Debating Leaf Blower Use

In Greenwich, Connecticut, the debate over the future of leaf blowers continues. First Selectman Peter Tesei criticized the Board of Health for its reluctance to impose further regulations on leaf blowers. Such an argument may be a harbinger for things to come across the nation.

"I don't think they (Board of Health) should be allowed to duck their responsibility," declared Tesei. "I'm not going to give the Board of Health a pass on their duties and responsibilities."

Robert Carangelo, chairman of the Health Board, responded. "He (Tesei) knows very well that the Board of Health has not ducked its responsibility. To the contrary, the board has looked at this issue very carefully and voted on it twice in the past eight months."

According to Carangelo, the board formed a subcommittee of three highly respected physicians to research the issue of leaf blowers; it deemed leaf blowers to be a quality-of-life concern but not a public health threat.

Carangelo added: ?EUR??,,????'??It was looked at, addressed and voted on at, not one, but two public meetings that there was no scientific and medically grounded data tied to health risks caused by gasoline-powered leaf blowers that warrants banning them seasonally or otherwise."

In the mid 1990?EUR??,,????'???s, the town amended its noise ordinance to include gasoline-powered leaf blowers, restricting their use to between 8 am and 6 pm weekdays and between 9 am and 3 pm weekends and holidays.

Under the ordinance, only one gas-powered leaf blower can be used at a time on residential and commercial properties less than a quarter-acre.

Town officials opened the door recently to banning gas-powered leaf blowers from July to August, but that was not deemed acceptable for proponents of a 6-month ban. "We still need several months without them at all. A July-and-August ban is not sufficient," said Gretchen Biggs, founder of Citizens Against Leafblower Mania (CALM).

CALM wants an April 15 to September 15 ban, citing, on its website, the advice of several doctors and health organizations. CALM claims that leaf blowers contribute to hearing loss, asthma, allergies, high blood pressure, pollution, storm-drain obstructions, soil problems and hazards to animals, plants and insects.