Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

There is a difference between the odor of the fuel oil burning and the
oil/water mix being heated. Get someone that may be familiar with them to
visit and maybe give you a better idea of what the smell is. Anyone that
works on car a lot can probably tell the difference as they washed down an
oily engine and would know the odor you get when it is heated the first time
or two.

Yes, it's definitely a raw oil smell. Inhaling the airstream
coming out of the radiator vents from close up, even for just
a moment, causes a buzz, like having had a couple of
glasses of wine or sniffing glue.

In any case, you need a competent service tech to sort it out. Sounds like
all you've had is a hack.

Well, a series of hacks, since every time it's someone different.
Their initial reaction when I complained about the smell was that
I wouldn't even notice it after an hour or so, having gotten used to
it. The one guy's response regarding health effects was that the
technicians work with it all day so I shouldn't worry. They're
probably inured to the smell and think it's in our heads, and
having a foreign accent probably does not help.

It looks like the only way I'm going to get any satisfaction is by
hiring an independent contractor behind their (and my landlord's)
backs.

Thanks
Andre