May 5, 2020
A new study has found that gas appliances found in homes cause unhealthy air and negative health effects in humans.
In a study of homes and apartments in California, researchers from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health found that gas appliances emit a wide range of toxic pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and formaldehyde, which have been linked to respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease and premature death.
According to the researchers, cooking with a gas stove and oven for an hour raised concentrations of nitrous oxides beyond the legal limit in California in 90% of homes. Gas appliances were also found to contribute thousands of pounds of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide pollution into the air outside the homes.
The researchers found that replacing gas appliances with clean electric alternatives would reduce outdoor nitrous oxide and particulate matter pollution. That change would result in 354 fewer deaths, 596 fewer cases of acute bronchitis and 304 fewer cases of chronic bronchitis annually in California.
As of 2017, gas appliances remain a fixture in about a third of homes in the Midwest. About two-thirds of Midwest households had gas furnaces and gas water heaters, but only about 36% had gas ranges and 27% had gas clothes dryers.
