If reports are to be believed, the Biden administration is mulling a nationwide ban on gas stoves for being a ‘hidden hazard’.
According to a Bloomberg report, the US Consumer Product Safety (CPSC) has raised issues over the indoor pollution caused by cooking stoves.
“This is a hidden hazard. Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” said Richard Trumka Jr., CPSC commissioner.
The stoves used in households typically release pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter at a level which has been deemed unsafe by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO).
According to research, stove cooking produces double the PM 2.5 particulates than electric cooking. Under improper ventilation conditions, the toxic nature of these gases can cause serious respiratory health issues, cardiovascular problems and even cancer.
“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,” an expert in clean energy was quoted as saying by the publication.
Currently, over 35 per cent of households in the US use a gas stove. The number is particularly high in states such as California and New Jersey where as many as 70 per cent of households use the said stoves.
A recent study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that almost 13 per cent of asthma cases among US children could be attributed to exposure to gas stoves and their toxic fumes.
Democrat leaders such as Cory Booker, Don Beyer and Elizabeth Warren have already written to the CPSC, exhorting them to take urgent action on the issue. They argued that the harmful emissions by the cooking stoves particularly affected black, Latino and low-income households.
However, critics of the move that banning one of the most affordable forms of cooking will put a dent in the pockets of the citizens as electric homes require expensive retrofits. According to them, more emphasis should be put on improving indoor air ventilation.
(With inputs from agencies)
