Why Californians need gas stove health warning labels August 5, 2024

Bret Andrews, DO, Board Member, San Francisco Bay PSR | Capitol Weekly

Roughly 70% of California homeowners cook with gas and many of them are not aware of the more than four decades of research that shows the health harms of gas stove pollution indoors. “Natural” gas stoves are the only appliances that exhaust their pollution right into our homes, and ventilation fans are typically not used and only partially protect us. Stoves and ovens easily produce levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution considered unsafe by the EPA’s one-hour exposure guidelines within minutes and increased levels of nitrogen dioxide are associated with substantial increased childhood asthma risk and other health harms. Especially in smaller homes, high levels of nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves can persist for hours, even in distant bedrooms, and this disproportionately effects People of Color and lower income. A recent study estimates that eliminating gas cooking in California homes would drop the rate of childhood asthma by 20%. This extensive knowledge has led to the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and Physicians for Social Responsibility publicizing the hazards of gas stoves.