(Bloomberg) — A European-wide study found that homes with gas stoves are regularly exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution that exceed legal limits. After measuring exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in homes with electric stoves and gas stoves, researchers determined that NO2 concentrations in homes that cook with gas are, on average, twice those observed in homes that use electric stoves.
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“The severity of air pollution within households that cook with gas appliances is much greater than what we saw in households with electric stoves,” said Nicole Kearney, director of CLASP Europe, the NGO that commissioned the study. “Air pollution levels inside homes are often higher than what we see outside.”
Calls to regulate gas stoves have intensified in recent years as the health risks have become more apparent, especially for children, the elderly and people with pre-existing diseases. In 2022, a US study linked more than 12% of current asthma cases in children to the use of gas stoves. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that children who live in homes with gas stoves are 20% more likely to develop lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
For the study, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, a non-governmental organization, coordinated with CLASP to install sensors in 276 homes in seven countries (the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Slovakia, Romania, and the United Kingdom), selected for their high ratio to the average number of homes with Gas stoves and asthma cases in children associated with the use of gas stoves. About 80% of the families included in the study used gas for cooking, while the remaining 20% cooked with electricity. The sensors measured levels of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter in kitchens and other rooms in the research homes, as well as outside, over a 13-day period.
On average, nitrogen dioxide levels were higher outdoors than indoors in homes with electric stoves; While in homes that used gas, levels were higher indoors. In homes using gas, levels in kitchens averaged about 26.8 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter), compared to 14 µg/m3 in homes using electricity.
CLASP said this is the largest European study to date on air pollution from gas cooking in homes. The organization called for subsidy programs that favor carbon-free heat sources, such as heat pumps, to also include induction stoves, and for energy labels attached to cookstoves to include warnings about indoor air pollution. Legal limits on indoor air pollution do not apply in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and regulations on appliance safety do not set specific limits for pollutants.
“On average, we spend between 80% and 90% of our time indoors. Vulnerable groups could spend more time indoors,” said Christian Pfrang, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Birmingham, who was not involved in the research. “The study in particular is comprehensive and adds evidence directly comparing indoor and outdoor pollution, showing that nitrogen dioxide is indeed a problem caused by gas stoves.”
Original note: Study finds gas stoves mean serious pollution in most homes
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