Gas Stoves Are Not Safe
I just read an article from NPR that was quite surprising. It talks about gas stoves not being safe in our homes for our health and climate.
When you go shopping for a stove, the gas stoves look appealing because that’s what we are used to seeing on those celebrity shows. The electric stoves though look very modern and sleek, with an easy to clean cooktop. Apparently only 35% of homes use a gas stove which was quite surprising. I would have thought the gas stove would outnumber the electric.
The environmental groups like the Rocky Mountain Institute have done a report on the health and air quality impacts from gas stove pollution. The report says that the gas stoves can emit elevated indoor nitrogen dioxide levels often exceeding indoor guidelines and outdoor standards.
The indoor guidelines for Nitrogen Dioxide is between 90 to 106 ppb (parts per billion) according to Canada and the World Health Organization. The United States doesn’t have an indoor guideline for some reason. Why would this be? I believe the gas company lobbyists have very deep pockets. It is usually about the almighty dollar. Profit over health.
These are the numbers (ppb) from various activities:
Baking cake in oven - 230
Roasting meat in oven - 296
Frying bacon - 104
Boiling water - 184
Gas cooktop - no food - 82-300
Gas oven - no food - 130-546
Children are more susceptible than adults to illnesses associated with air pollution. There are three main factors of which are higher breathing rates with greater levels of physical activity, higher lung surface to body weight ratios and smaller bodies and immature respiratory and immune systems. If your child has asthma, you may want to think about changing your gas stove to electric.
Temporary solution
The EPA suggests using an exhaust fan above your gas stove that’s vented to the outdoors to reduce Nitrogen Dioxide in your home. Although all gas-fired residential cooking ranges are designed to operate without outdoor ventilation, installing one can improve indoor air quality significantly.
Permanent solution
Get an electric stove.