Gas stoves: a source of serious illness and premature death

Recent studies in homes using gas stoves have highlighted worrying exposure to high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). This gas, which can severely affect health, lingers in the air long after the flames have been turned off, impacting even those outside the kitchen.


Professor Rob Jackson from Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability, lead author of the study published on May 3 in Science Advances, expressed his surprise at finding pollutant concentrations exceeding health thresholds in bedrooms, persisting hours after the stove was used. According to him, pollution from gas stoves is not just a problem for those preparing meals, but affects the entire household.

Prolonged exposure to NO₂ can exacerbate asthma attacks and is associated with reduced lung development in children and premature deaths. Although most NO₂ exposures come from vehicles burning fossil fuels, researchers estimate that emissions from gas stoves are responsible for nearly 200,000 current cases of childhood asthma in the United States, with one-quarter of these cases directly attributable to NO₂.


The research shows that, across the United States, typical use of a gas or propane stove increases exposure to nitrogen dioxide by about 4 parts per billion on average annually, which constitutes nearly three-quarters of the level recognized as unsafe by the World Health Organization for outdoor air.

The findings also indicate that NO₂ exposure is particularly high in small households, where concentrations can reach dangerous levels even when a range hood is used. Additionally, ethnic minorities and low-income households are disproportionately affected by this indoor pollution, often exacerbated by higher exposure to external sources of NO₂.

This study is part of a series of research conducted by Jackson's team on indoor pollution from gas stoves. Earlier work had already documented emission rates of other pollutants from these devices, including methane and benzene, but this new study focuses on the direct impact of these emissions on human health.