The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Physician wants leaf blowers banned
Cites pollution, noise
NEW HAVEN » Emergency medicine physician Dr. Karen Jubanyik has spent enough times in the emergency room to know how to treat a calamity before it worsens.
It’s perhaps why Jubanyik feels so strongly about banning leaf blowers in the city, especially gaspowered tools that can emit more pollutants than highperformance vehicles. She pitched her efforts to ban leaf blowers in the city during Wednesday’s Environmental Advisory Council meeting at City Hall.
Jubanyik, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, said twostroke leaf blowers, those which require mixing fuel and oil, are by far the most toxic for the environment.
“I think it’s still the right thing,” Jubanyik said about a potential ban. “One-third of the fuel does not combust and is emitted into the air.”
Jubanyik highlighted a 2011 test by car review site Edmunds that found an Echo 2 two-stroke leaf blower created 23 times more carbon monoxide alone than a 6,200-pound 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. An engineer for the site said the hydrocarbon emissions from 30 minutes of use for a two-stroke leaf blower was about the same as driving the Ford pickup from Texas to Alaska — or 3,900 miles.
Other concerns include noise pollution, the potential for leaf blowers to impact local ecosystems and the danger of people inhaling pollens, mold, pesticides and other chemicals from air that’s been blown by the equipment. Jubanyik said using leaf blowers crates noise that “degrades the quality of life,” and can be a nuisance for people working from home.
Most people in attendance Wednesday agreed with Jubanyik, including council chairwoman Laura Cahn.
“We just don’t need them. We need to get rid of them,” Cahn said.
However passionate Jubanyik may feel about a city-wide ban, such a measure is highly unlikely. Jubanyik conceded that even advocating for a state law would be difficult, which could trigger lobbyists for landscapers or other groups opposing such a ban. Council ViceChairman Kevin McCarthy pointed out the city’s authority is limited.
“I very much doubt that there’s legal authority for New Haven to ban leaf blowers,” McCarthy said.
The council recommended looking at language from a leaf blower ban adopted in Maplewood, New Jersey. Their town council in April passed an ordinance banning commercial landscapers from using gas-powered blowers during summer months, according to NJ.com. Greenwich attempted to adopt a leaf blower ban by way of a noise ordinance, but the local legislative body rejected it in 2012.
Jubanyik said residents can hire green landscapers to help cut back on potential leaf blower emissions and just rake instead.
Cahn suggested creating an abutting list of residents who oppose leaf blower use, while another approach to highlight the leaf blowers is to adopt a resolution for a voluntary ban for residents.
“Granted, it doesn’t make a law, but it makes a statement,” Cahn said.