Safety Agency Considers Ban On Gas Stoves Amid Health Fears

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The federal agency says a ban on gas stoves is being considered amid growing concerns about harmful indoor air pollution emitted by those appliances.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to take action to combat air pollution that can cause health problems and respiratory illnesses.

Agency spokesman Richard Trumka Jr. "It's a hidden threat," he said in an interview. “Any option on the table. Unsafe products can be banned.”

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Natural gas stoves, which are used in about 40% of American homes, release air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particles that the EPA and World Health Organization consider hazardous and are associated with respiratory problems and cardiovascular disease. problems, cancer and other health conditions, according to reports by groups such as the Policy Integrity Institute and the American Chemical Society.

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In October, Consumer Reports urged consumers planning to buy the new stove to consider switching to electric stoves after the group's tests revealed high levels of nitrogen oxides on gas stoves.

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A new study published last month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that more than 12% of asthma cases in children in the United States are linked to the use of gas stoves.

"Nearly 50 years of medical research shows that gas stoves are bad for our health, and the strongest evidence is in children and childhood asthma," said Brady Seals, manager of the energy group's carbon-free building program. clean nonprofit RMI and study co-author. "Because we have a gas line, we pollute the inside of our homes."

The Bethesda, Maryland, Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has about 500 employees, plans to hold a public hearing on the dangers of gas stoves this winter. In addition to banning the manufacture or import of gas stoves, options include setting emissions standards for those appliances, Trumpk said.

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Lawmakers debated and asked the commission to consider the need for warning labels, limits and performance standards. Both Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia called for action in a December letter to the agency, calling emissions from gas stoves a "cumulative burden" on blacks, Hispanics and low-income families. suffer excessively from air pollution.

A parallel effort by state and local politicians is to increase the use of natural gas in buildings to reduce heat emissions (such as methane) that exacerbate climate change. Nearly 100 cities and states have adopted policies requiring or encouraging the phase-out of fossil fuel-powered buildings. In 2021, the New York City Council voted to ban natural gas connections in new buildings below seven stories by the end of that year. In September, the California Air Resources Board voted unanimously to ban the sale of gas stoves and water heaters by 2030.

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Consumers looking to switch from gas stoves to electric could get help from a major climate spending bill signed into law in August. The Inflation Reduction Act provides rebates of up to $840 on the purchase of new electric stoves, for an estimated $4.5 billion, to help low- and moderate-income households electrify their homes.

Whirlpool Corporation Appliance Manufacturers Association, representing manufacturers of gas cooktops such as

"Ventilation really needs to be discussed, not banned from any particular type of technology," said Jill Notini, a vice president at the Washington Trade Group. "Banning one type of kitchen appliance will not solve the overall problem of indoor air quality. We might need some changes in our behavior, we might need [people] to open the hood while we cook."

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Natural gas distributors, whose business is threatened by a growing push to electrify homes, argue that banning gas stoves would increase costs for homeowners and restaurants with little benefit to the environment. The American Gas Association, which includes utilities such as Dominion Energy Inc. and DTE Energy Co. represented, said in a statement that regulators and advisers responsible for protecting the health and safety of residential consumers do not provide information about the risks associated with gas stoves.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency do not identify gas furnaces as significant health or air quality risks in their publications, guidelines, or technical or public information requirements," said the group's president, Karen Harbert. "The most practical and realistic way to achieve a sustainable future where energy is clean and safe, reliable and affordable is to provide access to natural gas and the infrastructure that transports it."

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Meanwhile, Republicans criticized the possible move as excessive government interference.

"If the CPSC really wanted to do something for public health, they would have banned cigarettes or cars long before they went to the stove," said Mike McKenna, a Republican energy lobbyist. "It's transparently political."

Trumka, who served on a House committee before joining the committee in a role that includes work on toxic heavy metals in infant formula and the health risks of e-cigarettes, said while acknowledging that the commission could publish its proposal this year. . it would be on the "fast side".

"There's a misconception that if you want to cook great food, you have to do it with gasoline," Trumka said. "It's an elaborate myth."

The safety agency is considering banning gas stoves due to health concerns.