Stage 4 Aircraft Update

Jack Saporito wrote:

> (Embargoed until 11/2/01, 9 AM Central.)
>
> November 2, 2001                For Immediate Release
> Source: US-Citizens Aviation Watch Association
> Contact: Jack Saporito, (847) 506-0670
>
> UN Protects Air Transport Industry, Not Human and Environmental Health
>
> Chicago-US-Citizens Aviation Watch Association is alerting the public to the
> most recent standards and recommendations adopted by the International Civil
> Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the continuing, grave, worldwide impacts
> these standards will have on public health, safety, welfare, and the
> environment.  The ICAO, a body of the United Nations, sets the standards and
> policies that eventually, because of treaty considerations and powerful
> airline lobbies, become official regulations of the U.S. (the Federal
> Aviation Administration).  The last step in the ICAO's standard-setting
> process, the 'Assembly Meeting,' took place in Montreal, from September 25,
> 2001 - October 5, 2001.
>         Airport and aircraft operations generate staggering amounts and various
> types of toxic air, noise, ground, and water pollution around major
> population centers.  The health of seventy percent (70%) of the U.S.
> population could already be significantly affected.  Yet, despite the
> compelling evidence of serious health and environmental damage that the air
> industry is causing, the ICAO has once again provided little or no progress
> in protecting us from it.  The ICAO's new resolutions include a new,
> extremely weak 'Chapter 4' aircraft noise standard that will continue to
> allow noisy planes to fly, a complete lack of any improved standards for
> protecting public health, air, ground, and water from toxic jet emissions,
> and a complete lack of any standards to control the climate-changing nature
> of jet emissions.
>         The new 'Chapter 4' noise standard requires only a 10 decibel reduction in
> noise from jet engines that would apply only to production of new planes
> after 2006.  Environmental advocates and airport managements had called for
> ICAO to set the new standard at a 14-18 decibel reduction for all planes,
> including existing ones, by that date.  One group, the International
> Coalition for Sustainable Aviation, believed the Chapter 4 standard needed
> to be reduced by 30 decibels by the year 2020.  Further, because the new
> standard applies to the cumulative sum of noise from each individual
> take-off, landing, and sideline noise event, and not to individual noise
> events (how the body perceives and is affected by noise), any noise
> reduction for planes produced after 2006 will be imperceptible.  All
> existing Chapter 3-certified aircraft will meet the new limit without any
> further noise reduction action, and therefore may be 're-certified' to meet
> the new 'Chapter 4' standard.  So most existing noisy aircraft, which are
> effectively 'grandfathered' in under the even weaker 'Chapter 3' standard,
> would be allowed to fly for the next thirty years.
>
>         The ICAO also made no changes to any aircraft emissions specifications,
> leaving in place provisions that are at least a decade old, and completely
> failing to lessen toxic aircraft emissions.
>
>         These weak resolutions represent the failed 'market' approach of
> cost-benefit calculations done by the airline industry-dominated ICAO, which
> totally disregards the true costs of air industry-caused environmental
> degradation, global climate change, lost productivity from air-industry
> caused noise and disease, pain and suffering from noise, disease, and
> premature death of loved ones.
>
>         As governments, including the U.S., will likely adopt these ICAO standards
> into law in the next year or two, US-Citizens Aviation Watch Association
> strongly encourages citizens to contact their elected representatives to
> demand that they enact air industry regulations that go sufficiently beyond
> ICAO's weak or non-existent standards to protect the public health, safety,
> welfare, and environment, first and foremost.
> # # #
>
> Editor's note:
> Citizens Aviation Watch Association (CAWA) is the leading public advocacy
> group focusing on aviation issues, whose mission is "Protecting the public's
> health, environment, and property; promoting safety; and advocating a
> sustainable, equitable and accountable aviation industry."   The Association
> is a non-governmental organization representing member and associate
> organizations in 27 countries. This alliance is comprised of local airport
> affected groups, environmental organizations and civic groups, cities and
> townships and Baylor University School of Aviation Sciences, all concerned
> about noise, environment, public health and other quality of life issues
> related to aviation operations. US-CAWA's Chapter 4 decibel recommendations
> are an 18dB (decibel) reduction with a gradual phase-out. A -10dB for ALL
> planes after 2003 (not just new production). A -12dB for ALL planes after
> 2006, -18dB for new plane production. A -15dB for ALL planes after
> 2010, -20dB for new plane production. An -18dB for ALL planes after
> 2015, -23dB for new plane production.
> US-Citizens Aviation Watch
> P.O. Box 1702 - Arlington Heights, IL 60006 -- (630) 415-3370   www.us-caw.org
>
> The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is an autonomous,
> specialized agency of the UN, the aims and objectives of which are to
> develop the principles and techniques of international air navigation and to
> foster the planning and development of international air transport. ICAO has
> a sovereign body, the Assembly, and a governing body, the Council. The
> Assembly meets at least once in three years and is convened by the Council.
> www.icao.org
>
> International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation (ICSA) is a coalition of
> environmental NGO's (non-governmental organization) and serves in the role
> of official environmental NGO observer in the ICAO.  ICSA wants the Chapter
> 4 standard to be decreased to -14dB (instead of -10dB) in the short term
> and -30dB by 2012.  Phase-out of noisy Stage 3 aircraft (within 5dB margin
> of the Chapter 3 limit) should occur by 2006 and all others within a 14dB
> margin by 2020.  Supports the 'balanced approach' concept but with a goal to
> reduce the number of people exposed to excess of 55dBa Leq.  Supports night
> flight restrictions whenever necessary.         www.aef.org.uk/icsa
> The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) is the U.S. government agency responsible
> for regulating the safety and environmental aspects of the civil aviation
> industry.  [Environmental responsibility was effectively removed from the
> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) years ago.]       www.faa.gov