EcoAction Arlington Letter to County Board Members
Our table at the Arlington County Fair, August 15th to 17th, 2025 included our petition to the GA and the
June 2024
The Arlington County Civic Federation, a group of all of Arlington neighborhood associations and a few overarching groups such as the Arlington NAACP, seeks to pressure/advise the County Board on a range of issues from the arts to airport noise to affordable housing. At the Federation’s June meeting, Margaret McKelvey got 5 minutes to address the gas-powered leaf blower issue. (See below.) Hopefully we can get some Federation support down the line as we seek to get the Arlington noise ordinance strengthened and debate the future of gas leaf blowers in Arlington – once we get legislative authority from Richmond to restrict/ban them altogether.
PRESENTATION TO THE ARLINGTON CIVIC FEDERATION – 6/11/2024
Good evening. My name is Margaret McKelvey. I am a 43-year resident of Cherrydale here in Arlington and a member of the grass-roots organization Quiet Clean Northern Virginia. I am also with the non-profit Quiet Clean Virginia Foundation.
QC NOVA is working to curb the use of gas-powered leafblowers. The Foundation is dedicated to educating people to the multiple harms caused by the leaf blowers — harm not only to the users but also to everyone in proximity, even inside their homes.
You may or may not know that the low frequency, high decibel noise from gas-powered leaf blowers not only damages hearing but also raises blood pressure and metabolic stress response levels, disrupts concentration, and even impacts mental health.
Their inefficient two-stroke engines fail to combust some 30% of the fuel, dumping carcinogens such as benzene and other pollutants into your air. They emit particulates that can lodge deep inside the lungs,
causing or exacerbating asthma and other respiratory problems. You may or may not know that Northern Virginia is EPA-rated as a “marginal non-attainment region” for ozone and smog.
The blowers’ negative impact on our environment is also substantial. They blow away not only leaves, but also mulch and organic matter needed for healthy soil. They blow away a lot of soil, unnecessarily exposing plants to pathogens and disease while stirring up all manner of lawn chemicals, feces, and mold. Their blasts of well over 160 mph harm beneficial insects and critters important to healthy gardens and ecosystems. Many birds depend on the insects found in the leaf litter layer to feed their young. And I am sure you all have seen landscapers blowing grass clippings and dirt into the street where it makes its way into the Chesapeake Bay.
Beyond the health and environmental concerns, there are justice issues here. Landscape workers clearly at risk of hearing loss and lung disease often have few employment options and little recourse for unsafe work conditions. Those of us subjected to our neighbors’ use of gas-powered leaf blowers often have no protection against this assault on our health and well-being.
Adding insult to injury, much of the leaf-blower use is entirely unnecessary outside of the fall and possibly the spring. Mulching and leaving the leaves is healthier for humans, plants, and animals.
Harmful gas-powered leaf blowers are not necessary. Electric blowers increasingly can be just as powerful with less noise at a higher, less penetrating frequency. They can be just as economical over time taking into account lower maintenance costs and no need for gas and oil purchases. Rakes and brooms can take care of residential lawns and city sidewalks.
So why am I here? To ask you and your organizations to encourage your members to:
- Transition to electric if they must use leaf blowers
- Educate themselves about the multiple harms to our health, environment, and climate caused by gas-powered blowers
- Adopt sustainable lawn care practices
- Petition the Arlington County Board to update our County noise ordinance to ensure that the decibel limits are respected. We have a group of QC NOVA Arlingtonians working on this and would be happy to have you join us.
- Support QC NOVA efforts and those of our elected delegates to Richmond to get authority for localities such as Arlington to regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.
All of your organizations have a link to some aspect of the leaf blower issue. Let’s ensure that Arlington remains a desirable community in which to live!
Thank you.