Series Of Laws Target CO, PCBs
Air quality, both in the city and in the home, were the center of a series of bills signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg last Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2010.
The first such bill, Intro. 746, requires all newly installed carbon monoxide alarms to have an audible signal that alerts residents when they expire and requires the replacement of carbon monoxide alarms upon their expiration.
It builds upon Local Law 7 of 2004, which required carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in dwellings. In 2009, however, the National Fire Protection Association required the alarm to have an audible signal upon expiration. Many of the alarms installed in 2004 are beginning to reach their five- to seven-year shelf life, but since they were installed before the 2009 requirement of an audible signal, many residents may have no idea their alarm is expiring.
“Carbon monoxide poisoning is a very serious health concern,” Bloomberg said in statement, “and the installation of detectors is an important part of an overall prevention strategy.”
He recommended that residents prevent or minimize exposure to carbon monoxide gas by having their appliances and heating systems inspected, adjusted and maintained, and to refrain from using cooking appliances to heat the home.
At the bill signing, it was also announced that Kidde, a major carbon monoxide alarm manufacturer, will donate 60,000 carbon monoxide alarms to the New York City Housing Authority.
The bill was sponsored by the administration and local Council Members Erik Martin Dilan, Mark Weprin,
–SEE QUALITY ON PG. 26- Elizabeth Crowley, Julissa Ferreras, James Gennaro, Jimmy Van Bramer and Dan Halloran.
The second initiative, a three-bill package (Intro. 576-A, 578-A and 592-A), is intended to reduce the city’s carbon emissions, improve air and water quality, and limit waste, based on the recommendations of the city’s Green Codes Taskforce.
Intro. 576-A, sponsored by local Council Members Gennaro, Van Bramer, Crowley, Leroy Comrie, Eric Ulrich and others, will require construction sites to collect concrete washout water for proper disposal. Intro. 578-A, sponsored by local Council Members Gennaro, Van Bramer, Ulrich, Crowley and others, requires that a minimum of 30 percent recycled content be used in all new asphalt used in the city. According to Bloomberg, the law will achieve savings of more than $2 million annually while also removing more than 66,000 tons of asphalt from landfills every year.
A new asphalt creation facility planned for Review Avenue in West Maspeth will specialize in the recycling of old asphalt.
Finally, Intro. 592-A, sponsored by local Council Members Van Bramer, Ulrich, Crowley, and Gennaro, requires that all new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units installed within the city have filters that can keep out small particles of 2.5 microns or more.
“New Yorkers spend more than 90 percent of their lives indoors, ” noted the mayor, “which makes it especially important that we keep out soot from trucks and busses from entering our home and work environments.”
Finally, the last package of bills- Intro. 563-A and 566-A-were made to address the presence of PCBs in city school buildings by codifying into law current Department of Education (DOE) practices.
“By way of background, between 1950 and 1978, PCBs were legally used in fluorescent light ballasts and other common construction materials in buildings throughout the country, including in our city’s schools,” the mayor noted. “In 1978, the federal government banned the manufacture of the substance, although it allowed certain equipment like the lighting ballasts to remain in use.”
The city has been working in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency to study the presence of PCBs in schools, and has launched a plan to improve energy efficiency and environmental standards in over 700 city schools, an effort that includes the removal of PCB-containing light fixtures.
The plan will save the city $95 million a year in energy costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Intro. 563-A requires the DOE to notify members of the school community if their school has been tested for PCBs, and whether that school has been determined to have lighting fixtures that contain PCBs in them. It also requires the agency to notify those school communities that are part of the city’s comprehensive plan of the status of the plan.
The bill is sponsored by local Council Members Daniel Dromm, Karen Koslowitz, Peter Vallone, Van Bramer, Peter Koo, Ferreras, Halloran, Ulrich, Weprin, Crowley and Gennaro.
Intro. 556-A requires the DOE to report to the City Council and on its website information with an update on its energy efficiency initiative and other related matters.
It is sponsored by local Council Members Dromm, Ferreras, Van Bramer, Vallone, Halloran, Koo, Ulrich, Crowley and Gennaro.
