Cooking With Gas

"One in eight cases of pediatric asthma in the United States is linked to indoor air pollution from gas stoves."

"If that isn't motivation for us to get gas out of buildings and homes in British Columbia and across Canada, I don't know what is."

Dr. Melissa Lam, Canadian Associates of Physicians for the Environment

"There is about 50 years of health studies showing that gas stoves are bad for our health, and the strongest evidence is on children and children's asthma."

"By having a gas connection, we are polluting the insides of our homes."

Brady Seals, manager, carbon-free buildings program, RMI, clean energy group

Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Image

Canadian researchers are raising concerns about the health risks associated with cooking with gas. According to an American federal agency, a ban on gas stoves is in the works amid concern over harmful indoor air pollutants caused by gas stove emissions. Tara Kahan, a chemist with University of Saskatchewan and colleagues, published a study showing "levels of nitrogen oxide pollutants sometimes exceed Health Canada guidelines for a one-hour exposure but the pollutants often lingered for a couple of hours."

 

"This is a hidden hazard. Any option is on the table. Products that can't be made safe can be banned", stated Richard Trumka Jr., a commissioner with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Coimmission. Roughly 40 percent of homes in the United States use natural gas stoves which emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter at levels the EPA and World Health Organization state are unsafe, linked to respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, cancer, and other inimical conditions to health.

 

These statements are verified in reports produced by groups such as the Institute for Policy Integrity, and the American Chemical Society. In October, Consumer Reports urged consumers looking to purchase a new range to think of going electric in the wake of tests conducted by them which discovered  high levels of nitrogen oxide gases emanating from gas stoves.

 

Peer-reviewed research newly published last month in the International Journal of Enviromental Research and Public Health found over 12 percent of current childhood asthma cases in the United States attributable to gas stove use. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, based in Bethesda, Md., has plans to invite public comment on hazards posed by gas stoves, this winter. Options, aside from barring manufacture or import of gas stoves, include setting standards on emissions from the appliances. 

 

Natural gas distributors point out that a ban on natural gas stoves would tend to drive up costs for homeowners and restaurants, with little gain to the environment. Cooking produces emissions and harmful byproducts irrespective of the kind of stove used, asserts the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers which represents gas range manufacturers.

"Ventilation is really where this discussion should be, rather than banning one particular type of technology."

"Banning one type of a cooking appliance is not going to address the concerns about overall indoor air quality. We may need some behaviour change, we may need to turn on their hoods when cooking."

Jill Notini, vice-president, Washington-based trade group Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers

Around 650,000 American children, researchers estimate, may be suffering asthma attacks caused by gas stoves in their homes.   Getty