The negative impacts of leaf blowers
The noise of gas-powered leaf blowers is louder than is healthy for humans.
The harmful sound emanating from gas leaf blowers is damaging to the surrounding community as well as the environment. If something sounds loud, it’s too loud and one’s auditory health is at risk. The World Health Organization affirms excessive noise can cause annoyance; in addition research shows it increases the risk for IHD and hypertension, sleep disturbance, hearing impairment, tinnitus and cognitive impairment, with increasing evidence for other health impacts such as adverse birth outcomes and mental health problems.
No More Noise Toronto reports studies have shown, unwanted, harmful noise is the #2 urban environmental health hazard affecting our sleep, our bodies and our minds. Besides causing auditory damage, loud sound has been proven to increase behavioral problems in children, cognitive decline, reduce achievement and productivity.
The loud, excessive, high-decibel noise generated by a gas-powered leaf blower has broader implications for the health of residents walking by, distressing pets, and disrupting the concentration of kid’s learning. The health of millions of Canadians is at risk, with children, whose auditory systems are still developing, among the most vulnerable.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers among the sources of loud noise that can damage hearing over time. Permanent noise-induced hearing loss can occur with just 15 minutes of exposure at the highest decibel level that gas-powered leaf blowers operate. Short, impulsive, and long-term exposure to noise pollution has links to a host of health impacts, including diabetes, increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, metabolic disturbances, and exacerbation of psychological disorders.
These machines not only expose the gardeners to harmful emissions but also cause noise pollution that can lead to hearing loss when proper ear protection isn't used. The health risk to the lowly waged gardeners using backpack gas leaf blowers are often overlooked. It’s truly concerning how these workers, without ear protection, are exposed to the significant health risks generated by these machines.
Prolonged exposure to loud noise that can reach 90 decibels or more can result in auditory damage, ultimately reaching a point where permanent hearing loss becomes a possibility. The leaf blower operators, their ears besieged by the relentless roar of the deafening noise levels, are almost assured of developing hearing issues such as Tinnitus, for which there is no known cure. It’s important to raise awareness about the risks and advocate for safer alternatives, such as electric or battery -powered leaf blowers, which are quieter and produce fewer emissions.
Gas-powered leaf blowers (GLBs) emit toxic air that anyone nearby breathes.
We want to believe that when the gardener finishes blowing leaves off the grass the outside air is safe. But scientists tell us these machines emit pollutants that are far more significant than often realized. The gas-powered leaf blowers and related garden equipment spew toxic chemicals and planet-warming emissions that are the source of multiple negative health and environmental impacts.
According to the California Air Resources Board, a state agency that regulates air quality, the pollutants released from a gas-powered leaf blower during just-one-hour of operation is equivalent to what a car produces in a 15-hour journey from Toronto to Charlottetown, PEI. That’s quite a staggering comparison!
The United States Environmental Protection Agency says the reason is the inefficient combustion process in these devices exhaust the emission of 30% unburned fuel as Fine Particles into the air.
The tiny, harmful, inhalable Particulate Matter (PM2.5) emitted in the unburned fuel can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, leading to a range of health problems, including respiratory problems such as worsening asthma to cardiovascular diseases and even premature death.
The presence of carcinogens like nitrogen oxide, benzene, butadiene, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide in the exhaust emission poses a risk of cancer, reinforcing the importance of addressing these emissions for both environmental and public health reasons.
It’s important to consider these impacts when discussing the use of gas-powered equipment and to explore cleaner alternatives that can help reduce pollution.
Multiple cities across the United States and Canada are implementing bans on the use of these devices. California, which has long been a leader in environmental policy, has enacted restrictions on the sale of new gasoline-powered lawn mowers and landscaping tools.
The health risks are particularly acute for the gardening operators and those in close proximity, including children playing nearby and the elderly, due to the emissions of toxic and carcinogenic substances.
Here’s a professional opinion.
Greg Evans, a professor in the department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto, an expert in the study of pollution, describes the environmental and health impacts of one gas-powered leaf blower and his concern about the exhaust fumes the worker breathes:
“Two stroke engines are known to be high emitters of numerous air pollutants. One such pollutant is ultrafine particles, which are particles less than 100 nm in diameter. We measured the concentrations of these ultrafine particles at different distances from a single leaf blower that was operated at different powers.
The ultrafine particle concentrations generated by one specific leaf blower we tested exceeded a million particles per cubic centimeter; someone breathing this very polluted air would inhale over a billion of these particles with every breath.
Ultrafine particles are a strong indicator of emissions from combustion processes such as those that occur in the combustion engines of vehicles and planes. Though there are no in- Canada guidelines, the World Health Organisation has proposed a one-hour high particle number ambient air quality guidelines for ultrafine particle exposure concentration “good practice” criterion of 20,000 particle/cm3;
The concentration that we measured for this specific gas leaf blower was 50 times higher than this World Health Organisation criterion.”
Greg J. Evans, Ph.D., P.Eng., Director, Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP); Director, Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research
The 200 miles-an-hour leaf blower exhaust kills small animals and insects.
Here’s what else they do:
Contaminate the air and water in our neighbourhoods.
Increase smog and worsen climate change by emitting many tons of CO2.
Create dust and debris that can contain herbicides, pesticides, and metals such as lead, that can linger in the air for a week.
Damage lawns, gardens, trees and injure plants, remove topsoil/mulch, and desiccate soil.
Destroy animal nests and habitat.
Injure or kill birds, small mammals, and other beneficial insects including pollinators.
Emissions, fuel spills and grass clippings, burden storm water systems, pollute our creeks and rivers and local waterways, destroying aquatic life.
