Hazardous Dirty Oil To See Continued Use In City Schools

By: Grace Rauh

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Despite immense health concerns voiced even by the mayor himself, the Department of Education will continue to use dirty oil to heat city schools, spending around $70 million on the fuel even though city officials plan to be rid of it by 2030. NY1’s Grace Rauh filed the following report.

Though Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said that dirty heating oil is a health hazard that kills, the city is quietly preparing to spend tens of millions of dollars on just that.

It plans to burn it in city schools.

“Soot pollution from heating oil contributes to the city's sky-high asthma rates, contributes to heart and lung conditions, and it actually shortens life spans for thousands and thousands of New Yorkers,” said Richard Kassel of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In April, the mayor announced that the city would begin phasing out dirty oil, which has been used as an inexpensive way to heat buildings. The two worst types of oil will be gone by 2030.

“By the time today's new rules are fully implemented, we expect they will save something like 1,500 New York lives a year,” said Bloomberg.

For now, though, hundreds of city schools are still burning the filthy fuel, and the Department of Education is laying the groundwork for a new $70 million deal with an oil provider to pay for more of it.

Plenty of private buildings burn dirty heating oil, but its use in schools is particularly alarming to environmentalists. They’re concerned about so many children being exposed to polluted air.

“Air pollution affects children more than adults. They are still young. Their lungs are still developing. They breathe more than we do,” said Kassel.

Switching to cleaner oil or natural gas often requires a boiler upgrade or other renovations. It's a process that takes time and money.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Education said the DOE is moving ahead with the necessary school conversions, but she cautions that it won't happen overnight.

In fact, officials concede that a handful of schools may still be using the worst type of oil even after the deadline to get rid of it has passed.

The slow pace of change isn't sitting well with City Councilwoman Gale Brewer.

“Health is number one,” said Brewer. “It does need to be done quickly. I don't understand why it takes so long.”