Neighbor News, Letter to the Editor: Gasoline-powered leaf blower hazards
Those of us who live in the suburbs are being subjected to the noise and the toxic hazards of gasoline-powered leaf blowers. Some communities have banned the personal use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers because of their noise and heavy emission of carcinogenic gas which endanger the health of the user and their neighbors.
The problem has to do with the two-stroke engine found in many of them. The two-stroke engine, so named because it completes one cycle of internal combustion in two movements of the piston, is lightweight, cheap, compact and simple, which makes it a handy motor.
The two-stroke engine is an environmental and health hazard. Because the engine lacks an independent lubrication system, fuel has to be mixed with oil.
More important, about 30 percent of the fuel the engine uses fails to undergo complete combustion; as a result, the engine emits a number of air pollutants. Carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and hydrocarbons escape from the engine in large quantities. Hydrocarbons are carcinogens. Increased exposure to them increases the probability of getting cancer.
Also it has been shown that exposure to these pollutants is a well known risk for cardiovascular disease. This was demonstrated clearly in the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation Study.
In leaf blowers, two-stroke engines have been shown to emit contaminants comparable to large automobiles. A 2011 test by the car experts at Edmunds showed that a consumer-grade leaf blower emits more pollutants than a 6,200-pound 2011 Ford F150 SVT Raptor.
The company subjected a truck, a sedan, and a two-stroke leaf blower to automotive emissions tests and found that under normal usage conditions the two-stroke engine emitted nearly 299 times the hydrocarbons of the pickup truck and 93 times the hydrocarbons of the sedan. The blower emitted many times as much carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides as well.
Leaf blowers aren’t the only household tool that uses a two-stroke engine. Many lawn mowers also rely on the technology. One hour of use releases approximately the same amount of air pollutants as 100 miles of driving.
Electric leaf blowers do not pollute. Folks that constantly use gasoline-powered leaf blowers, snow blowers and lawn mowers are endangering their own health and that of their neighbors by exposure to carcinogens.
Frank J. Owens, Ph.D.