Gas Stove Health Concerns: What You Should Know and How to Reduce Your Risk

Gas Stove Health Concerns: What You Should Know and How to Reduce Your Risk

Gas stoves made headlines this week after a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission official hinted in an interview at a possible ban due to the health risks involved. There is currently no ban on gas stoves and there are no plans to impose one. However, gas stoves pose very real health risks, including their link to cases of asthma in children.

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Gas stoves — found in more than 40 million U.S. homes — have been linked to negative health effects for decades. But new comments from a US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) official and a recently released study have reignited debate about their impact on Americans' health.

The study, published in December in theInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,found that approximately 12.7% of childhood asthma cases nationwide are due to gas stove use. Because when fossil fuels are burned, they can release pollutants that worsen asthma and other respiratory diseases.

Although the study's findings are notable in their own right, the conversation about gas stove use and public health has been catapulted to a new level due to comments from CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. in aBloombergArticle from January 9th. Regarding gas stoves, Trumka told the site, "Every option is on the table. Products that cannot be made safe may be banned."

CPSC Chairman Alex Hoehn-Saric later went to Twitter on Jan. 11 to clarify Trumka's comments, writing, "Research shows that emissions from gas stoves can be dangerous, and the CPSC is looking for ways to reduce associated indoor air quality risks. But to be clear, I am not trying to ban gas stoves, and the CPSC has no process for doing so."

Despite Hoehn-Saric's statement, the idea of ​​banning gas stoves has quickly become a political talking point. republican Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton tweeted, “Democrats are coming for your kitchen appliances,” and Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California introduced legislation yesterday that would block attempted bans on gas stoves. Some have criticized the issue as another “culture war” in American politics.

But political discourse should not distract from the real question of how gas stoves—besides their prevalence in the U.S. and lack of regulation—can have a major impact on overall health.

Here's what experts had to say about how dangerous gas stoves really are to our health, who is most at risk of negative health effects, and what you can do to protect yourself and your family.

Why are gas stoves dangerous to health?

While people cook, gas stoves can emit harmful gases, explained Jonathan Levy, ScD, professor and chair of the department of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health. Gas stoves work by burning natural gas, a fossil fuel; Nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde are all products of this process.

Experts are particularly concerned about nitrogen dioxide pollution, which can trigger various health problems. “Concentrations can get quite high indoors during cooking,” Levy saidHealth.

Long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide can increase susceptibility to asthma or other respiratory diseases and can be particularly dangerous for children, the elderly, and people who already have asthma. Even short-term exposures can increase hospital visits and respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing.

"There is a risk for children who already have asthma to have that asthma worsened. And there is evidence that nitrogen dioxide is also a risk factor for developing asthma," Levy said.

Cooking with gas can also worsen asthma in adults, he explained. It can also be dangerous for adults who have other respiratory illnesses, such as: B. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

And while respiratory problems are certainly the focus, other research suggests the gas could cause additional health problems. Studies in Spain found that nitrogen dioxide exposure from gas cooking appliances in early life or in utero was linked to cognitive and attention problems in young children. A report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide may be linked to cardiovascular problems, diabetes and cancer, although it's not clear how much other traffic-related pollutants may contribute.

Aside from the direct health concerns, experts are also wary of gas stoves because they contribute to climate change by burning fossil fuels, Levy said.

Even when they're not running, gas stoves emit nearly two and a half million tons of methane, a greenhouse gas, every year. They also have the potential to contribute to gas leaks that could pose health or safety risks, Levy said.

Can you “overcome” asthma symptoms?

A widespread problem with a disproportionate impact

Although the negative impacts on human health are well documented, researchers wanted to better understand the true scope of these problems, said Brady Seals, manager of the Zero Carbon Buildings Program at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and co-author of the study.

“There are about 50 years of health studies and health research about this connection between gas stoves and human health,” Seals saidHealth. “And the best evidence and most of the evidence relates to children and particularly asthma in children.”

Although the study did not establish causality, Seals and her colleagues used a mathematical equation to determine that 12.7% of these cases were linked in some way to gas stoves.

This equation included data on how many children in the U.S. have asthma, how many live in homes with gas stoves, and the fact that children have a 42% increased risk of developing asthma symptoms if they live in a home with a gas stove.

Seals and her fellow researchers also found that the percentage of gas stove-related asthma in children varied greatly by location. In Florida, for example, only 9.1% of households with children cook with gas. As a result, the study estimated that only about 3% of asthma cases could be linked to gas stoves. But at the other end of the spectrum, about 21% of childhood asthma cases in Illinois can be linked to gas stove use, as nearly 80% of families with children in Illinois use the device.

Although people with asthma and other respiratory problems are at higher risk of developing health problems from exposure to gas stoves, there are other differences.

About 43% of households with children have gas stoves, compared to 35% of U.S. households in general, Seals said, meaning more children are exposed to this health risk than the general population. Children are also generally more susceptible to illnesses related to air pollution - they have a higher respiratory rate and their immune and respiratory systems are not yet fully developed.

And since asthma rates themselves are often unequal, race may also play a role in who is most affected by gas stove use. Black adults and children are more likely to have asthma than white adults and children, meaning they are more likely to experience worse health outcomes from having a gas stove.

Socioeconomic status also plays an important role in determining a person's risk, Levy added.

"Just having a gas stove doesn't tell you exactly what the exposure will be - it partly depends on how big your house is, it depends on the ventilation and so on," he said. “The people who may be most at risk are those who have smaller homes that are inadequately ventilated and do not have range hoods that vent outside.”

Smaller, less ventilated homes lead to a faster buildup of pollutants from gas stoves, meaning people living in such environments may see an unequal brunt of health problems, Levy explained.

Poorer communities are also generally exposed to more pollutants and environmental hazards and tend to have poorer respiratory function. No study yet appears to have determined whether gas stoves are involved in creating these health disparities or whether they simply exacerbate pre-existing problems. However, to put it simply, the risk of using gas stoves does not affect everyone equally.

How to reduce the health risks of gas stoves

Although there are millions of homes with gas stoves, there are things people can do to protect their health or that of their family if they have the opportunity or choose to do so.

The most obvious – and invasive – option would be to replace your gas stove with an induction or electric stove. But that's not necessarily feasible for everyone.

“It's obviously more difficult for renters than it is for homeowners, and it comes with costs,” Levy said. "So for some people replacing a stove is a clear and logical step. And for others [where] it's not feasible, it's really about trying to reduce your exposure as much as possible."

If you have a range hood connected to your gas stove that can vent nitrogen dioxide and other fumes from the kitchen, it's smart to always turn it on while you're cooking, not just after you've burned something, Seals said. Simply opening the windows for a few minutes while cooking on a gas stove can also help, she added.

Or, of course, people can get a little more creative. Seals said trying to cook more with plug-in appliances (think: rice cookers, kettles, crock pots or toaster ovens) is a good way to reduce your exposure to your gas stove. So ditch your gas stove altogether and just buy an induction cooktop with one or two burners - Seals has chosen this in her own home.

These small corrections are probably more helpful than talking about this big debate about whether to ban gas stoves altogether, Levy said.

“Any even hypothetical ban on gas stoves would only apply to new purchases,” Levy said. "There are many homes with gas stoves, including many vulnerable rental households. And we should focus on how we can best reduce their exposure in the short term."

At the moment, the Inflation Reduction Act allocates funds for rebates on electrical appliances if people are interested in replacing their gas stoves.

But if there were to be any government legislation to crack down on the use of gas stoves, it would likely come in the form of updated building codes, Seals suspected, similar to what happened in Berkeley, California.

“Berkeley was the first city in 2019 to say, ‘No new construction can contain gas,’” Seals said. “Since that time, we have actually seen 94 cities and towns either require or favor electricity in their building codes – across nine states and D.C. We estimate that approximately 31 million people already live in a community where this is the case.”

There have also been recent attempts to increase the number of government regulations to limit exposure to nitrogen dioxide. In October, a petition was sent by housing and climate activists calling on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to phase out gas stoves in public housing.

Seals also hopes the CPSC can better regulate gas stoves, requiring manufacturers to meet much stricter standards for emission levels of nitrogen dioxide and other harmful fumes.

"We've seen correspondence between the EPA and the CPSC dating back to 1986 that raised alarms about the potential health effects of gas stoves. So it's not that these agencies never knew about it, but definitely nothing happened," Seals said. “We were not protected by the authorities who should better regulate these products.”

But until these things can be better regulated or phased out to protect Americans' health, spreading the word about the problem and tips for reducing exposure is an important starting point.

“I’m not suggesting that anyone rip out their oven,” Seals said. "That's obviously a personal decision. But when the stove dies or when it's time to replace it, I think that's a really good time to start thinking about what kind of alternatives you might want."