Better boilers burning cleaner oil could save lives says latest study

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Nearly 260 lives could be saved if boilers in big buildings burned cleaner oil, a new study says.

"Switching to a less toxic fuel is relatively inexpensive compared to the serious health consequences of burning dirty oil," said Michael Livermore of New York University's Institute for Policy Integrity.

The high-sulfur oil currently belching out of boilers in skyscrapers is pumping dangerous particles into the air that can worsen asthma and increase heart attack risks if inhaled, health officials said.

NYU estimates that by using natural gas in boilers, 259 lives could be saved annually and another $22 billion in health-related costs could be trimmed over 30 years.

Researchers present their findings to the City Council today.

The numbers come as an air-quality report released by the Health Department yesterday listed the upper East Side as having the highest concentration of damaging nickel in the air, caused by the glut of buildings there.

A similar agency survey last December showed the posh neighborhood had the worst winter-time pollution after fine particles, elemental carbon, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide were measured throughout the city.

Landlords are under pressure to use cleaner heating oil or natural gas and eliminate old boilers over a 15-year period before the city requires them to do it.

Daily News

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