US: According to sources, the Biden administration is considering a national ban on gas stoves because they pose a “hidden hazard.”
The US Consumer Product Safety (CPSC), according to a Bloomberg story, has expressed concerns about the indoor pollution brought on by cooking stoves.
“This is a hidden hazard. Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” according to CPSC commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization have declared the pollution levels released by most residential stoves, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter, to be dangerous (WHO).
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Stove cooking creates twice as much PM 2.5 particles
Studies show that compared to electric cooking, stove cooking creates twice as much PM 2.5 particles. The hazardous nature of these gases can result in major respiratory health concerns, cardiovascular disorders, and even cancer when incorrect ventilation conditions are present.
The journal reported a clean energy specialist as saying, “There is about 50 years of health studies showing that gas stoves are bad for our health, and the strongest evidence is on children and children’s asthma.”
Over 35% of American houses currently have a gas stove. In places like California and New Jersey, where up to 70% of homes use the aforementioned stoves, the number is extremely high.
According to a new study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, exposure to gas stoves and their harmful gases may be to blame for nearly 13% of asthma cases in children in the US.
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Leaders urge CPSC to act quickly on the issue
Leaders of the Democratic Party, including Cory Booker, Don Beyer, and Elizabeth Warren, have already written to the CPSC to urge them to act quickly on the problem. They claimed that black, Latino, and low-income households were most harmed by the hazardous pollutants from the cooking stoves.
However, detractors of the decision claim that prohibiting one of the most inexpensive kinds of cooking will strain households’ budgets because electric homes need pricey retrofits. They contend that increased focus should be placed on enhancing indoor air ventilation.
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