Gas Stoves and the Normalisation of Indoor Air Pollution

Gas stoves are ubiquitous in households across the globe but concerns regarding their environmental and health impacts have recently resurfaced. For instance, research has exposed how gas stoves emit significant levels of methane, even when switched off, thereby contributing annual amounts of carbon dioxide emissions comparable to 500,000 cars in the U.S. alone [1]. However, perhaps more imminent are the health consequences arising owing to indoor air pollution by gas stoves in households, a form of pollution which has been downplayed and overlooked for decades.

There are serious adverse health effects of natural gas combustion in households, primarily owing to the associated emissions of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. In a report comparing emissions between homes with electric and gas stoves, it was found that the latter had 50-400% higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide [2] . Moreover, the nature and extent of direct interaction with gas stoves makes their use ostensibly more dangerous than other gas appliances, since the individual using the gas stove is directly exposed to any chemicals released from the stove. The ignorance regarding gas stove associated pollution is concerning, since NOx exposure has serious consequences for human health. For children, higher exposure to nitrogen dioxide has been attributed to increased rates of asthma, with research showing that as much as 13% of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. are attributed to the use of gas stoves [3]. Children are not the only ones at risk, with research showcasing that NOx exposure may subject adults to pulmonary disease [4].

To add fuel to the fire, new research indicates that not only do gas stoves emit noxious chemicals during the combustion of natural gas, but these stoves are detrimental to our health even when switched off  [5]. Specifically, natural gas stove systems potentially emit dangerous levels of benzene- a known carcinogen. The researchers modeled the potential amount of benzene accumulation in households based on various factors and found that the highest concentrations resulted from a combination of poor ventilation as well as elevated leakage rates. Therefore, this is evidently an equity issue as well since lower income households are likely the ones unable to afford proper ventilation and upgrade their equipment to avoid leakages. What is most alarming is that these simulations did not factor in the additional leakage which may occur during the combustion of natural gas in these stoves, or even from other gas appliances in the house, suggesting that the actual levels of benzene could be greater than those simulated.

These concerns about gas stoves exacerbating indoor air pollution are not new. In fact, a new report by the climate accountability org, DeSmog, elucidates how the gas industry itself played a big role in concealing the potential health impacts of using these stoves, nearly 50 years ago [6]. Accordingly,  American Gas Association (AGA) funded research in 1972 to investigate the health implications of using gas stoves within households. However, entire sections regarding “Indoor Air Quality Control” now stand missing from these documents. In fact, AGA instead began advocating for gas usage in households as a viable and cleaner alternative to burning coal. For instance, one of their advertisements (below) depicted toddlers alongside a caption suggesting that gas is “good for growing things”, an ironic statement given emergent research about children being most susceptible to the health impacts of gas stoves. AGA still maintains this stance, such as through attempting to discredit the aforementioned research from 2022 regarding the link between childhood asthma and gas stove usage.

The phasing out of gas stoves is long overdue. Such phasing out will simultaneously tackle issues of indoor air pollution, as well as aid in the transition towards clean energy. Ultimately, it is yet again obvious how the health of the environment is intricately linked to human health and wellbeing.

References

[1] Lebel, E. D., Finnegan, C. J., Ouyang, Z., & Jackson, R. B. (2022). Methane and NOx Emissions from Natural Gas Stoves, Cooktops, and Ovens in Residential Homes. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(4). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707

[2] Seals, B., & Krasner, A. (2020). Gas Stoves: Health and Air Quality Impacts and Solutions. RMI; Rocky Mountain Institute. https://rmi.org/insight/gas-stoves-pollution-health/

[3] Gruenwald, T., Seals, B. A., Knibbs, L. D., & Hosgood, H. D. (2023). Population Attributable Fraction of Gas Stoves and Childhood Asthma in the United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 75. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010075

[4] Shin, S., Bai, L., Burnett, R. T., Kwong, J. C., Hystad, P., van Donkelaar, A., Lavigne, E., Weichenthal, S., Copes, R., Martin, R. V., Kopp, A., & Chen, H. (2021). Air Pollution as a Risk Factor for Incident Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma. A 15-Year Population-based Cohort Study. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 203(9), 1138–1148. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201909-1744oc

[5] Lebel, E. D., Michanowicz, D. R., Bilsback, K. R., Hill, L. A. L., Goldman, J. S. W., Domen, J. K., Jaeger, J. M., Ruiz, A., & Shonkoff, S. B. C. (2022). Composition, Emissions, and Air Quality Impacts of Hazardous Air Pollutants in Unburned Natural Gas from Residential Stoves in California. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(22), 15828–15838. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c02581

[6] John, R. (2023, March 2). Industry Knew About Gas Stoves’ Air Pollution Problems in Early 1970s. DeSmog. https://www.desmog.com/2023/03/02/american-gas-association-knew-stoves-air-pollution-1970s/