When you hear about air pollution, you're usually likely talk hearing about the air you breathe outside the home—smog in Los Angeles, pollution from cars, and even the smoke emitted from a forest fire. But pollutants aren't limited to the air outside your home: A new study from researchers at Stanford University, published on May 10 in Science Advances, shows your kitchen may be damaging your lungs more than anywhere else.
You may love your gas stove, but that doesn't mean your gas stove loves you—especially if you live in a smaller space. Gas-burning ranges produce and spread nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution indoors, the study found.
“Gas and propane stoves increase long-term NO2 exposure 4.0 parts per billion volume on average across the United States, 75% of the World Health Organization’s exposure guideline,” it reads.
That increase causes around 50,000 cases of pediatric asthma from long-term exposure. Even short-term exposure “frequently exceeds both World Health Organization and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency benchmarks.”
People who live in apartments or houses that are smaller than 800 square feet can “incur four times more long-term NO2 exposure” than people who live in homes that are larger than 3,000 square feet. While 800 square feet might sound small, that can include two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living area.
The exposure isn’t equal among all households, either. Native American, Black, and Latino households were exposed to 20% more NO2.
“We’ve done a really good job in this country of reducing outdoor pollution,” Rob Jackson, professor of earth system science at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and a principal investigator on the study, told the New York Times. “But we’ve ignored the risks that people face indoors. And that’s the air that we’re breathing most of the time.”
While many chefs and home cooks prefer gas stoves, the environmental impact is tough to justify. Plus, alternatives to gas stoves, like an electric stove or an induction cooker, are improving every year. Some alternatives are even often quicker, safer, and more efficient than gas.
If you’re curious about the transition but don’t want to get a whole new stove just yet, consider trying out portable, plug-in induction cooktops. You won’t be the only one looking for other options, either: New York, Berkeley, California, and other cities are banning gas stoves in new buildings.