US considers BANNING gas stoves over rising concerns it causes health and breathing problems
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The United States is considering banning all gas stoves for health reasons.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Monday that it plans to take action to address pollution emitted from gas stoves, which have been linked to higher cases of asthma.
In a statement to Bloomberg NewsRichard Trumka Jr., an agency commissioner, called gas stoves a “hidden danger.”
He added that “any option is on the table” and that “products that cannot be made safe can be banned.”
The agency could also choose to set emission standards for gas stoves.
– and the commission has already planned to open a comment period on the dangers posed by gas stoves later this winter.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is now considering banning all gas stoves
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is now expected to open a public comment period on the harms of gas stoves later this winter.
Then it could decide whether to ban gas stoves as soon as this year.
The announcement comes on the heels of a new study that found that about one in eight cases of childhood asthma in the US are the result of air pollution emitted by gas stoves.
This puts emissions from cooking gas at the same risk level for asthma as breathing in secondhand smoke.
Asthma affects an estimated six million American children each year, and nearly 13 percent of them contract it by inhaling the myriad toxins ejected from a gas stove every day.
Findings from the team at the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado suggest that about 35 percent of American households that use gas stoves should mitigate the spread of toxins like nitrogen dioxide and benzene by switching to an electric induction cooktop.
Their research is the latest installment in a growing body showing the danger of having a gas stove in the home, which can emit cancer-causing toxins that put people at risk of serious health effects.
Nearly 13 percent of asthma cases in children on average can be attributed to toxins produced by gas stoves. That’s considerably higher in several states for which data was available, including California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Brady Seals, manager of the carbon-free buildings program at RMI, who led the research saying the study showed that by getting rid of gas stoves, the proportion of children diagnosed with asthma could be reduced by 12.7 percent.
Researchers from Colorado, Australia and New York analyzed the risk posed to children by gas emissions and the proportion of US households with gas stoves, and concluded that having stoves greatly increased the risk of asthma.
The authors relied on 2019 census data to determine what proportion of American children are exposed to asthma-causing toxins from gas stoves, borrowing the methodology of a analysis 2018 which found that 12.3 per cent of pediatric asthma cases in Australia were attributed to cooking on gas stoves.
In some states, the proportion of childhood asthma cases associated with gas cooktops is even higher than the national average. Illinois had the highest PAF number at over 21 percent, while New York came in at almost 19 percent.
“Put another way, if we theoretically got rid of all gas stoves in New York, we could prevent about 18.8% of childhood asthma,” Ms. Seals said. saying.
Children who live in homes with gas stoves are also 42 percent more likely to have asthma, according to a report 2013.
Gas stoves introduce toxic pollutants into the air even when they are turned off. Cooking on a gas stove creates nitrogen dioxide, a known asthma precipitant.
In fact, in 2019 alone, almost two million cases of childhood asthma was estimated to be due to nitrogen dioxide poisoning.
That’s the same pollutant associated with major highways. But due to the more enclosed nature of an indoor room compared to the outdoors, pollution in a kitchen with a gas stove could be heavier than on a major highway.
Gas stoves can also emit methane, which can cause a person to have trouble breathing and cause a rapid heartbeat.
Benzene can also leak from unlit gas stoves. The chemical has been linked to the development of multiple types of cancer, although experts believe the amount of benzene seeping from stoves is not enough to pose a serious hazard.
Previous studies on harmful emissions have found that gas stoves emit a cocktail of toxic compounds such as hexane, which is known to cause permanent weakness and nerve damage in the feet, legs and hands of people exposed to it. long-term.
Researchers have found the prevalence of about a dozen dangerous chemicals in gas stoves. One of them, hexane, has been linked to nerve damage. Cancer-causing benzene was detected in nearly every stove in a recent sample of gas stoves
Lawmakers have since asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to consider requiring warning labels, range hoods and performance standards for gas cooktops.
In a letter to the agency last month, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Rep. Dan Beyer of Virginia urged the commission to take action, calling emissions from gas stoves a “cumulative burden on African-Americans, Latinos, and low-income. households that disproportionately experience air pollution.
The Commission now plans to open a comment period on the dangers posed by gas stoves later this winter.
Meanwhile, state and local legislators are targeting the use of natural gas in buildings as they try to reduce their carbon footprint.
Nearly 100 cities and counties have adopted policies that require or encourage the removal of fossil fuel-powered buildings, including in New York City, where the city council voted to ban natural gas hookups in newer, smaller buildings. seven stories by the end of the year.
The California Air Resources Board also voted unanimously in September to ban the sale of natural gas furnaces and water heaters by 2030.
Democratic Rep. Dan Beyer. of Virginia and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey sent a letter to the commission last month saying emissions from gas stoves disproportionately affect low-income, black, and Latino communities.
Gas stove manufacturers argue that they are just as harmful as other cooking media.
But manufacturers of gas stoves say they are just as harmful as other cooking media and should not be banned.
The Home Appliance Manufacturers Association, which represents companies including Whirlpool Corp, said in a statement that cooking of any kind produces harmful emissions and byproducts.
“Ventilation is really where this discussion should be rather than banning a particular type of technology,” Jill Notini, the group’s vice president, told Bloomberg.
“Banning one type of kitchen appliance is not going to address overall indoor air quality concerns. We may need some behavior change, we may need [people] to light their hoods when cooking.’
Natural gas distributors also argue that a ban on natural gas stoves would increase costs for homeowners and restaurants with little environmental gain.
The American Gas Association, for example, said regulatory agencies have produced no documented evidence linking respiratory problems to gas stoves.
“The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the EPA do not present gas ranges as a significant contributor to adverse air quality or as a hazard in their technical or public information literature, guidance, or requirements said Karen Harbert, president.
‘The most practical and realistic way to achieve a sustainable future in which energy is clean, as well as safe, reliable and affordable, is to ensure that it includes natural gas and the infrastructure that transports it.’
Meanwhile, Republicans say a ban would be further government overreach, with Mike McKenna, a Republican energy lobbyist, arguing: “If the CPSC really wanted to do something about public health, they would ban cigarettes or cars long before going on to take care of the stoves”.
“It’s transparently political,” he said.