Science Advances report also finds people of color and low-income residents in US disproportionately affected

Science Advances report also finds people of color and low-income residents in US disproportionately affected

Using a gas stove increases nitrogen dioxide exposure to levels that exceed public health recommendations, a new study shows. The report, published Friday in Science Advances, found that people of color and low-income residents in the US were disproportionately affected.

Indoor gas and propane appliances raise average concentrations of the harmful pollutant, also known as NO2, to 75% of the World Health Organization’s standard for indoor and outdoor exposure.

That means even if a person avoids exposure to nitrogen dioxide from traffic exhaust, power plants, or other sources, by cooking with a gas stove they will have already breathed in three-quarters of what is considered a safe limit.

“When you’re using a gas stove, you are burning fossil fuel directly in the home,” said Yannai Kashtan, lead author of the study and a PhD candidate at Stanford University. “Ventilation does help but it’s an imperfect solution and ultimately the best way is to reduce pollution at the source.”

  • Digitalprimate@lemmy.worldEnglish
    255·
    6 months ago

    Folks this is a garbage study. N=18, and then extrapolating the dangers based on aggregated stats of disease states?

      • GBU_28@lemm.eeEnglish
        31·
        6 months ago

        Same, I want both, with proper ventilation.

        Gas for particular preparations where it’s traditional/ideal and induction for everything else

      • Digitalprimate@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        There are plenty of valid reasons for wanting one. I’m not against them. They just don’t suit my particular use case, and I hate deliberately misleading studies.

    • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
      102·
      6 months ago

      NO2 exposure hazards are already known, see the references in this study. This is only looking at NO2 production in homes, so I don’t think 18 is too small a sample size. It’s not like they’re trying to determine whether burning natural gas produces NO2, that’s a given. They’re looking at how much, how factors like hoods and airflow affect it, and how it goes throughout the house, not just in the kitchen.