US federal agency considering ban on gas stoves

The federal agency is considering a ban on gas stoves, a source of indoor air pollution linked to childhood asthma.

In an interview with bloombergThe U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissioner said that using a gas stove is a “hidden danger”.

“Any option is being discussed. Products that cannot be made safe may be banned,” agency spokesman Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg. The report says the agency plans to “take action” to address indoor pollution caused by stoves.

The CPSC has been considering measures against gas stoves for several months now. Trumka Recommended in October that the CPSC is seeking public opinion about the dangers associated with gas stoves. Pollutants have been linked to asthma and worsening respiratory conditions.

A December 2022 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that indoor gas stove use was associated with an increased risk of ongoing asthma among children. The study found that nearly 13% of current cases of childhood asthma in the US are attributable to the use of gas stoves.

Trumka told Bloomberg that the agency plans to open a public discussion about the dangers associated with a gas stove. Options other than a ban include “setting emission standards for electrical appliances”.

Thirty-five percent of households in the United States use gas stoves, and a number approaching 70% in some states such as California and New Jersey. Other studies have shown that these stoves emit significant amounts of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter, which, if not properly ventilated, can raise indoor levels to unsafe levels, according to the EPA.

“Short-term exposure to NO2 is associated with worsening asthma in children, and long-term exposure is likely to cause asthma,” the group of lawmakers said in a statement. letter lead Alexander Hen-Sharik, adding that it could also exacerbate cardiovascular disease.

The letter — Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Elizabeth Warren among its signatories — argues that blacks, Hispanics, and low-income households are more likely to suffer from these adverse reactions because they are more likely to live near waste. in an incinerator or on coal ash, or in a poorly ventilated home.

In a statement to CNN, CPSC said the agency has not proposed any regulatory action for gas stoves at this time, and any regulatory action “would involve a lengthy process.”

“Agency staff plan to begin gathering data and public opinion on the potential hazards associated with gas stoves and to propose solutions to those hazards later this year,” the commission said in a statement. “Commission staff also continue to work with voluntary standards organizations to study emissions from gas stoves and eliminate potential hazards.”

Some cities in the USA connections to natural gas are prohibited in all new buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – Berkeley in 2019, San Francisco in 2020, New York in 2021. But as of February last year 20 states GOP-controlled legislatures passed so-called “preemption laws” to prevent cities from banning natural gas.

“What’s interesting to me about this new trend is that states seem to be trying to eliminate this possibility before cities try to catch it,” Sarah Fox, assistant professor of law at Northern Illinois University School of Law, told CNN last year. “The natural gas industry… has been very aggressive in pushing for this decision.”

In a statement to CNN Business, the Home Appliance Manufacturers Association said improved ventilation is the solution to prevent indoor air pollution during food preparation.

“A ban on gas cooking appliances will remove an affordable and preferred technology used in more than 40% of homes nationwide,” industry spokesperson Jill Notini said in a statement. “Banning gas cooking will not solve the general problem of indoor air quality during cooking because all forms of cooking, regardless of heat source, produce air pollutants, especially at high temperatures.”

The American Gas Association opposed the ban on natural gas in Blog Post in December, stating that it makes housing more expensive as “electric homes require costly upgrades.”

However, President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act includes a discount up to $840 for an electric stove or other electrical appliances and up to $500 towards the cost of switching from gas to electricity.

— CNN’s Ella Nielsen contributed to this report.

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