Fury erupted earlier this month following reports that a commissioner from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission was considering a ban on natural gas stoves. The chairman of the commission has since clarified that no steps have been taken to ban gas stoves, but that they are looking for ways to make them safer.
The main health concern with gas stoves is that they emit nitrogen dioxide. According to environmental-health scientists and doctors, this gas can trigger inflammation in the airways and irritate the lungs, which can aggravate respiratory diseases such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults and children.
For the roughly 38% of American households that cook with gas, there are ways to reduce exposure. You can use a range hood when you cook with gas, provided you have one that vents outside air instead of recirculating it. And if possible, open your windows.
assessing risks
The debate started with a December study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, a peer-reviewed journal. It analyzed previous studies on gas stoves as well as US Census data and concluded that about 13% of US childhood asthma cases could be attributed to gas stove use.
That study used data from a 2013 meta-analysis — or review of existing research — that found children who lived in homes with gas stoves had a 42% increased risk of developing asthma symptoms and a 42% higher risk of being diagnosed. The risk increases by 24%. with asthma. The December study also used data from a 2018 Australian study that found 12% of childhood asthma cases could be attributed to gas stoves.
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that looks at multiple studies on the same topic. Researchers often conduct them to evaluate the body of evidence on a particular topic.
“This was the first step in trying to remedy this burden,” says Brady Sills, co-author of the study and manager of the carbon-free building program at RMI, a Colorado-based clean-energy research organization.
Public and environmental-health scientists say the recent study only confirmed what they’ve known for more than a decade.
“There’s no uncertainty about the basic premise that burning natural gas is bad for you,” says Darby Jack, MD, an associate professor of environmental health at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. “Emissions are bad for you.”
gas-stove emissions
Nitrogen dioxide can trigger asthma symptoms in people who already have the condition and has been linked to the development of new cases, says Curtis Nordgaard, MD, a pediatrician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis and an environmental-health consultant.
Exposure to nitrogen dioxide doesn’t cause asthma in everyone, says Dr. Nordgaard, but in some people who are more predisposed to develop it, chronic inflammation and tension in the airways can be a trigger.
The level of risk in a home depends on a number of factors, says Dr Jack, including ventilation in the kitchen, how old and well-maintained the stove is and how you’re using it.
“For anyone cooking on a late model, well maintained stove with a good hood and good ventilation, concentric [of natural gas] Very few are going to happen and the risk is very low,” says Dr. Jack.
The researchers say that other appliances that use natural gas, such as furnaces and boilers, are of less concern when it comes to nitrogen dioxide because they need to vent directly.
What to do when the stove is off?
Stoves can emit gas even when you’re not using them, says Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist and professor at Stanford University, but the gas emitted is largely methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas linked to global warming, but the levels from stoves are not known to be harmful to human health, he says.
“Methane emissions inside the home are not a health problem,” says Dr. Jackson. Occurs on shutdown.
mitigate risk
If you’re moving to a new home or renovating your kitchen, consider an electric or induction stove, say health experts.
If you’re using a gas stove, the best thing to do, he says, is to get a good range hood and make sure it’s venting outside air instead of back into your kitchen. Make sure you use your hood when cooking. Also open your windows to improve ventilation.
A 2014 study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that fixing or running a kitchen exhaust fan, or replacing a gas stove with an electric one, reduced the incidence of severe asthma by 7% in homes of children with asthma. Has come
“If you improve ventilation in the kitchen or remove the gas stove as a source, you can get appreciable health benefits,” says John Levy, professor and chair of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health. ” researchers.
Keeping other people away from the kitchen while and after using a gas stove also helps reduce their risk, says Dr. Levy. Nitrogen-dioxide levels can remain elevated for an hour or more if the kitchen lacks good ventilation.
He recommends keeping small children and other people who may be away from the kitchen while you cook. They say cooking on the back burner poses even less risk.
Some doctors suggest purchasing a countertop induction burner to use for a few simple tasks—such as boiling water for tea or pasta—instead of always using your stove.