Chessa Lutter of Quiet Clean Montgomery County (www.quietcleanmd.com started this petition to Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass (Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov) to urge a timely vote on Bill 18-22 to phase out the use of noisy, polluting, outdated gas-powered leaf blowers (GPLBs). 

Please 1) read the petition; 2) sign the petition; 3) forward the petition to neighbors, friends, and colleagues, and 4) email Council President Evan Glass to urge an immediate vote on Bill 18-22.

Bill 18-22 was introduced to the County Council in March 2022 and a public hearing was held in September 2022. New Council President Evan Glass has publicly supported the legislation (for which we thank him), as have several newly elected members. Washington DC banned GPLBs as of January 2022 as have other incorporated areas of Montgomery County (and countless other jurisdictions in country), it is long overdue that Montgomery County do the same for its citizens and GPLB operators. Advances in cordless technology and the environmental, health, quality of life, and social justice impacts of continued use of GPLBs warrant action without further delay.  

In short:

Noise levels from GBLBs are harmful to the health of residents and lawncare workers.

• GPLBs produce noise levels ranging from 102-115 decibels at the ear of the operator, which within an hour, exceed legal limits on noise exposure in the workplace established by the US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (1).
• The Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently stated that "Air and pollution generated by gas leaf blowers (pose multiple hazards to human health" (2), including damage to hearing and increased blood pressure and heart rates (3).
• GPLBs emit noise that travels farther and penetrates exterior walls of homes and businesses because of the harmful lower-frequency noise they generate (4) while battery-powered leaf blowers travel far shorter distances and rarely penetrate walls (5).

GPLBs emit large quantities of harmful air pollutants.

• They generate chemicals and particulates that can be inhaled by operators and nearby residents and contribute meaningfully to regional air pollution (6). 
• They emit significant quantities of ozone-forming chemicals, carbon monoxide, and other toxic air pollutants (7). They generate CO2 at a rate 3 to 9 times higher than electric-powered leaf blowers, contributing to climate change. 
• For the best-selling commercial GPLBs, one hour of operation emits smog-forming pollution comparable to driving a 2016 Toyota Camry about 1,100 miles (8) or approximately the distance from Washington DC to Miami, Florida.

The noise emitted by GPLBs disrupts daily life and destroys ecosystems. 

• Noise disrupts our work, interferes with children's schooling (9), and lowers overall quality of life. 
• Birds, insects, and other creatures are forced to move away from noise (10) while plant life and pollinators are likely to be disrupted by the force and heat of GPLBs.

A ban on GPLBs will reduce racial and social disparities.

• The Racial Equity and Social Justice Impact Statement by Montgomery County's Office of Legislative Oversight concluded that Bill 18-22 could narrow racial and social disparities as the benefits of banning "gas-powered leaf blowers, particularly for Latinx landscape employees, exceeds the costs of replacing gas-powered leaf blowers from electric ones among Latinx-owned businesses and other landscape contractors, particularly with the Bill's authorization of a grant reimbursement program". (www.montgomerycountrymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/resjis/2022/Bill18-22

References

1. United States Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (http://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulation/standardnumber/19101/1910.95

2. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Gas Leaf Blowers are Health Hazards. December 2022.

3. Basner M. Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health. The Lancet. 2014;383(9925):1325-1332.

4. Walker E, Banks JL. Characteristics of lawn equipment sound: A community pilot study. J Environ Toxicol Stud 2017;(1):10.16966/2576-6430.106.

5. Pollock et al., Lawn and garden equipment sound: a comparison of gas and battery electric equipment. J Environ Toxicol Stud 2018;3(1):dx.doi/10.16966/2576-6430.118.

6. Banks et al., National emissions from lawn and garden equipment. Undated.

7. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Leaf blowers. Undated.

8. California Air Resources Board. Small engines in California. 2017. (http://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/topics/lawn-garden-landscape-equipment

9. Fernandes, RA et al., The effect of noise on attention and performance in reading and writing tasks. Codas 2019;31(4):e2017024. (http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31483038/

10. Sanzaki et al., Direct and indirect effects of noise pollution alter biological communities in and near noise-exposed environments. Proc Biol Sci 2020;287(1923):2020017. (http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32183626/