IS YOUR GAS STOVE DANGEROUS? SAY NO TO NO2 WITH AN AUSTIN AIR PURIFIER FROM: ALLERGY SOLUTIONS AIR PURIFIERS
About 35% of Americans use gas stoves at home. But many cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Berkely, have recently banned gas stoves from new buildings. Now, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned all Americans that the gas byproducts from gas stoves may be implicated in causing or exacerbating respiratory illnesses, particularly in children. We now have substantial information that gas stoves can cause air pollution and damage your health. In January, 2023, the CPSC backed off of an outright ban on gas stoves, but made it clear that the dangers are still serious and present.
According to Qunfang (Zoe) Zhang , an air pollution specialists at the Health and Exposure Assessment Branch in the California Air Resources Board’s Research Division, when you cook food using a gas stove, it leads to the emission of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, particulate matter, and various other pollutants. Worse yet, the air in your kitchen can be polluted by your gas stove even when it is off.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO) are included in the gases that emanate from your gas stove. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide is known to exacerbate asthma and increases the risk of respiratory infections, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Further, the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on clean energy, reported in 2020 that using a gas stove can lead to nitrogen dioxide levels that exceed both indoor and outdoor standards. Research shows that nitrogen dioxide can lead to significant inflammation in the lungs.
In an analysis performed by Environmental Science and Pollution International in May, 2018, a link was found between nitrogen dioxide and COPD. The International Journal of Epidemiology, in a 2013 analysis, found that children growing up in a home with a gas stove were at a 42% higher risk of having asthma currently, and a 24% higher risk of developing it during their lifetime.
Gas stoves are also linked to the formation of particulate matter that can be easily inhaled and affect your heart and lungs, according to the EPA. While all cooking may lead to the release of particulate matter, gas stoves have been found to lead to higher levels than electric stoves, according to a May 2017 study in The Science of the Total Environment.
Carbon monoxide levels have also been found to be higher in homes with gas stoves, according to the EPA. Carbon monoxide is often deemed the silent killer at high levels, but the EPA warns that low or moderate levels can also have health effects, ranging from fatigue to impaired brain function.
Gas stoves don’t just pollute your house. They also pollute the outside environment by releasing greenhouse gas methane. This is true even when they’re not in active use, according to a January 2022 study in Environmental Science and Technology. This study concludes that the total methane released from gas stoves across the United States each year could have a similar environmental effect as carbon dioxide emissions of half a million cars. Unventilated gas stoves can have a real effect on the air you breathe inside your home, and it plays a similar role to the outdoor air when it comes to developing or exacerbating pulmonary disease.
We have learned that gas stoves leak nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, among other pollutants, into the air you breathe. And they are bad -very bad- for your health. They can cause or exacerbate asthma, and the effects are worse in children. They can inflame your lungs, affect your heart, make it difficult to breathe, cause fatigue, impair brain function, exacerbate COPD, and at high levels can even be deadly.
So, what should you do? One choice is to replace your gas stove with an electric or induction stove, but this might be costly. If you choose to keep your gas stove, the key is ventilation. To do that, use a range hood that vents outside, according to the California Air Resource Board (ARB). Use back burners when possible since the vent works most effectively on them. Use a vent whenever you cook and turn it on before you start cooking. Also, put a carbon monoxide detector on each floor in your home. Be sure you have one in the kitchen, especially if you have a gas stove, to alert you to this silent, odorless killer.
You should have an Austin Air purifier in your kitchen as well, especially if you have a gas stove. Austin Air purifiers have been clinically proven at Johns Hopkins University to eliminate 99.97% of all particles larger than .3 microns and 95% of all particles larger than .1 microns. They cover up to 1500 square feet, and the filters last up to 5 years, so you will probably only need one in your kitchen, and you only need to change the filter once in 5 years. No other air purifier comes close to being as powerful. They are recommended for allergies, asthma, odors, gases, chemicals, chemical sensitivity to formaldehyde, and smoke. They have been proven effective in eliminating smoke, fumes, odors and airborne toxins for people living near wildfires, so they are a good option for your kitchen. There is no better air purifier on the market than Austin Air.
If you have a gas stove, call or email Allergy Solutions Air Purifiers, and we will get you a great price on an Austin Air Purifier, with quick and free delivery.