2023-06-21 12:35:09
The effect of gas stoves on health may be worse than passive smoking
A new study finds that household gas stoves emit significantly more benzene, a chemical linked to cancer, into indoor spaces than the amounts produced by secondhand smoke, or even levels found near oil and gas facilities.
According to the British newspaper “The Guardian”, the study looked at benzene levels in 87 homes in California and Colorado, and found that gas stoves often emit benzene at rates much higher than those described by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency as “safe”.
And leaving one gas burner open for 45 minutes raised benzene levels higher than those caused by secondhand smoke, or by oil and gas plants.
The study said that emissions from gas stoves are 10 to 25 times higher than those from electric stoves.
The Stanford University study team found that even low doses of airborne benzene increased the risk of a variety of cancers, including lymphomas and leukemia, by damaging people’s bone marrow.
High levels of benzene can last up to six hours throughout a home or apartment after the gas stove is turned off, according to the study.
A study earlier this year found that 1 in 8 cases of childhood asthma in the United States is linked to gas stove use.
And research published last year showed that emissions from gas stoves in American homes have the same greenhouse effect as that associated with half a million gasoline-powered cars.
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