Research linking natural gas cooking to 12% of childhood asthma cases has ignited a national debate about the safety of kitchen stoves, and prompted calls for stepped-up regulation.
A study conducted by the American Lung Association found that 650,000 US children wouldn’t have developed asthma if their homes had electric or induction stovetops, comparing the impact of electric or induction stovetops to second-hand smoke.
According to an expert involve in the study, gas remains far healthier than cooking with wood, charcoal, and coal, which are reported to cause 3.2 million deaths annually from household air pollution, primarily in developing countries.
Research linking natural gas cooking
It published last month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health as a peer-reviewed study.
Based on a review of 41 previous studies, it calculates the risk of asthma development in homes with gas stoves.
In the US, gas cooking was linked to 12.7% of childhood asthma cases, based on the calculation and the US census data.
A similar calculation was used in 2018 research that attributed 12.3% of childhood asthma cases to gas stoves.
According to a report release Monday, gas cooking causes 12% of childhood asthma in the European Union.
A report released by CLASP and EPHA which has not been peer-review has not peer-review.
Excessive levels of N02
Various European household kitchens subjected to computer simulations conducted by TNO, the Netherlands’ research organization.
In all but one scenario, nitrogen dioxide levels exceeded EU and World Health Organization guidelines several times a week.
Asthma and other respiratory conditions have been linked to nitrogen dioxide, which is emitted when gas is burned.
To confirm the results, CLASP will measure air quality in 280 kitchens across Europe this year.
In the U.S., gas stoves are being closely scrutinized.
According to Trumka Jr., a commissioner at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency will “consider all regulatory options”.
As he later explained, “CPSC is not coming after gas stoves. Regulations apply only to new products.”
As a lobby group, the American Gas Association called the US study “advocacy-based math with no new science added”.
Co-author of the study Brady Seals rebuffed the statement from the lobby group.
She told AFP it was just math. Nevertheless, it provides us with a new number.”
Insufficiently clean
Several studies have shown that even when gas stoves are turned off, methane can leak out, according to Dr. Jackson of Stanford University. According to the US paper, asthma can be triggered by indoor pollution from gas stoves.
However, researchers working on cleaner alternatives to wood, coal, and charcoal expressed their concern.
Asthma and pollution from gas stoves are still not definitively linked, according to Professor Daniel Pope of Newcastle University.
She is part of a research team commissioned by the WHO to summarize the health effects of different kinds of heating and cooking fuels.
Researchers found a “substantial reduction in risk” when people switched from solid fuels and kerosene to gas, Pope told AFP.
According to him, gas has negligible effects (mostly non-significant) compared to electricity for all health outcomes, including asthma.
The study reported on the association between exposure to gas cooking and asthma using 1970s studies and didn’t assume a causal link.
“Gas stoves are well-known and well-researched for their risk, but the international community has not explicitly acknowledged it.
Gas is certainly better than wood or coal when it comes to cooking, she said. There is a problem with cleanliness.”
