California officials will reconsider ways to reduce jet-fuel emissions after local airport workers pleaded for protection from the health damage caused by airplane pollution.
In emotional testimony Thursday, workers detailed their health problems to the California Air Resources Board, which regulates air pollution and in August dropped its plan to try to cut jet fuel emissions.
“I’m an airport worker, and I’m exposed every day to particulate matter in the air that comes from jet fuel,” said Armando Munoz, who works at Los Angeles International Airport. “Airport workers and those who live [near airports] are dying at a much higher rate, and we’re also mostly Black and brown communities.”
The workers urged CARB to reconsider a plan it proposed in December to develop sustainable jet fuel by imposing environmental penalties on companies that supply traditional jet fuel for commercial flights within California. Some workers carried signs saying “Stop Environmental Racism.”
