Health Effects of Gas Appliances
About 40 million Americans use a gas stove for cooking. Now, a new study from scientists at Stanford has shown that your stove could be leaking even when it's turned off and that emissions are greater than had previously been believed.
A Gas Stove Presents a Health Risk, Even When Turned Off
These stoves are emitting gasses that can pose serious health effects when inhaled. Scientists found that over three quarters of the methane emissions from gas stoves are emitted while the stove is off. These emissions can trigger asthma, coughing and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.
When the stove is lit, nitrogen dioxide is released. It only takes a few minutes of unventilated stove use to generate emission levels above national health standards. In addition to respiratory problems, nitrogen dioxide exposure has been linked to cardiovascular issues, diabetes, poorer birth outcomes, premature mortality and cancer.
Health Effects on Children
Children are more susceptible to negative health effects from these emissions than adults due to their smaller size in relation to their lung surface and their higher level of activity. According to an analysis done in 2013 by the Oxford Academic International Journal of Epidemiology, children living in homes with gas stoves were 42% more likely to experience symptoms associated with asthma and 24% more likely to be diagnosed with lifetime asthma.
Safeguards
If you have a gas stove, it is important to always use the vent when cooking. It also helps to use the back burners since they send more gas into the ventilation system than the front burners.
Going electric in our homes is a win for climate as well as a significant action to protect our health.