A US federal agency is considering a ban on gas stoves.
A official of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said that his organisation will start a formal evaluation process that could result in new rules, citing studies that link gas stoves to health issues, particularly asthma in children, according to The Bloomberg.
A federal agency is exploring a ban on gas stoves, a source of indoor pollution related to childhood asthma, according to a US Consumer Product Safety Commission official, who said that using gas stoves poses a "hidden hazard."
"This is a hidden hazard. Any option is on the table. Products that can't be made safe can be banned," Richard Trumka Jr, an agency commissioner, said in an interview with Bloomberg.
A report published in Harvard Health Publishing states that cooking with gas stoves creates nitrogen dioxide and releases additional tiny airborne particles known as PM2.5, both of which are lung irritants. Nitrogen dioxide has been linked with childhood asthma. During 2019 alone, almost two million new cases worldwide of childhood asthma were estimated to be due to nitrogen dioxide pollution.
"Children living in households that use gas stoves for cooking are 42% more likely to have asthma, according to an analysis of observational research."
More than 12% of current childhood asthma cases in the US can be linked to using gas stoves, according to fresh peer-reviewed research that was published last month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
The Bloomberg report further said that natural gas distributors, whose business is threatened by the growing push to electrify homes, argue that a ban on natural gas stoves would drive up costs for homeowners and restaurants with little environmental gain.