The Facts:
“Considering the evidence... the health hazards citizens are exposed to from two-cycle leaf blowers outweigh the possible benefit they provide.”
Noise, Pollution, Environmental Destruction.
Noise: Gas leaf blowers cannot be operated safely in Maplewood.
A Harvard Medical School study found that a gas leaf blower sound remains higher than WHO outdoor daytime sound level standards of 55 dB(A) out to 800ft from the point of operation. In Maplewood, an 800ft radius (red circle above) can cover over 100 homes.
One gas leaf blower can create noise levels up to 100 decibels (dBA) at the operators ear and 83 (dBA) at 50 feet . The World Health Organization recommends outdoor noise levels to be 55 dBA or less. The EPA’s limit is also 55 dBA and was chosen to protect people from developing hearing loss as well as to protect public health and welfare. (CDC)
Manufacturers of gas leaf blowers require that operators wear ear protection and maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from bystanders. This distancing is not possible in Maplewood where the homes are often very close together (50ft x 150ft lot) and only 35 feet from the sidewalk .
This puts our workers and families at serious risk.
Nearly one in four adults have noise-induced hearing loss. An estimated 12.5% of children and adolescents have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to noise. Hearing loss from too much noise may not be noticeable at first, but the damage can build over time, and it can’t be fixed (CDC).
Children are especially vulnerable to environmental noise.
“We could not do story time today, the leaf blowers were too loud”
The noise from gas leaf blowers travels long distances and penetrates walls, putting the health of our children at risk.
High levels of ambient noise are particularly concerning for children. Community noise affects speech processing, language acquisition, reading comprehension, social behavior, and other developmental concerns. For this reason, organizations like the CDC, Harvard Medical School, The State of New York and Pediatric Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital have all expressed concern over the use of gas leaf blowers due to the negative impacts they have on people’s health, especially children’s.
Lawn care companies have a legal and moral duty to protect their workers.
The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a policy with regard to use of hearing protectors and other personal protection equipment. Their policy is that employers must first use technological means (equipment changes) to meet OSHA standards (in this case, the 85 decibel standard) and may use personal protection equipment (e.g. hearing protectors) only if the technological means do not provide a safe environment for the workers. I read this policy as requiring landscape professionals to use the quieter equipment in order to help protect their workers. (Testimony by Charles Elkins retired Director of the Federal Noise Control Program at the U.S. EPA.
Pollution: Gas leaf blower pollutants cause major health problems
“For the best-selling commercial leaf blower, one hour of operation emits smog-forming pollution comparable to driving a 2017 Toyota Camry about 1100 miles, or approximately the distance from Los Angeles to Denver” (The California Environmental Protection Agency).
Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital wrote a letter requesting restrictions on gas leaf blower outlining airborne pollutants as one of their main concerns. “Leaf blowers create large volumes of airborne particulates, many of which are respirable. Inhalation of these small airborne particles can provoke asthma and other respiratory diseases in children and can increase the severity of chronic lung disease in our elderly. Even lower level exposures have been associated with respiratory and central nervous system effects. In general, children are more vulnerable to such exposures because they breathe faster, are rarely wearing protective equipment, are closer to the ground, and have still developing organs.”
According to the American Lung Association, “Particle pollution can increase the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks and can interfere with the growth and work of the lungs”.
Environmental Destruction: Noise, toxic fumes, and hot air blown at hurricane force are all taking a toll on insects, animals and birds in our landscapes.
Gas leaf Blowers emit hurricane force winds of 200 mph. “Nature's mulch is blown away from beneath shrubs and trees, denying nutrients to plant roots. Beneficial insects are killed, including ladybugs, ants and spiders. The noise, fumes and hot air harm pollinators: bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.” Reese Halter writer and biologist
“In the fall, it used to be you cleaned up every last leaf like mad. It was considered good garden sanitation. But now we know otherwise: That’s bad for the environment…”(nyt)
The pollution is substantial. “One hour of use releases up to 500 times the hydrocarbons, 49 times the particulate matter and 26 times the carbon monoxide as an average-sized car.” (Globe and Mail)