2026-01-18
"The mission of the Evanston Health & Human Services Department is to protect, preserve, and promote wellness for people who live, work, and play in Evanston through creative and sustainable partnerships."
A special interest group of about 120 small-business owners, pushing a big-oil, high-pollution, anti-electric, anti-science, policy wants to cancel Evanston's hard-won environmental ordinance. Victims of this action will include 75,000 residents (9,500 Hispanic) and 14,430 children) [U.S. Census]. For every 1 owner who will supposedly benefit, 500 residents will pay long-term health costs. Four years ago, Mayor Biss and the Evanston City Council took bold action to enact our ordinance for the well-being of all Evanston residents.
One group who will suffer from this anti-environment action are the many hundreds of actual workers (not the owners) who will be doing the heavy work with these dirty devices. Toxic fumes blowing in their faces may double their chances of serious health issues, including cancer, and the 105 dB sound from 2 feet away is far beyond NIOSH safe limits, leading to hearing loss and linked to a host of cognitive and physical ailments. [1]
There is no significant business reason for running gas blowers: Ryobi, Greenworks, Ego and Echo all sell 800+ CFM battery-electric blowers that are as powerful as the most common gas blowers. A single electric blower will save up to $3,500 in fuel costs over the life of the device.
Gutting our landmark ordinance will bring back non-CO2 pollution equivalent to adding 105,600 extra cars driving around Evanston every day. [2]
More to the point, this is nasty two-stroke pollution, containing carcinogenic, asthma-inducing emissions such as benzene, butadiene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides and fine particulates (and see below for more chemicals).
To quote the EPA: "Extensive evidence exists on the adverse health effects of [leaf blower] exhaust emissions and other fine particulates which include cardiovascular disease, stroke, respiratory disease, cancer, neurological conditions, premature death, and effects on prenatal development." [3]
Studies show that environmental noise such as the kind produced by leaf blowers, can be linked to lower reading scores, verbal test scores, and language skills in children, and can lead to lower math scores, and lower task completion. For all ages there is evidence it can additionally lead to cognitive impairment, attentional difficulties and reductions in processing speed. [4]
From testimony of Daniel Fink, M.D., MBA, FACP, a national expert on noise and health, former Medical Director, Case Management, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles:
"I am commenting on health issues related to gas-powered leaf blower (GLB) noise. The vast majority of GLBs emit noise at dangerously high levels, loud enough to cause hearing loss and non-auditory health problems. In addition, these loud noise levels pose special risks for vulnerable populations in the District of Columbia (e.g., children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those at home with illnesses), are a disability rights issue for those with auditory disorders, and are loud enough to interfere with concentration and communication for those working from home. […] Noise is stressful because historically it indicates danger. […] The ear lacks protective mechanisms against loud noise, which causes hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. Involuntary physiological responses to noise include: 1) an autonomic nervous system response, leading to increases in heart rate and blood pressure; 2) a neuroendocrine response, leading to increases in stress hormone levels, in turn leading to abnormalities in blood glucose, blood lipids, blood viscosity, and clotting factors; and 3) an inflammatory response, causing vascular inflammation, also leading to cardiovascular disease and death." [5]
From Karen Jubanyik, associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine: "Noise emitted by these blowers is the primary health concern, which can lead to hearing loss, difficulties with balance, high blood pressure, cardiac disease, insomnia and mental health disorders." [6]
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services reports, "Garden equipment engines produce up to 5% of the nation's air pollution. […] Ground level ozone affects your health, your neighbor's health, and the environment. Ground level ozone is especially harmful to sensitive receptors such as children, the elderly and people with respiratory ailments like asthma. Exhaust emissions from gasoline-powered engines can lead to health problems such as respiratory disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological conditions and premature death."
They estimate that "17 million gallons of gasoline is spilled as garden equipment is refueled each year." [7]
The Washington Post reports that "In 2020, lawn equipment across the United States produced more than 68,000 tons of nitrogen oxides as well as more than 350,000 tons of volatile organic compounds [VOCs] […] more than 20 million pounds of benzene, a carcinogen […] more than 30 million tons of carbon dioxide [and] nearly 19,000 tons of methane." [8]
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/public_health_scientific_info.html
https://publicinterestnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Lawn_Care_Goes_Electric_Oct23.pdf
https://www.momscleanairforce.org/ditch-gas-powered-leaf-blowers/
[2] Air pollution equivalent to 105,600 extra cars driving around Evanston every day:
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/sore-small-engine-fact-sheet
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2021-12/2021%20SORE%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
For our thought exercise, we can assume a reasonable 1.5 blowers per landscaper, 80 landscapers, 8 hours a day is 960 blower hours a day during heavy use. The California Air Resources Board's research shows that the non-CO2 pollution from a single leaf blower is equivalent to driving a 2016 Camry 1,100 miles. So, 960 hours of blowing multiplied by 1,100 miles is equivalent to 1,056,000 Camry miles. Figuring 10 miles for school trips, in-city commute, and errands, that makes 105,600 extra cars driving around Evanston every day at peak leaf blower use.
[3] https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021005304 [See section 3, "Results"]
https://www.quietcommunities.org/daniel-fink
[7] https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/2020-01/ard-22.pdf
[8] https://publicinterestnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Lawn_Care_Goes_Electric_Oct23.pdf
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/11/05/leaf-blowers-fall-environment-health/