The indoor health hazard most Californians overlook

"We are used to being concerned about air pollution outdoors, but we aren't used to thinking about air pollution when we're inside our homes," Rob Jackson, the study's senior author and an earth system science professor at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, told SFGATE. "For the average American, one quarter of all the asthma-triggering nitrogen dioxide that they breathe comes from their stove indoors. That's not something most people are aware of."

"For many people, most exposure to nitrogen dioxide comes from outdoor sources like fuel-burning cars and trucks. But the study found that more than 22 million Americans are breathing amounts of nitrogen dioxide that exceed the World Health Organization's safety thresholds because of their added exposure from gas stoves. Exposure was the highest in big cities, where outside levels of nitrogen dioxide trend high and living areas small."

"California had the highest percentage of households cooking with natural gas nationwide in 2020, with approximately 70% using flames instead of electric burners. Now, Stanford scientists and their colleagues have investigated how much those gas and propane stoves drive up total exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant they link to health issues like asthma and lung cancer."

Approximately 70% of California households cooked with natural gas in 2020, using open flames rather than electric burners. Swapping gas and propane stoves for electric burners reduces nitrogen dioxide exposure by about 25% on average across the United States. For the average American, roughly one quarter of asthma-triggering nitrogen dioxide inhalation originates from indoor stoves. More than 22 million Americans experience nitrogen dioxide amounts above World Health Organization safety thresholds because of added indoor stove exposure. Exposure is highest in large cities where outdoor nitrogen dioxide levels are elevated and living spaces are smaller. In California, gas stoves account for about 23% of average total nitrogen dioxide exposure, similar to the national share.

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