Starting in 1986, there have been periodic attempts by some elected officials to close Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV). In 2018, Santa Clara County voted to stop accepting Federal Aviation Administration funds for airport safety improvements, in an attempt to angle for a possible 2031 closure.
Pursuant to that, in 2020, the county commissioned a lead study of the area around the airport. The study found slightly elevated levels of lead in the blood of children living within half a mile of the airport.
Proponents of the airport closure are quick to say the airport is poisoning the children. But what they don’t say is that the lead levels around RHV are typical of those found across the state. There are other studies that show lead levels are worse in county ZIP codes that are nowhere near the airport. Those advocating for the closure also doesn’t say that the worst lead levels around RHV are to the north and west, when the county’s own study stated that the highest lead levels would be to the southeast.