Gas Stoves Are Bad For Your Health; Here’s How It Pollutes You and What to Do to Reduce Exposure

While some people prefer to cook with gas, experts warn that natural gas stoves and ovens produce dangerous chemicals that can contaminate the air inside your home and put your family's health at risk.

According to Stanford researchers, many stoves are continually spewing chemicals that can both warm the earth and pose significant health hazards when breathed.

A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology discovered that methane emissions from gas stoves in the United States are nearly comparable to the carbon dioxide emitted by half a million gas-powered automobiles in a year.

Eric Lebel serves as the study lead author. He was joined by Colin J. Finnegan, Zutao Ouyang, and Robert B. Jackson.

(Photo: INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
An illustration has taken on October 14, 2021, in Dortmund, western Germany, shows flames of a lit burner of a gas stove. - European and UK gas prices surged to record peaks, energized by fears of runaway demand in the upcoming northern hemisphere winter.

Gas Stoves Can Pollute You, Experts Say

Pollution levels are sometimes higher indoors than outside, which is concerning. The average American spends over 90% of their time indoors. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, interior air pollution levels can be two to five times greater than outside levels and occasionally even more than 100 times higher.

A gas burner might be one of the most prevalent sources of indoor air pollution in your kitchen. Methane, ethane, butane, and propane make up most of the natural gas it consumes (about 70-90 percent). When the gas is burnt, it produces a slew of pollutants, many of which are potentially dangerous.

More than 40 million households in the United States have cooking appliances because of their precise heat control. However, gas stoves are coming back due to their climate change involvement.

The potential for gas stoves to negatively influence the environment is substantial. Stanford researchers discovered per NPR that methane, a strong greenhouse gas, oozes from gas stoves even when they are turned off.

Researchers estimate that the annual methane produced by US gas stoves has a climatic impact comparable to nearly half a million gas-powered automobiles' carbon dioxide emissions. It's worth noting that, although lingering in the atmosphere for a shorter amount of time than carbon dioxide, methane has a warming potential 86 times more than its greenhouse gas cousin during a 20-year timeframe.

ALSO READ: Methane Coming from Our Gas Stove Contributes to Global Warming, Scientists Tell Us How It Happens

While the impact of gas stoves on the environment is the driving force for many of the recent rules and studies, the chemicals they emit may have an impact on your health as well.

How to Reduce Exposure to Gas Stove Pollutants

However, cooking on a gas burner inside your house means burning fuel in a much more enclosed environment. The resulting pollutants can't easily escape or dilute, especially, if there is no ventilation to the outside.

Good thing that you can still do something about it. Here's a to-do list to reduce your exposure to gas stove pollutants, as Los Angeles Times and Dyson suggested.

Use a range hood. Using this household staple would significantly reduce pollutant concentrations in your house. Cooking immediately below the ventilation system can also help.

Ventilation. Pollutants created by cooking are swiftly moved out of your home with sufficient ventilation. If you don't have a range hood or a mechanical ventilation system, open many windows while cooking to allow dirty air to escape.

Use electric stoves. While electric cooking does produce pollutants, it does so in much lesser quantities. Electric ovens and ranges have gone a long way, with various culinary options that take them well beyond the traditional red-hot coils. If typical electricity-heated burners still don't appeal to you, look into induction technology, which employs a magnetic field to heat metal cookware indirectly. This allows you to manage the temperature of your cooking without heating the range's surface, making it easier to clean and less prone to cause burns.

Air purifiers can help. Even if you don't cook, external contaminants can enter your house and severely influence the quality of your indoor air. Modern air purifying equipment can only be good in your home. Some purifiers can eliminate gases and smell while catching pollutants as tiny as 0.3 microns, capturing up to 99.97 percent of them. Latest air purifying technologies can now remove formaldehyde, a frequent pollutant created by cooking.

If you have the option, you can also use an electric stove. If not, be sure to clean and maintain your gas stove regularly and have a professional examine any pipe connections for leaks.