a century's worth of human hair samples and found that lead concentrations [1]dropped 100-fold after the EPA began cracking down on leaded gasoline and other lead-based products in the 1970s.
The [2]findings , published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, drew on hair collected from Utah residents -- some preserved in family scrapbooks going back generations. Lead levels peaked between 1916 and 1969 at around 100 parts per million, fell to 10 ppm by 1990, and dropped below 1 ppm by 2024. The decline largely tracks the phase-out of leaded gasoline after President Nixon established the EPA in 1970; before the agency acted, most gasolines contained about 2 grams of lead per gallon, releasing nearly 2 pounds of lead per person into the environment each year.
The study arrives amid the Trump administration's broader push to scale back the EPA. Lead regulations have not yet been targeted, but the authors note concerns about loosened enforcement of the 2024 Lead and Copper rule on replacing old lead pipes.
[1] https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/a-century-of-hair-samples-proves-leaded-gas-ban-worked/
[2] https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2525498123
The [2]findings , published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, drew on hair collected from Utah residents -- some preserved in family scrapbooks going back generations. Lead levels peaked between 1916 and 1969 at around 100 parts per million, fell to 10 ppm by 1990, and dropped below 1 ppm by 2024. The decline largely tracks the phase-out of leaded gasoline after President Nixon established the EPA in 1970; before the agency acted, most gasolines contained about 2 grams of lead per gallon, releasing nearly 2 pounds of lead per person into the environment each year.
The study arrives amid the Trump administration's broader push to scale back the EPA. Lead regulations have not yet been targeted, but the authors note concerns about loosened enforcement of the 2024 Lead and Copper rule on replacing old lead pipes.
[1] https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/a-century-of-hair-samples-proves-leaded-gas-ban-worked/
[2] https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2525498123
Generational Diffs (Score:1)
by XopherMV ( 575514 )
Interesting to note that this could explain some generational differences that would still be visible today.
no, don’t talk about this! (Score:1)
by zeiche ( 81782 )
jfc! don’t give trump any ideas of rolling this back!!!!!!!!!!
Unlikely to get lead back in gasoline (Score:2)
by MtViewGuy ( 197597 )
Look, tetraethyl lead was a "cheap" way to get gasoline-fueled engines to run higher compression without pre-detonation (knocking) damaging the engine. The development of electronic fuel injection in the 1970's and 1980's pretty much eliminated the knocking problem by electronically adjusting the timing of spark plug ignition via knock sensors and a small computer, which meant modern gasoline-fueled engines for street-legal vehicles rarely suffer from this issue. Besides, modern refining technology makes it
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
No. First they have been using "low lead" gas since the 1970s which is a partial "fix." Second something like 90% of aircraft can run on unleaded gas now. Third the amount of lead poisoning is not stupendously high (typical lead levels in kids is about 1-2 ug/dL and studies from this decade show that living within half a mile of an airport raises blood lead by about 0.2 ug/dL). Fourth leaded avgas is being banned as of January 1, 2031. Whether the ban is a hard ban or not depends on the state, e.g. in Calif
Re: (Score:3)
Partly true.
More information here [1]https://www.epa.gov/newsreleas... [epa.gov] and here [2]https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/l... [faa.gov]
[1] https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-determines-lead-emissions-aircraft-engines-cause-or-contribute-air-pollution
[2] https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/leaded-aviation-fuel-and-environment
Re: (Score:2)
> No. First they have been using "low lead" gas since the 1970s which is a partial "fix." Second something like 90% of aircraft can run on unleaded gas now. Third the amount of lead poisoning is not stupendously high (typical lead levels in kids is about 1-2 ug/dL and studies from this decade show that living within half a mile of an airport raises blood lead by about 0.2 ug/dL). Fourth leaded avgas is being banned as of January 1, 2031. Whether the ban is a hard ban or not depends on the state, e.g. in California it is a hard ban.
> Anyway those people near small airports got to buy affordable housing because of the lead poisoning which kept property values affordable. Obviously I support the ban but what you said is not true and the people who chose to live near an airport did so with the knowledge they would be buying affordable homes in exchange for the tradeoff.
Yeah, I don't want my kids to have elevated blood lead levels, even .2 higher. K, thanks.
Yeah, I don't think most home buyers or renters are even vaguely aware of there still being leaded gas in small planes or that being within half a mile of a small plane airport will raise their blood lead levels.
[1]https://www.govinfo.gov/conten... [govinfo.gov]
[1] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-10-20/pdf/2023-23247.pdf
Re: (Score:2)
> the people who chose to live near an airport did so with the knowledge they would be buying affordable homes in exchange for the tradeoff.
I doubt most people in that situation expect or even know about higher lead contamination.
Re: (Score:2)
You kind of missed the point.
We're not talking about lead poisoning, we're talking about the effects of long term lead exposure. In places that used leaded gas, the IQ of the general populace went down 7 points. The only thing worse is living next to a lead smelter. If you visited the city the smelter was in in the 80's, everything was dead. There was no vegetation for a mile around the smelter site itself. During the 90's they changed something with the smokestacks (adding a few feet to the height) and tha
Re: (Score:2)
I wonder why people are bad at risk assessment and at judging scale?
Sesame Street used to have monsters do big/small and near/far. I would have thought we could have grasped these concepts in early childhood, but I keep running into people who also suck me into a pointless debate when they don't get it.