Mayor Bloomberg says New York City is moving to phase out the use of polluting heavy oils to heat buildings.
Bloomberg announced the initiative Thursday as part of the first update to the city’s 4-year-old environmental plan.
The phase-out of heavy heating oils would start right away.
The goal is to reduce fine particulate matter from the air. The city says that kills 3,000 residents each year and forces 6,000 to seek emergency asthma treatment.
Other new initiatives include solar power plants on capped landfills. Also, a loan program would help property owners pay for energy-efficiency upgrades.
The city is aiming to reduce the its greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030. It says they’ve already dropped 13 percent from 2005 levels.
(Source: NY Post)
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3 Responses
The phase-out of Moisture Cure Urethane Hardwood Floor finish is next Mr.Bloomberg
Can he actually PROVE his stat? NO!!
Let him stop talking and hold his breath for about 5 mins. That will help reduce lots of pollution too!
Moisture Cure Urethanes(MCUs), which are used to coat wood floors in homes, were generating strong odors and raising health concerns for building residents. Inresponse to these concerns, EODE reviewed material safety data sheets on various MCU products, researched the known health effects associated with chemical ingredients of these products, and consulted with the New York State Department of Health. Additionally, EODE,with assistance from the Office for Environmental Investigations (OEI), conducted an inspection during an MCU application at anapartment building in Brooklyn, New York thatincluded sampling for airborne ingredients of MCUs.Exposure to the chemicals in MCU products can lead to a variety of health effects depending upon the level and duration of exposure.Brief exposures to elevated levels of these materials can result in headaches, respiratory irritation, allergic reaction and exacerbation of asthma; while very high and/or long-term exposures can lead to more serious health effects such as organ damage, reproductive effects,chemical allergies, and possibly cancer.Environmental sampling at the Brooklyn apartment building detected several MCU chemical ingredients in the air. These chemicals produced not iceable odors throughout the building. The presence of thechemicals found in the common hallways of the building may result inirritation of the respiratory system, exacerbation of asthma in some individuals, and headaches. In an occupied residential building these conditions represent a nuisance. Moisture cure urethanes contain a variety of solvents depending upontheir formulation, and typically contain xylene, ethylbenzene andacetates. Many solvents, including xylene and ethylbenzene, have strong odors that can be smelled at very low levels. Short-term exposure to elevated levels can cause reversible irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat; exacerbate asthma; and cause health effects such as headaches, nausea, and dizziness. In occupational settings and in animal studies, exposure to very high levels of solvents has been shown to cause neurological, kidney, and liver damage, and can impact developing fetuses. , The International Agencyfor Research on Cancer (IARC) lists ethylbenzene as a possible human carcinogen.cancer agent.
IARC lists xylene as not classifiable as a human cancer agent.Acetates, in general, evaporate more slowly and make up a smaller percentage of the product than the other solvents. There are manytypes of acetates. The acetate found in the air at the Brooklyn apartment building (ethyl 3-ethoxypropionate) is of low toxicity, but exposures to elevated levels can be irritating to the respiratorysystem. ,Curing Agent MCUs contain isocyanates, typically toluene-diisocyanate (TDI) as acuring agent. This chemical helps create the hardness of the final urethane finish. During application and curing of the liquid MCU, most of the TDI is combined into the polyurethane without becoming airborne. Exposure to elevated levels of TDI in the air can irritatethe eyes, nose, throat, and lungs and cause coughing, chest tightness,reactive airways disease, and shortness of breath. These symptoms can exacerbate asthma. Respiratory sensitization to TDI has been documented to occur in an occupational setting. Once sensitized,subsequent exposures can cause an allergic, asthma-like, response.Skin irritation and, less commonly, skin sensitization can also occurupon direct exposure to TDI. There is no information on the adverse reproductive or developmental effects of TDI in humans or animals(U.S. EPA 1994a). IARC lists TDI as a possible human cancer agent.