Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > ca.environment > #6429 > unrolled thread

Why gas stoves could be the No. 1 polluter for many Bay Area residents

Back to article view | Back to ca.environment

Contents

  Why gas stoves could be the No. 1 polluter for many Bay Area residents Pelosi Goes To prison <noreply@mixmin.net> - 2026-02-20 11:31 +0000
    Re: Why gas stoves could be the No. 1 polluter for many Bay Area residents c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-02-21 01:33 -0500

#6429 — Why gas stoves could be the No. 1 polluter for many Bay Area residents

When Robert Jackson began studying greenhouse gas exposure inside homes a 
few years ago, a team of fellow Stanford researchers camped out in his 
kitchen for a few days to monitor the emissions coming from his own gas 
stove.

They ran tests with all the windows closed and again with all of them 
open, and with air filters on and off. They turned on three burners at 
once, and cooked with and without the stove hood running.

The results of the study convinced Jackson that gas stoves are a 
significant public health problem. And they compelled him to replace his 
own gas stove with an electric one.

“Seeing it in real time was a surprise to me,” said Jackson, a professor 
in Earth system science at Stanford. “This is a serious health issue, and 
I think electrification is the solution.”

Several studies indicate that cooking with gas stoves can have long-
lasting health effects, mostly to respiratory health but also potentially 
heart health too. For those who can afford it, switching to electric is 
almost certainly a healthier choice.

But buying a new stove isn’t possible for everyone. Now, some scientists 
studying the issue say they have enough evidence that it’s time to 
consider public policy to make it more affordable for people to switch to 
electric.

And in the meantime, they have advice for people with gas stoves to lower 
their exposure to nitrogen dioxide, the main pollutant of concern.

What are the dangers?
Cooking with gas releases nitrogen dioxide, NO2, the same toxic emission 
produced by gas-powered vehicles and coal-fired power plants that is 
responsible for most outdoor air pollution. Nitrogen dioxide is well 
documented as causing a variety of health problems, mostly respiratory. 
Children who are chronically exposed to the pollution are more likely to 
develop asthma, and the gas can exacerbate existing heart and lung 
problems in people of all ages.

The United States has made tremendous progress in reducing nitrogen 
dioxide in the air outdoors by introducing policies and standards to 
reduce auto emissions and other major sources of pollution.

But efforts to address indoor air quality have had less success. Berkeley 
in 2019 became the first city in the nation to ban new natural gas hookups 
in buildings as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and 
improve air quality, inspiring dozens of similar ordinances across 
California. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023 ruled that 
Berkeley’s ban conflicted with federal energy law, leading the city to 
repeal its ordinance and prompting other local governments to pause or 
roll back their own gas-ban policies amid ongoing legal and political 
battles.

“People spend 90% of their time indoors on average,” Jackson said. “We 
have spent billions of dollars to improve air quality outdoors and almost 
nothing to improve air quality indoors, where we live most of the day.”

Despite decades of raising concerns about emissions from indoor cooking, 
it’s only in the past 10 or 20 years that scientists have begun bringing 
equipment into homes and studying people’s exposure to toxic gas inside. 
Results of those studies clearly show that people who use gas stoves are 
exposed to far more nitrogen dioxide than those who cook with electric.

The exact harm caused by the nitrogen dioxide remains somewhat of a 
mystery because it’s challenging to isolate that single exposure. Jackson 
estimated in a 2024 study that nitrogen dioxide exposure from gas stoves 
could be responsible for more than 50,000 current cases of pediatric 
asthma.

“What’s safe, no one really knows,” Jackson said. “But we know that 
breathing air with higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide irritates 
airways and increases emergency room visits.”

John Balmes, a professor emeritus at UCSF and UC Berkeley who studies air 
pollutants and respiratory health, said that he encourages patients with 
pre-existing lung or heart conditions to seriously consider switching to 
electric if they can afford it.

For everyone else, “whether the juice is worth the squeeze in terms of 
affordability, that’s kind of an individual patient decision,” he said.

Who is at risk
California has the highest share of households using gas stoves in the 
country — about 70% of homes have them, according to Jackson. But how much 
replacing their stove would help depends somewhat on where people live.

Jackson published a study last December that looked at nitrogen dioxide 
risk by ZIP code, weighing outdoor air quality and presumed exposure to 
indoor pollution. 

They found that for people who live in areas with not-so-great outdoor air 
quality, the fumes from their gas stove probably make up about a quarter 
of their pollution exposure, or possibly even less. In other words, 
getting rid of their gas stove would be an improvement, but they would 
still be breathing a lot of unhealthy air.

But for people who live in areas with good air quality — including San 
Francisco and many other parts of the Bay Area — their gas stove may 
account for more than half of their exposure to pollution.

In fact, for 22 million Americans, getting rid of their gas stove would 
wipe out any known health risks associated with nitrogen dioxide, 
according to the study.

“It may be for many people in the Bay Area that the No. 1 thing they could 
do to reduce their exposure is electrify,” Jackson said.

Reducing risk from gas
Scientists like Jackson worry most about gas stoves in low-income 
communities, where people may be exposed to even more nitrogen dioxide and 
have fewer options for reducing their risk. In some communities, people 
may be more likely to live in smaller homes or apartments and be cooking 
for larger families — thus releasing more fumes into a smaller space. 

Replacing a gas stove isn’t possible for everyone — it may not be 
affordable, and some renters may not be allowed to swap out major 
appliances. Some people also just prefer to cook with gas and accept there 
are some health risks.

But there are still ways to reduce nitrogen dioxide exposure, scientists 
said.

Running the exhaust hood can help, but only if the hood releases fumes 
outside — some just recirculate the air inside. Hoods also need to be 
clean and in good condition. Opening windows helps too, as long as it’s 
not too cold or too hot outside.

Air purifiers also can reduce the nitrogen dioxide in the air when they’re 
run while cooking. Even just cooking on a back burner may help a little 
because the fumes are farther away and more easily picked up by the hood.

People also can use less gas to cook. That could mean doing more prep work 
in a microwave or trying to reduce cooking times. People also can use 
electric appliances to replace some things they use the stove for, like 
boiling water or cooking rice. Jackson also suggested countertop induction 
units, which use electromagnetic induction for heat.

“I know we want to push forward with electrifying home appliances,” Balmes 
said. “But the issue is how do we do it.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/gas-stoves-health-risk-
california-21350745.php

[toc] | [next] | [standalone]

#6430

Who Cares ? They're pretty GOOD - better than electric
for some kinds of cooking.

Do note that they can, on rare occasion, explode.
However electric can short out and burn down yer
house also.

Every little factory and wildfire puts a zillion
times more 'pollution' into the air than the gas
stoves.

So, stick it, AlGore Useful Idiot.

[toc] | [prev] | [standalone]

Back to top | Article view | ca.environment

csiph-web