We’ll take a quick look at the evidence in the review and then discuss why natural gas companies have fought so hard, for so long, to fend off regulation of gas stoves. They find that “gas stoves may be exposing tens of millions of people to levels of air pollution in their homes that would be illegal outdoors under national air quality standards.” One major source of indoor air pollution, it turns out, is the familiar gas stove, which relies on the direct combustion of natural gas.įour research and advocacy groups - the Rocky Mountain Institute, Mothers Out Front, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Sierra Club - have released a new literature review, assessing two decades worth of peer-reviewed studies. A patchwork of state and local standards protects consumers, inadequately. Yet here’s the doozy: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that “studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be two to five times - and occasionally more than 100 times - higher than outdoor levels.”ĭespite those risks, there are no federal standards or guidelines governing indoor pollution. EPAĪnd it’s a good thing, because an inexorably growing pile of research suggests that those pollutants are even more harmful to humans, at lower exposures, than previously believed. The six common air pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act - ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - have fallen an average of 74 percent since the Act was passed in 1970. ![]() Outdoor air is the subject of titanic legal and regulatory battles going back decades. So it’s a little odd that we don’t think more about indoor air quality. (Here in the Roberts household, it feels like we’ve hit 105 percent.) It is safe to say that, in the age of Covid-19, that number is even higher. In 2001, a major study of human activity patterns found that people in the US spend roughly 90 percent of their time indoors. The story that follows was originally published in May 2020. ![]() Vox’s coverage of that announcement, and of the potential public health risks of gas stoves, can be found here. Editor’s note, January 11, 2023: In December 2022, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced it would consider health regulations on gas stoves.
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