Here's where the research stands on gas stoves and childhood asthma (and climate change)

We’ve heard from medical experts (like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) about how gas stoves contribute to reduced cognitive performance, so we’re just about convinced that gas stoves (like hers) should be banned. The campaign against gas appliances isn’t new: Back in November 2019, 13 cities and one county in California enacted new zoning codes encouraging or requiring new construction to be all-electric. That means no more running natural gas lines to new dwellings. Why? Climate change:

It Might Be Time to Get Rid of Gas Stoves in Order to Fight Climate Change https://t.co/HHuznlfX5s pic.twitter.com/oe1J0eaJc1

— The Kitchn (@thekitchn) November 12, 2019

Here’s a very long but very good thread from Steve Everley that looks at where the research stands on gas stoves. In short, don’t seal your kitchen airtight when you cook.

With all the talk about #gasstoves and alleged health threats, it's worth providing some background on where the research currently is on this issue, and how the feds suddenly decided these appliances are a health risk.

🧵

1/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

First of all, the largest analysis of any link between gas stoves & childhood asthma (500,000+ children sampled worldwide) found “no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis.” https://t.co/vNADeKBKVv

2/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

That study finding no evidence of a link between gas stoves and asthma is being ignored by most of the groups claiming an inherent health risk. Unfortunately, many in the media are also ignoring it or simply unaware of it.

3/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

Another study found that peak NO2 emissions from gas stoves when using even the least effective ventilation fan was 15 ppb, considerably lower than the 100 ppb NAAQS for short-term exposure. https://t.co/FHrwozcOak

4/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

Again, this is why ventilation is so important. Even if you mandated an expensive shift from gas to electric, you wouldn't be addressing the largest source of emissions in the kitchen.

This is also why EPA and other agencies have focused on ventilation.

7/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

So how is it that this alleged "growing body of research" is linking gas stoves to negative health impacts?

In addition to the studies cited above concluding the opposite, let's take a look at some of those recent studies that supposedly support those claims.

8/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

In 2020 UCLA researchers issued a study claiming to link gas stoves to asthma, in which they compared max peak concentrations to averaged standards, which is not a valid comparison. Here are some of the headlines that study generated.

9/x pic.twitter.com/ifeps6c7yv

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

Interestingly, when the UCLA team's data are compared to the correct metric, it shows emissions well below established health standards. See this review of the UCLA paper for more on that.

10/xhttps://t.co/2JwXX787Dm

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

Also of note, the 2020 UCLA study was bankrolled by the Sierra Club, which is running multiple anti-fossil fuel campaigns. The researchers fully disclosed the funding from Sierra Club.https://t.co/jHuy4r6HpO
11/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

In January 2022, researchers at Stanford published a study linking gas stoves not only to health hazards but also climate change. Here are the headlines that study generated.

12/x pic.twitter.com/Y55esaqvD9

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

“Your Gas Stove Might Make You (and the Planet) Sick.” “Your gas stove could be hurting everyone around you.”

How did they arrive at that conclusion? The environment they created involved encasing a kitchen in plastic sheets, removing any ventilation, and then turning on the gas.

No, really. From the study itself.

13/xhttps://t.co/g3XPZ9QKes pic.twitter.com/0RgWEVercH

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

It should go without saying that an airtight kitchen encased in plastic sheets is not representative of any real-world kitchen that any of us actually use.

14/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

Of note: the UCLA study linking gas stoves to asthma from 2020 (referenced above) also assumed no ventilation in the kitchen.

Notice a trend here?

15/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

Another study released in the summer of 2022 claimed a link between residential gas use (i.e. stoves) and potential health risks. Here are the headlines that generated.

16/xhttps://t.co/oHwQqJ5eVt pic.twitter.com/MkfPKfWEMQ

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

“New Study Finds Gas Stoves Release Toxic Chemicals — Even When Turned Off.”

While the researchers did discover "trace amounts" of VOCs and called it a "hazard identification study," they didn't actually study exposure. As is well known, it's not the presence that determines health risks, but rather the volume/dose of exposure.

17/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

The presence of benzene or other substance doesn't necessarily mean you're at risk for contracting illnesses associated with that substance. There are varying levels of all sorts of things all around us.

That's why you have to determine what the actual exposure is.

18/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

There are many other studies, and proponents of gas stove bans claim they all point to inherent health hazards.

In reality, they paint a far more nuanced picture and really point toward the need for more range hood use (i.e. ventilation) regardless of stove type.

19/x

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

So in summary, the recent discussion about a potential ban on #gasstoves is not based on just one flawed study. It's based on several, as well as a misreading of a much larger body of research pointing toward another solution entirely.

/end

— Steve Everley (@saeverley) January 11, 2023

It’s based on wanting to kill off the use of fossil fuels … the claims of cognitive decline are just the cover.

pic.twitter.com/yX56uZzGkj

— Dave From Delco (@havertown_dad) January 11, 2023

Here’s another study being passed around that deserves scrutiny:

"We found"

This study was paid for and performed by 2 employees of a organization that partners with companies to remove gas lines from buildings

There was no possible way this study was ever going say that gas is fine. They had their conclusion done before they started https://t.co/oSOKTZpZsw

— PoliMath (@politicalmath) January 11, 2023

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