Emily Scarr
Senior Advisor, Maryland PIRG
STATEMENT: Baltimore City leaf blower phase-out is win for lungs, ears
Media Contacts
BALTIMORE – The Baltimore City Council voted Monday to reduce air pollution by restricting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers and other “debris removal equipment.” If signed into law by the Mayor, Baltimore City would become the second community in Maryland with a law to phase out the use of the equipment.
Gasoline-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums often have two-stroke engines, which produce significant pollution. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimates that using a commercial leaf blower for just one hour emits as much smog-forming pollution as driving 1,100 miles in a car.
A recent report released by Maryland PIRG Foundation found that gas-powered lawn equipment, including leaf blowers, generated an astonishing amount of pollution and noise, including an estimated 597 tons of harmful “fine particulate” air pollution in Maryland in 2020 – an amount equivalent to the pollution emitted by 6.4 million typical cars over the course of a year (see Appendix A tables A-1 and A-2). The pollutants emitted by gas-powered lawn equipment have been linked to health problems including asthma attacks, reproductive ailments, mental health challenges, cancer and even premature deaths. Children are especially susceptible to negative effects from ground-level pollution.
In response, Maryland PIRG Senior Advisor Emily Scarr issued the following statement:
“Given the significant and harmful pollution generated by gas-powered leaf blowers and the high prevalence of asthma and other respiratory illnesses in Baltimore, I’m glad the city is taking action to protect our lungs and our ears. It doesn’t make sense to keep using these health- harming, pollution-spewing machines when cleaner, quieter options are readily available.
“Thanks to tonight’s City Council vote and the leadership of Councilman Ryan Dorsey, Baltimoreans will soon be able to walk their neighborhoods without having to worry about fumes or obnoxious noise from gas-powered lawn leaf blowers. Good riddance!”
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