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Gas and propane stoves significantly increase exposure to nitrogen dioxide in indoor units, and these unexpected levels of exposure have adversely affected the health of tens of thousands of people in the United States, according to a new report. Research.
The World Health Organization has issued guidelines for exposure to various types of air pollution, and the new study, published in the journal Science on Friday, found people exposed to 75% of the recommended annual limit. Only using a gas stove for nitrogen dioxide. On the other hand, electric stoves do not produce nitrogen dioxide emissions.
Breathing air with a high nitrogen dioxide content can irritate the respiratory system. Short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory diseases, long-term exposure can cause conditions such as asthma and increase the risk of respiratory infections.
There is no safe amount of toxic substances produced by gas or propane or any other fossil fuel, either externally or internally. We were not meant as humans to inhale these toxins,” Dr. Kari Nadeau, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health and co-author of the new study, said at a news conference. About research.
More than a third of households in the U.S.—about 50 million—have a gas or propane stove; Data From the US Energy Information Administration.
But home size and layout, ventilation and features — such as cooking styles — can affect exposure levels to nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves, making many disadvantaged communities more vulnerable to negative health effects.
People living in homes less than 800 square feet are exposed to four times more nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves than people living in homes larger than 3,000 square feet, the new study found.
“This disparity is due to historical and current bias and is explained by differences in housing exposure and exposure by income and race and ethnicity,” said Yanai Kashtan, a researcher at Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability and lead author of the new study. In the news summary.
For American Indians, blacks and Hispanics in the US, exposure to nitrogen dioxide exceeds the World Health Organization's standard from using gas stoves alone, according to a new study. Exposure rates are 60% higher than average for American Indians and 20% higher for blacks and Hispanics in the US.
The negative effects of exposure to nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves are not limited to people who spend a lot of time cooking or spending time in the kitchen, the researchers said. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations in the tested bedrooms exceeded the World Health Organization's 1-hour exposure guideline within 25 minutes of cooking.
“The pollution we're measuring travels from the kitchen to the farthest bedrooms, and it travels far and fast,” said Rob Jackson, a professor of earth system science at Stanford and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and Precinct Energy. He was the principal investigator for the new research. “It moves quickly through the house. Not only does it quickly reach our bedroom, but it stays in the air for hours.
The cooks bear the brunt of the burden – disproportionately for women – but everyone in the home is at risk of inhaling the pollution, he said.
For this study, researchers measured nitrogen dioxide levels and emissions in more than 100 homes in five states. They combined these findings with national demographic data to estimate exposures and potential impacts across the US.
Overall, they estimate that long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves has caused about 50,000 cases of asthma in children in the US today. This estimate adds up to about 200,000 childhood asthma attacks when exposure to other toxic substances released by gas stove flames and short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide occurs. The researchers also estimate that nearly 19,000 premature deaths could be attributed to long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves.
Experts say that it is important to reduce cooking with gas stoves as much as possible. Pollution comes from the flame, so cooking for a short time and at a low temperature helps reduce emissions.
“The key is to use less gas,” Jackson said. There is a direct correlation between the amount of gas burned and the amount of pollution produced. So everything we do to reduce gas—use one burner at a time—helps people's health.
You may not be able to afford to replace your stove with a lot of rent or limited income, but using an induction cooktop can help you boil water or do some cooking. It is also important to keep the cooking area and household well ventilated by circulating fresh air every two hours.
“Most of us spend 90% of our time or more indoors. That's the air we breathe most of the time,” Jackson said. And we've ignored it for decades.”