BY NIK POPLI
GOOD QUESTION
FEDERAL REGULATORS ARE CONSIDERING A BAN ON gas stoves—present in roughly one-third of U.S. homes—amid rising concern about increased risk of asthma in children and other respiratory-health risks linked to indoor air pollution from the appliances. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which can issue mandatory standards or ban products if no feasible change would adequately protect the public, says it is still figuring out the best way to tackle this issue. Richard Trumka Jr., a CPSC commissioner, tweeted on Jan. 9 that “gas stoves can emit dangerous [levels] of toxic chemicals—even when not in use” and that his agency will consider “all approaches to regulation.”
The news has generated its own heat, but CPSC says any action would involve a lengthy process, meaning there are no imminent policy changes. Trumka clarified the agency cannot physically remove gas stoves from homes—but instead can require new products to comply with its regulations. This could include requiring new homes be built with electric stoves or high-efficiency exhaust vents.
The debate over gas cooking’s health hazards began nearly 50 years ago when researchers in England and Scotland surveyed the parents of more than 5,000 children and found a positive correlation between gas cooking and asthma symptoms. But a slew of new studies have spurred fresh concerns. Researchers have found that gas stoves release nitrogen dioxide and other tiny airborne particles known as PM2.5, both of which are lung irritants and have been linked with childhood asthma. In December, a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found more than 12% of current childhood asthma cases in the U.S. can be linked to gas-stove use. Certain populations, such as children or people who already have asthma, are more susceptible, says Brady Seals, a manager in the carbon-free-buildings program at the nonprofit clean-energy group RMI and a co-author of the study. “This gets into the health-equity issues, since we know asthma is a profoundly unequal disease as Black children are almost three times more likely to have asthma.”
A simple safety measure people can take is to use a high-efficiency range hood that carries air contaminants outside rather than recirculating them indoors. Those without an exhaust hood should open
