Health Harms from Gas Stoves

Health Harms from Gas Stove Pollution

• Cooking With Gas: Health Harms from Gas Stoves
  A training by Zach Williams, MPH, PSR’s Health Educator, provides information to health professionals on the harmful pollution emitted by gas stoves and how to educate their patients about health risks from gas stoves.
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• PSR Launches PSA on Health Harms of Gas Stoves
  Video that discusses the health implications of gas stoves and how it is equivalent to the harm of smoking cigarettes
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• Gas stoves are hazardous to your health, Multnomah County report says
  Melanie Plaut, a retired doctor and active member of Oregon PSR, presents findings showing that homes with gas stoves carry forty percent — five hundred percent more nitrogen dioxide (a gas that increases the risk of developing asthma) — than homes with electric stoves
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• Groups urge WA to warn about gas-burning health effects
  Dr. Mark Vossler, president of Washington PSR, states that the Department of Health should give insight into the health harms of gas-burning utilities such as gas stoves
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• Why do we accept asthma with our ‘natural’ gas?
  Dr. Brita Lundberg, MD, Greater Boston PSR, expresses that Massachusetts’s Department of Public Utilities must stop its plans to use more synthetic gasses.
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• Health Effects from Gas Stove Pollution
  PSR expert Andee Krasner coauthored this report that presents the indoor pollutants from stoves, including harmful gases such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, benzene, and formaldehyde.
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• As Fires Rage Outside, Indoor Air Risks Could Also Be Lurking
  Dr. Mark Vossler, president of Washington PSR, states that exposure to gas stoves causes a build-up of harmful particulate matter in the lungs, which causes lung issues and respiratory problems.
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• Your gas stove is an expensive chain-smoker
  Dr. Eve Shapiro, MD, PSR Arizona, states that gas stoves emit nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, increasing the prevalence of asthma, exacerbating existing asthma symptoms, and increasing susceptibility to respiratory infections.
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• Retailers may not inform consumers of gas stove health risks upon purchase: report
  In an interview with Changing America, Barbara Gottlieb, Director of Environment and Health at PSR, focuses on the harms of nitrogen dioxide, a gas commonly emitted by gas stoves. It is linked to an increase in ADHD symptoms and diabetes.
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• Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
  This fact sheet by PSR displays the health impacts of gas stoves and contains information that health professionals should communicate to their patients, especially patients in at-risk populations, about gas stoves.
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• Contaminación por Estufas de Gas para profesionales de la salud
  Spanish translation of ”Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet for Health Professionals”
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Effects of Gas Stoves on Children’s Health

• Why I’m Firing My Gas Stove
  Andee Krasner, then-program manager of Climate and Health at Greater Boston PSR, discusses the need to ventilate your stove. One in eight asthma cases among children is caused by gas stoves in the U.S.
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• Gas stoves are contributing to childhood asthma in Massachusetts, study finds
  Brita Lundberg, then-chair of the board at Greater Boston PSR, authored the December 2019 resolution, which includes data on the connection between gas stoves and childhood asthma.
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Washington:

• Proposal Would Lower WA Residential Buildings’ Carbon Footprint
  Claire Richards, nurse and member of Washington PSR’s Climate Action Task Force, highlights the neurological and cardiovascular impacts of gas stoves. The proposal would ensure that Washington’s State Residential Code would lean towards electricity-based appliances in households due to gas stoves’ health harms.
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• Push to phase out gas stoves over health concerns met with online anger
  Dr. Annemarie Dooley, a Seattle doctor who serves on the board of Washington PSR, discusses how gas stoves are harmless when turned on and off since they always emit nitrogen dioxide.
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Los Angeles:

• L.A. is banning most gas appliances in new homes. Get ready for electric stoves
  Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of Los Angeles PSR, expresses optimism as city officials work with disadvantaged communities to implement electrification.
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Pennsylvania:

• Can Philadelphia’s gas utility survive in a climate where fossil fuels are shunned?
  Walter Tsou, former city health commissioner and a board member of Pennsylvania PSR, states that funding should not be put towards increasing the usage of renewable natural gas, which is as harmful as natural gases. Thus, efforts towards implementing electrification should be prioritized instead.
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Oregon:

• Gas stoves are hazardous to your health, Multnomah County report says
  Dr. Melanie Plaut, a retired doctor now volunteering with Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, communicates that many individuals are unaware of the fact that the majority of indoor pollution comes from kitchens. Multnomah County is working on transitioning towards electrification to decrease asthma prevalence.
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Colorado:

• Advocates ask Denver council to require all-electric new homes
  Sharon Montes, a physician for 30 years and a representative of Colorado PSR, states the long-term financial and health benefits of electrification over gas stoves.
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National:

• PSR Calls for Gas Stoves Hearing
  PSR wrote a letter calling for a congressional hearing to discuss the harms of gas stoves.
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• Gas Stove Controversy Heats Up
  In response to Senators Ted Cruz and Joe Manchin’s legislation against funding for banning gas stoves, PSR wrote a statement that says public health issues should not be politicized. Instead, the source causing public health harm should be stopped.
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• Thousands of Americans call for safeguards from gas stove health risks, as public health organizations mark World Asthma Day
  Barbara Gottlieb, Director of Environment and Health at PSR, asserts that the Consumer Product Safety Commission should require that stoves bear information on the harms of and alternatives to gas stoves.
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• Why Gas Stoves Are More Hazardous Than We’ve Been Led to Believe
  This article in Slate spotlights PSR activist T. Stephen Jones as he talks about the hazards from gas stoves, including particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and formaldehyde.
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Reports:

• Health Effects from Gas Stove Pollution
  This report, coauthored by PSR, Mothers Out Front and Sierra Club, provides information on how gas stoves increase indoor pollution, causing more respiratory illnesses, especially in children. This report acknowledges the Massachusetts Medical Society's work (led by Dr. T. Stephen Jones, above, and Dr. Brita Lundberg of Greater Boston PSR) in informing health professionals about the connections between gas stoves, indoor pollution, and asthma in children.
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Guides:

• How to Protect Yourself from Gas Stove Pollution
  From PSR’s website: various pieces of advice to reduce the effects of harmful gas emissions from gas emissions, such as opening windows to increase ventilation indoors. Additionally, electric induction stoves and plug-in induction burners are proposed as efficient alternatives to gas stoves.
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Infographics:

• PSR Infographic Campaign about Southwest Gas
  In a colorful, easy-to-absorb format, this PSR Instagram post warns customers of Southwest Gas about gas stoves and the harmful gases they emit.
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• Dangers of Gas Stoves
  In this Twitter post, National PSR and PSR Arizona show customers of Southwest Gas that gas stoves exacerbate asthma and the risk of cancer.
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Resolution:

• Gas stoves are contributing to childhood asthma in Massachusetts, study finds
  Brita Lundberg, chair of the board at Greater Boston PSR, co-authored the December 2019 resolution that provides information on the connection between gas stoves and childhood asthma. It was approved by the Massachusetts Medical Society House of Delegates and led to the adoption of a similar resolution by the American Medical Association.
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Statements:

• PSR’s Statement on the Human Health Effects of Gas Stove Use
  PSR recommends different ways people can take to reduce their exposure to these emissions, including using an exhaust hood or opening windows while cooking, and using electric-powered kitchen appliances whenever possible.
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• PSR Responds to the Introduction of the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act
  PSR Brief Statement in response to harmful legislation against efforts to ban new or existing gas stoves in Gas Stove Controversy Heats Up.
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Letters:

• Health Professional Letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Gas Stove Hazards
  This health professional letter, created by PSR, asks the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require stove producers to let their customers know the hazards of gas stoves on health.
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Webinars:

• Cooking With Gas: Health Harms from Gas Stoves
  A CME-accredited training by Zach Williams, MPH, PSR’s Health Educator, informs health professionals about the harmful pollution emitted by gas stoves and how they can educate their patients about it.
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Videos:

• The Health Risks of Gas Stoves with WPSR’s Dr. Mark Vossler
  Dr. Mark Vossler, cardiologist and President of Washington PSR, talks about the harmful effects of gas stoves on children’s health. He recommends that low- and middle-income families receive electric stoves first to improve their health outcomes and reduce the severity of asthma symptoms or prevent the onset of new cases of asthma.
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• PSR Launches PSA on Health Harms of Gas Stoves
  A Public Service Announcement in which PSR states that the harm of using a gas stove is equivalent to that of smoking. Spanish subtitles are available.
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Fact Sheets:

• Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet
  Fact sheet that displays the harms of gas stoves and ways to mitigate their effects, including opening windows and running an exhaust hood.
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• Contaminación por Estufas de Gas
  Spanish translation of “Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet”
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• Talking with Landlords about Gas Stove Pollution in Rental Units
  Includes information for renters in New York City on asking landlords to switch to electric stoves. It emphasizes the advantages, such as affordability and energy efficiency.
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• Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
  Displays the health impacts of gas stoves and contains information that health professionals should communicate to their patients about gas stoves, especially patients in at-risk populations.
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• Contaminación por Estufas de Gas para profesionales de la salud
  Spanish translation of ”Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet for Health Professionals”
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Miscellaneous:

• Warn Your Patients About Gas Stoves
  Offers a subscription to “My Green Doctor,” a money-saving benefit run by PSR board president Todd Sack, MD, to help doctors “green” their clinics and practices. It includes information about the dangers of gas stoves.

Benefits of Induction and Electric Stoves:

• A welcome alternative to the risks of natural gas
  Presentation: The Health Impacts of Gas Stoves
  Dr. Michael Martin, professor at the University of California, San Francisco and board member of San Francisco PSR, emphasizes the health harms of gas stoves being equivalent to smoking and discusses the importance of acknowledging scientific findings on gas stove health harms.
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• Gas vs. electric stoves: Breaking down some burning health and environment questions
  Dr. Brita Lundberg, chair of the board at Greater Boston PSR, proposes different ways that gas stove harms can be mitigated and discusses the benefits of owning an electric stove over a gas stove.
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• Induction Stoves
  Benefits of induction stoves. They are safer for health, less polluting of the environment, unlikely to inflict burns, and easier to clean.
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• Under-the-Radar Health Hazards: Gas Stoves
  Lisa Doggett, MD, PSR Texas President, details how the executive director of Texas PSR reported less coughing after switching from a gas stove to an induction stove.
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Mitigating risks of a gas stove:

• Living with a gas stove? Tips for minimizing health risks
  Dr. Annemarie Dooley, a Seattle doctor who serves on the board of Washington PSR, identifies the harmful gases, such as formaldehyde, emitted by gas stoves, providing further evidence that gas stoves should come with a health warning.
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• New holiday cooking safety guide offers tips on how to avoid unhealthy air pollution from gas stoves
  Barbara Gottlieb, director of PSR’s Environment and Health Program, highlights the harms that gas stoves impose on children’s health, including causing and exacerbating asthma. Children living in homes that utilized gas stoves had a forty-two percent higher chance of exhibiting asthma symptoms.
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• Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet
  Mentions methods to protect yourself from gas stove pollutants, such as opening windows and obtaining a carbon monoxide monitor.

• Why I’m Firing My Gas Stove
  This article in Chatelaine discusses how neighborhoods most impacted by the harms of gas stoves, i.e. low-income neighborhoods, should be the first to receive electrification and energy optimization.
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• Push to phase out gas stoves over health concerns met with online anger
  Dr. Annemarie Dooley, a Seattle doctor who serves on the board of Washington PSR, addresses healthcare inequities affecting people in low-income neighborhoods, who are more likely to own gas stoves.
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• L.A. is banning most gas appliances in new homes. Get ready for electric stoves
  This Los Angeles Times article notes that the city has lagged in building state-required affordable housing for BIPOC neighborhoods, which are more likely to have gas stoves and be exposed to nitrogen dioxide pollution. It quotes PSR-L.A. leader Martha Dina Arguello.
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• Health Effects from Gas Stove Pollution
  This report, coauthored by PSR, emphasizes that interventions against gas stoves should be implemented in lower-income neighborhoods first.