For decades, scientists have been working to clean up air pollution from factories, cars and power plants. But researchers are increasingly turning their attention to the air people breathe indoors. There’s one appliance that’s become a source of pollutants harmful to human health: the humble gas stove.
A New study from Stanford University researchers reveals the extent to which Americans may be exposed indoors to nitrogen dioxide, which comes from burning coal and natural gas and has been linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Researchers found that nationwide, short-term nitrogen dioxide exposure from typical gas stove use frequently exceeds benchmarks set by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To put things into perspective, using a gas or propane stove means the average American can breathe in three-quarters of the nitrogen dioxide levels in their homes that the World Health Organization considers safe.
Same as outdoor pollutionResearchers found that disadvantaged families may be more vulnerable. The study found that because the gas spreads more easily in smaller spaces, people living in homes smaller than 800 square feet were exposed to less nitrogen dioxide in the long run than people living in homes larger than 3,000 square feet. four times. Black and Latino households are exposed to 20 percent more nitrogen dioxide than the national average.
“Our country has done a really good job of reducing outdoor pollution,” said Rob Jackson, professor of earth system science at Stanford’s Duer School of Sustainability and lead researcher on the study, which was published Friday in Science Progress magazine. “But we’re ignoring the risks that people face indoors. That’s the air we breathe most of the time.”
Although home cooks using gas stoves are particularly exposed to nitrogen dioxide, “we are getting better at controlling the migration of contaminants from halls into living rooms and bedrooms,” he said.
The focus on gas stoves is not without criticism.Last year, when Biden administration officials spoke of the health dangers of gas ranges, Republican politicians and their allies blame the government Overreach and plans to ban gas stoves altogether.
Next week, House Republicans will meet to discuss a bill called the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act that would make it harder for the Energy Department to set stricter energy efficiency standards for home appliances, including gas stoves.
Health experts say gas stoves pose significant health risks. “There really is no safe amount of exposure to these toxic substances that are produced by gas, propane or any fossil fuel, whether outdoors or indoors,” said Kari Nadeau, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Research from Stanford University estimates that long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide from stoves may cause as many as 50,000 cases of asthma in children.
Some cities and counties have tried moving away from natural gas entirely as part of a transition to clean energy.In the past few years, more than 140 cities and local governments Attempts to limit natural gas connections in new construction or take other measures to end the use of natural gas in new construction, although these measures have been challenged in court.
“Telling people that they have to remove a perfectly good gas stove from their home is not ideal,” Dr. Jackson said. But he said requiring electric stoves in new homes made sense, with studies finding they produce few harmful emissions. “Otherwise we’re going to install dirty polluting infrastructure in the next set of homes that will be there for 50 years. No one benefits from it.”
Stanford Team Direct measurement of nitrogen dioxide emissions and concentrations in approximately 100 homes in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and other major U.S. cities, and used indoor air quality monitoring and epidemiological risk calculations to estimate exposure and health consequences.
Dr Yannai Kashtan said they found home cooks were exposed to three times the average level of nitrogen dioxide pollution. candidate at Stanford University and the study’s principal investigator.Mr. Kashtan is a subject recent articles On the Stanford debate over fossil fuel funding of climate research.
In the study, researchers also found that contaminants quickly spread from kitchens to hallways and into living rooms and bedrooms.
Good ventilation, such as turning on a range hood or opening windows, can help reduce exposure. But more importantly, the study found that “the type of stove you cook on matters most,” Mr. Kashtan said. “Ultimately, the best approach is to reduce pollution at the source.”
