I think this would be a problem for older citizens --Additionally, in Marblehead, we have values that inspire education of issues and self-handling-we do not need to act as big brother with more rules and laws

When I lived in Beverly Hills the City passed a bill that limited the sound level of leaf blowers. It works fine......blowers remain but are not noisy. It's that simple.

As for not being able to measure the sound level, I have a sound meter app in my phone.....It couldn't be easier. Pass an ordinance that limits the noise. Santa Monica did it with jet planes and it worked. Marblehead can do it with leaf blowers.

I was home this past Monday (Pond and Lime Street) I had to endure leaf blowers running from 9AM until 2PM with a few pauses. As my neighbors hire landscapers to blow clean their sidewalks. It was a warm day, I had to keep my windows and doors closed to the dust and noise. When leaf blowers are being used it ruins any deck or outdoor time for me. You cannot compare the blower noise to construction equipment which is a temporary and necessary. These landscapers will be running blowers weekly all spring, summer and fall -for the sole purpose of keeping sidewalks clean enough to eat off of. The noise generated is so obnoxious one cannot enjoy their outdoor space. Even with all the windows shut you cannot block it out. If the blowers were not used so excessively rules and laws wouldn't be necessary but unfortunately, because of the income they provide the landscapers have overdone it and seem unable to regulate themselves. Has it occurred to landscapers that some environmentally conscious citizens might welcome an opportunity to hire companies using alternative methods such as rakes and brooms in place of blowers.

Ban the blowers! To many times I have had to roll up my windows while driving down the street as a landscape worker blows dirt, rocks and debris directly into the road as I drive by.
I agree that the noise is a problem as well. Especially if you live in a neighborhood where many people have landscape contractors weekly.
As for the environmental factor many of the people hiring landscape contractors also use chemicals on their lawns which can become airborne. With the rise in cancer, autism, asthma and allergies who knows if a leaf blower is a factor. What I do know is I have to close my windows whenever a leaf blower is in use.

People are sooo picky about wanting their yards done perfectly and yet they complain about everything that goes along with it...without the blowers, it's more time consuming...are you prepared to pay your landscapers more money? Those of you wanting all these nice extras for your gliztzy show for all your neighbors to see, have nothing better to do than bitch and complain & throw your money around...wish I had a house or a yard to call my own, for that matter....and if it's a health issue? I would think there's more to be concerned about than a leaf blower, like say, I don't know, cutting out some of the bars in town or do something about the drug issues in town...that would be more productive.

This is not a health issue, it is simply a nuisance issue. We already laws on the books regarding excessive noise. If the blowers break those laws then enforce them just like any other loud tool, loud car or loud motorcycle.
Our town departments are already under staffed. To eliminate a tool that saves so much time means our schools and parks won't get cleaned up or we will all have to pay more for added manpower. NO THANKS.
Why do we want to be like Cambridge and Brookline anyway? Last year Brookline decided to ban the selling of VEAL. The ban was for grocery stores. butchers and restaurants. I'm not a huge veal fan but that doesn't mean I want someone telling me what I'm allowed to eat. Please don't let Marblehead into Brookline.

Wellesley MA just voted on this last week. The town advisory committee voted 12 to 0 against a leaf blower ban. Basically saying there is no proof that blowers have a negative impact on the town.

If folks are concerned about carbon emissions, they might start by looking at their automobiles, which account for about a third of national carbon emissions.(lawn care products account for less than 5%.), or household power consumption which accounts for another third of our country's carbon emissions. Air travel is the worst carbon offender, where it also deposits pollution higher in the atmosphere. On average, one person's flight from LA to London causes more carbon emissions than a year's worth of that same person's automobile use. And yet, how many of us are willing to forgo our frequent vacations? The more affluent the community, the more we offend. Maybe if we all stay home this fall, we will have more time to rake!

I'd be glad to throw a blower on the junk pile if every hysterical supporter of this ban traded their SUV in for a hybrid, and also threw their air conditioners onto said junk pile. With thousand of boats in the local harbors, many of which spew obnoxious diesel fumes, loud motorcycles tearing over the causeway all summer, and 70 or 80, largely empty MBTA buses rumbling down Front Street every day, there have to be better ways for Marblehead to curtail noise and air pollution.

I hate the sound of leaf blowers as much as anyone, but having reviewed the supposed science behind the health issues of leaf blowers, I have to say there is very little compelling evidence to ban them as a health nuisance. If folks are concerned about dust and allergens, the sad truth is that there have been no peer reviewed studies which compare dust and allergen burden from blowers, with that of rake and broom. Most of the "statistics" are based on estimations from what engineers, lobbyists, etc have appropriated for their arguments. The medical science that blower use exacerbates asthma simply does not exist. They are a nuisance to listen to, and they get dust on our cars, but it isn't fair to overstate the health concerns in order to engender support for a ban. Question: If it takes five times longer to clean up our town parks, how often will it get done?

Get a life you moonbats! Government involvement is not the answer to all problems.

Rumor has it Derek and Gerry will personally rake all the parks, paths and ballyards in Marblehead if leaf blowers are banned...one of the MANY great reasons why I voted for them when I was a M'head resident! I am sure all those who vote to ban leaf blowers will show up to help them out this fall. Carpe Rakems!

All these commies are sinking this nation. We need to ban people who want to ban things

Why don't we out law everything, take the old people, move them into a home and be done with it. This is where our government is headed in any case ? Over tax the elderly, take their social security, take their medicare, take their home. No one can protest out of fear of being arrested with the now plentiful felony charges, which were only for hardened criminals years ago. But now, the police can Taze you, hit you and arrest you for protesting ? Even, "Jerry" of the occupy movement cowers and cannot move his people without these young people wanting to express a voice. To get arrested, charged with felony trespass and thrown in jail. We the people in this so called free democracy, where capitalism trumps freedom. Are the police within our small towns protecting us or just corralling the law abiders into a silent collective, being readied by our children and governing officials to be thrown into a home and forgotten ?

My 2 1/2 year old son is pre-asthmatic which means he has the potential to develop a chronic inflammatory disorder of the respiratory airways, which is characterized by coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and difficulty breathing. It is a serious and sometimes life threatening disorder, but if managed properly, it can be controlled. "Managed" and "Potential" being key words here. If he is exposed to the presence of certain environmental conditions (triggers) such as tobacco smoke, household pets, and dust mites and toxic chemicals* (see next post) he can develop the condition. Okay...keep him away from smoke...check. Pets...check. Dust mites...check. Toxic chemicals........well maybe? I don't need studies to show me that these blowers are not good for us. I can't tell you how scary it is for my son and us to watch as he struggles to breath after the leaf blowers infiltrate our air. Isn't it time we stop the pettiness and worry about our health and the health of our children? How are these other communities surviving without the use of these things? We need to rally around our family & neighbors health and well being instead of worrying about how pretty we want our lawns or who lives where. Isn't that the most important thing anyway? If something isn't good for us let's find another way. That is how things work successfully.

*-Air Pollution—A single leaf blower operating for an hour emits as much pollution as 40 cars idling during the same amount of time. (http://www.greenwichcalm.org/apps/blog/show/6583443-health-hazards-of-leaf-blowers)
-Leaf blowers stir up over two pounds per hour per leaf blower of dangerous particulate matter including but not limited to cat, dog, and rodent feces, pesticides, and street dust which may include mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and nickel. (The American Lung Association)
-Leaf blowers spew a number of toxic chemicals including but not limited to carbon monoxide, benzene (a known carcinogen), 1,3 -butadiene, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde (possible carcinogens). (California Air Resources Board, “A Report to the California Legislature on the Potential Health and Environmental Impacts of Leaf Blowers,” http//www.epa.gov/oms/regs/nonroad/equip-Id/hhsfrm/f00007.htm)

If prevention is, in fact, the best medicine, then we need to pay much closer attention to the role chemicals in the environment play in the rise of disease, related health care costs, and human suffering.

In New York Times article by, Nicholas Kristof highlights the issue in his column "Do Toxins Cause Autism?"

Kristof's piece refers to an article by Dr. Philip Landrigan, professor of pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and chair of the school's department of preventive medicine. Kristof writes:

The article cites "historically important, proof-of-concept studies that specifically link autism to environmental exposures experienced prenatally." It adds that the "likelihood is high" that many chemicals "have potential to cause injury to the developing brain and to produce neurodevelopmental disorders."

While his article is full of cautionary language, Dr. Landrigan told me that he is increasingly confident that autism and other ailments are, in part, the result of the impact of environmental chemicals on the brain as it is being formed.

"The crux of this is brain development" he said. "If babies are exposed in the womb or shortly after birth to chemicals that interfere with brain development, the consequences last a lifetime."

Read more: http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/chemicals_and_our_endangered_children/#ixzz1sh5HUn2g

Read more: http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/chemicals_and_our_endangered_children/#ixzz1sh4zJoeA

Even is autism is not an issue, environmental toxins can effect a child’s attention span and ability to focus which does not allow them to learn and prosper to the best of their ability. Also, what about the elderly and people with other medical conditions? We can't ban everything that people don't like and I certainly don't like the thought of someone telling me how I should live but shouldn't we ban something that we know is hurting people? If we are against banning just for banning's sake we might still have DDT.

It's Just A leaf Blower. What about the seveny five tons of pollutants per year the Salem Power Plant has been spitting out year after year. Wheres the uproar over that.
I'm way more concerned with that than .......a leaf blower.