Even when not in use, gas stoves release toxic and carcinogenic substances inside homes.
- The highest levels of pollutants were detected in Los Angeles.
- The State of California is preparing to replace gas stoves with induction cookers for climatic and sanitary reasons.
“The presence of hazardous air pollutants generated by natural gas is an understudied source of health risks to humans,” American researchers said. This is why they decided to carry out work published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. In one study, scientists examined 185 samples of unburned natural gas from gas stoves used in 159 homes in California.
The analyzes made it possible to identify 12 pollutants in almost all the samples collected, “with significant variability depending on the region and the gas company”. Among the ten most detected pollutants, six are hazardous air pollutants designated by health authorities.
Cancer: levels “of benzene in the kitchen comparable to second-hand smoke”
“Cookers leak small amounts of gas all the time, even when turned off. Although these leaks are often too small to smell, they can still impact air quality and increase risk to people. health in our homes. We have found that simply having a gas stove can create levels of benzene in the kitchen comparable to second-hand smoke.” said Eric Lebel, author of the research, in a statement.
According to the results, exceptionally high levels of benzene were observed in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. As a reminder, benzene is a gas, whose chemical formula is “C6H6”. It is classified as a carcinogen and has adverse health effects when regularly inhaled.
Gas stoves release the same amount of benzene as nearly 60,000 cars
In the work, the team also calculated the potential impact of gas leaks on outdoor air quality. Using existing emissions data, she found that gas stoves released the same amount of benzene as the emissions of nearly 60,000 vehicles each year.
“Natural gas leaks are a source of hazardous air pollutants that have been largely overlooked. Measures that phase out gas stoves are not only good for our climate, our study shows they also have important benefits for public health by improving indoor and outdoor air quality”concluded Drew Michanowicz, co-author of the work.
