Toxic Airports Making People Sick!!!

Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#489........................................................................July
13,  2008 Past newsletters can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm  If you want to get the
newsletter sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy
rockaway@prodigy.net

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Quote of the Week:  Safety always comes first, and in this situation, if it
does slow down operations, that may be something that we need to do to keep
the operations safe" comment from FAA spokesperson in a story this week on a
SECOND near collision at JFK Airport in one weeks!!!

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Toxic Airports Make People Sick!!!

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As Bill Sees It (Editorial): Health Impacts Of Airports FINALLY Getting
Reported...Somewhat!!! Big surprise, elevated cancer rates near Boston's
Logan Airport reported in news stories this week. Preliminary reports show
that Asthma rates around Logan are also increasing. Of course it will be
years before anything will be done, if even then. The news video of the
story which I saw when I first looked at it, was quickly replaced with a
salmonella food poisoning story!!! However, the Logan Airport sickness video
associated with Logan Airport health study can still be seen (hopefully) by
going to their archive site and typing "Logan Airport" (I checked again
before I posted this newsletter and the original video was back). Why were
only the health impacts around Logan Airport assessed? Airport pollution and
its health impacts have a long history of being suppressed by not only by
the news media but also by local and federal governments. This official
collusion of the government with the aviation industry can be traced to the
defunding of the EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) in 1981
and continues today. The FAA is a prime example of a government agency
totally corrupted by a deadly polluting industry and has gone to great
lengths to help hide health impacts. This is quite an feat for an agency
that has aviation safety as its main mission. It's no coincidence that
former FAA administrators go right to work for the aviation industry as soon
as they finish serving the airline industry in their public capacity.

Two JFK Airport Near Collisions In A Week Means More FAAspeak Damage
Control!!!  The FAA is very media savvy. So when I heard about how the FAA
was going to change takeoff and landing operations at JFK Airport in
response to the two recent near collisions, I looked very carefully at the
language. I knew the FAA's Office Of Misinformation (OOM) would be quickly
swinging into operation with press releases. One news story said the "The
FAA has banned the practice of simultaneous perpendicular departures and
arrivals at the airport." Another story said the FAA bosses disagreed with
the air traffic controllers that this was a near collision and it was merely
a "'proximity event." Obviously the FAA has a FAAspeak scenario for every
occasion. The like to keep their plans and actions purposely vague with only
themselves as the ones to interpret what they mean. Their latest FAAspeak
phrase is that they are going fix the near-collision problem by "changing
the sequencing" of landing and takeoffs on perpendicular runways. The words
"changing the sequencing" can mean almost anything but no doubt means they
will be spacing out planes landing and taking off. It just means that there
will be increased separation of planes for awhile until the heat dies down.
This must be a blow to media-hound and aviation expansion promoter Senator
Chuck Schumer (picture on the right) who has long pushed for removal of
"caps" on the numbers of flights at JFK, LaGuardia and other airports which
means bringing flights dangerously closer together. It was interesting to
note that in one incident there was a problem in communication when a plane
was "handed over" from one air traffic control radar site to another. It
seems to me that this will be even more of problem as more foreign planes
fly over American skies thanks to Bush and congress and "open skies"
agreements with foreign countries.

Acting FAA Administrator Sturgell Has His Own Blog!!! Obviously there are
people in the FAA (air traffic controllers?) that don't like Mr. Sturgell,
who is called the "Sturg-Eel." The site says it is "A Blog Dedicated To
Encouraging The Criminal Authorities, And Congress, To Indict, Prosecute,
And Convict Current FAA Administrator "Bobby" Sturgell For Malfeasance,
Perjury, And Contempt Of Congress." Wow!!! It looks as if this is one FAA
boss that may be going to "officially" switch over to working for the
airlines sooner than expected.

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Cancer And Logan Airport Being " Studied!!!" BOSTON (WBZ) &#8213; Logan
Airport is responsible for $7 billion in economic activity every year in New
England. But is the nation's 16th-largest airport also making its neighbors
sick? For 10 years, the state's top public health officials have been
investigating. A year from now, they will announce their final results, but
experts are concerned by some early health data gathered from nearby
residents. The planes literally skim the rooftops in Winthrop as they
approach Logan Airport. With more than a thousand flights a day, the noise
and jet fumes are part of everyday life. George Parisano has seen the planes
come and go for 40 years. He's always wondered why so many neighbors get
sick. "I really do," Parisano said. "Personally, I have had cancer. My
neighbors up and down the street, a lot of them have cancer. " Rep. Robert
DeLeo, a powerful Beacon Hill lawmaker, has been pushing for answers. WBZ
asked DeLeo, a Democrat who represents Winthrop, his opinion: "Is Logan
airport making people sick?" "Definitively today, I can't say that," DeLeo
said from Donovan's Beach, across the water from Logan. "But do I have grave
concerns that it is? Yes, I do." As chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee, DeLeo has supported spending almost $2 million to examine what
health effects Logan Airport might be having on the 17 communities within
five miles of its runways. And here is the reason why: Existing state health
data obtained by WBZ shows that compared with the statewide average, there
are elevated rates of heart disease in Everett, Hull, Malden, Lynn, Medford
and Saugus. But that's not all. Asthma rates are also higher in Boston,
Chelsea, Everett, Lynn and Revere. nd state health experts also know lung
cancer rates in Boston, Everett, Hull, Lynn, Quincy and Revere top the state
average. http://wbztv.com/health/Logan.Airport.Cancer.2.767855.html



Two More Senators Jump On The Anti Airspace Redesign Bandwagon!!! Sen. Arlen
Specter, R-Pa., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., were able to slip an
amendment into an appropriations bill Thursday that might spell relief for
county residents dealing with increased air traffic over their homes. The
amendment would require the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a
report in response to a Government Accountability Office audit of its
controversial NY/NJ/PA Airspace Redesign Project, slated for a July 31
release. Under the language of the amendment, the FAA report to two Senate
committees would outline "actions the agency intends to take in order to
address any concerns and recommendations identified in the GAO report." FAA
spokesman Jim Peters said it would be premature to comment on the GAO report
before it was released and inappropriate to comment on any action taken by
any member of Congress. Specter noted in a release Thursday the "enormous
fury" from residents over the redesign plan, which was partially implemented
in December at Philadelphia International Airport with two new departure
headings over the county. Editor's Note: Is it for real or just an attempt
to make sure the FAA continues to avoid their specially-chosen, politically
protected, "noise sensitive" communities.
http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid847902&BRD75&PAGF1&dept_id171
&rfi=6

No One Knows What Punched Out A Jet'sl Nose!!! Don't blame a bird for the
punch that the Northwest Airlines plane took in the nose on Sunday.
Northwest is now examining the dented nose cone of a Boeing 757 jet that was
damaged during a flight from Detroit to Tampa. Images snapped by passengers
(MSNBC even has some video, above) show the front tip of the plane looking a
bit like a beer cup smashed in after a football game. A spokeswoman for the
Tampa airport initially told The Associated Press that the damage was
probably caused by a bird striking the plane in mid-flight. But this
afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration essentially ruled out that
possibility as more details became available. Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman
for the F.A.A. in Atlanta, said pilots heard a bang when the plane was at
18,000 feet during its descent into Tampa. Its radar went out, prompting the
crew to suspect a problem with the fiberglass cover of the nose cone, called
a radome. They slowed the aircraft and notified air traffic control
officials. However, the crew did not declare an emergency before landing
safely. Once on the ground, the pilots were told by controllers about the
dent, Ms. Bergen said. Despite the initial reports, the pilots did not
report seeing a bird and indeed, the altitude was higher than most birds
generally fly, she said.+650Mechanics removed the radome and the plane's
antenna, and put the plane back into service today, Ms. Bergen said. The
damaged parts were sent to Northwest's offices in Minneapolis, where
technical experts will examine them and determine what happened.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/mysterious-midair-dent-in-jetliners-nose/?hp



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Important Aviation News Stories This Week

Is Logan Airport Making People Sick?

A Decade-Long Health Investigation Focuses On Cancer Rates Near Logan

Joe Shortsleeve BOSTON (WBZ) &#8213; Logan Airport is responsible for $7
billion in economic activity every year in New England. But is the nation's
16th-largest airport also making its neighbors sick?

For 10 years, the state's top public health officials have been
investigating. A year from now, they will announce their final results, but
experts are concerned by some early health data gathered from nearby
residents.

The planes literally skim the rooftops in Winthrop as they approach Logan
Airport. With more than a thousand flights a day, the noise and jet fumes
are part of everyday life.

George Parisano has seen the planes come and go for 40 years. He's always
wondered why so many neighbors get sick.

"I really do," Parisano said. "Personally, I have had cancer. My neighbors
up and down the street, a lot of them have cancer. "

Rep. Robert DeLeo, a powerful Beacon Hill lawmaker, has been pushing for
answers.

WBZ asked DeLeo, a Democrat who represents Winthrop, his opinion: "Is Logan
airport making people sick?"

"Definitively today, I can't say that," DeLeo said from Donovan's Beach,
across the water from Logan. "But do I have grave concerns that it is? Yes,
I do."

As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, DeLeo has supported
spending almost $2 million to examine what health effects Logan Airport
might be having on the 17 communities within five miles of its runways.

And here is the reason why: Existing state health data obtained by WBZ shows
that compared with the statewide average, there are elevated rates of heart
disease in Everett, Hull, Malden, Lynn, Medford and Saugus.

But that's not all. Asthma rates are also higher in Boston, Chelsea,
Everett, Lynn and Revere.

And state health experts also know lung cancer rates in Boston, Everett,
Hull, Lynn, Quincy and Revere top the state average.

This health investigation was started nine years ago and now includes
interviews with more than 6,000 people. But it's what was found in the
neighborhoods of East Boston that really caught the attention of Suzanne
Condon of the state Health Department.

And it's this simple fact: Lung cancer rates are higher the closer you get
to the airport.

Condon, the lead investigator, says smoking is probably not the cause.

"When we look at other smoking-related cancers, we don't see them
consistently high in those same areas," she said. "That suggests something
else is going on which is contributing to that."

And whatever that "something else" is, it is now causing some people to
question whether Logan Airport should change the way it operates.

Condon says in the future Logan may have to change certain flight patterns,
or change where taxi cabs and rental cars are parked.

"Logan should be a little more concerned and should pay a little more
attention to its neighbors," Rep. DeLeo said. "Instead of talking about more
runways, more taxiways, maybe we have to scale it down a bit. Maybe we have
to look for alternative sites for airports."

Massport executives refused to talk to WBZ on camera despite repeated
requests. Massport has been described as "uncooperative" by some people
close to this health investigation.

However, executives did provide WBZ a written statement saying they are
working with public health officials and that they have taken steps to
improve air quality by using cleaner burning buses and reducing the time a
plane idles on the runway.

In a brief phone conversation, a Massport spokesperson suggested the city of
Boston, as well as major highways, also contribute to air pollution and that
may be another explanation for the elevated number of diseases in the
five-mile area.

A year from now health experts will release their report. They tell WBZ
they expect to draw some definitive conclusions. If they do find the airport
is making people sick, they say they will be ready to suggest changes to the
largest transportation hub in New England.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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