More than 100 communities across the United States have passed laws to restrict or ban the equipment, but none in Pennsylvania — although New Jersey has several, such as Maplewood, Essex County.
However, the ordinance does have support of residents who say the equipment is an auditory menace, highly polluting, and contributes greenhouse gas emissions. The ban would likely not apply to most modern gas-powered lawn mowers, which tend to be four-stroke engines. Two-stroke engines, where oil and gas are mixed, are mostly used in lighter, handheld equipment.
Sound from gas-powered leaf blowers can reach 90 decibels or more and have been shown to exceed the World Health Organization’s recommended daytime standards of 55 amplitude-weighted decibels. Their low-frequency noises can travel hundreds of yards and penetrate walls. The group Quiet Clean Philly has been working in the city to get Philadelphia City Council on a leaf blower law. The group supports an ordinance that would mimic Washington, D.C.’s ban, which prohibits the sale and use of a leaf blower with a sound level exceeding 70 decibels at a distance of 50 feet.