By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Children soak up knowledge at school, but at some Upper West Side public schools they're also breathing a hazardous pollutant, officials say.
At least 14 public schools in District 3 — which stretches from West 59th Street to West 122nd Street — burn No. 6 or No. 4 heating oil, according to research by Community Board 7's parks and environment committee.
Boilers that burn the fuel belch plumes of sooty black smoke that some studies have linked to cancer, asthma and premature death.
The list of schools includes Brandeis High School on West 84th Street, P.S. 9 on West 84th Street, P.S. 75 on West End Avenue, J.H.S. 54 on West 107th Street, and J.H.S. 118 on West 93rd Street.
Community Board 7 unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night calling on the city to take "immediate steps" to switch public schools to cleaner fuels such as No. 2 oil or natural gas.
"This is where our children spend half their days," said Paul Reale, an environmental consultant who spoke in favor of the resolution. "We're really talking about the health of our children."
Last week the city announced a new law, long-awaited by environmentalists, that will force buildings in New York to stop burning the dirty oil over the next several years.
The law applies to all buildings, including city-owned ones, but Community Board 7 members said they worry the city would find a way to delay making the switch to cleaner fuels in its own buildings.
"If the city is serious about cleaning up the environment, it should be willing to look at the possibility of starting with its own property and protect the school community from the bad health effects," said Community Board 7 parks and environment committee co-chair Elizabeth Starkey before Tuesday's meeting.
Switching to cleaner fuel can require costly new equipment and renovations.
But building owners who make the switch save money in the long-run, because cleaner fuel is cheaper and maintaining a boiler that burns cleaner fuel is less expensive, said resident Bob Wyman at Tuesday's meeting.
"They're not only poisoning our kids and everyone else in the community, they're also wasting our money," Wyman said, adding that the savings from switching to cleaner fuel could be spent on necessities such as books or building upgrades.
The smoke from dirty heating oil causes 50 percent more air pollution than trucks and cars, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit that created a searchable map to raise awareness about the issue.
Buildings that burn the pollutant include beloved Upper West Side landmarks such as The Dakota and glitzy addresses on the Upper East Side.
PlaNYC 2030, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2006 environmental initiative, called for reducing dirty oil emissions at 100 city schools.
As of June 2010, the School Construction Authority has switched seven school boilers to cleaner fuel, and had another 25 boiler conversions underway, said city spokesman Jason Post.
