As in other European countries, gas and electric stoves still compete in German kitchens. Anyone who cooks with gas knows the advantages: direct heat, flexibly adjustable temperature and flame, without the need for special pans, as with induction cookers. Furthermore, gas is more economical than electricity. They are especially popular in restaurant kitchens.
However this older technology is often the subject of controversy. In New York, gas stoves should be banned in most new buildings from 2026. First and foremost, this is about reducing emissions of gases derived from petroleum and causing the greenhouse effect. However, according to researchers at Stanford University, United States, they also carry health risks.
The biggest source of concern is nitrogen dioxide (NO2), produced in large quantities during incineration processes, for example in factories, plants, heating devices and, above all, in traffic. And in the cooking process, its harmful effects are not restricted to the kitchen.
Professor Robert B. Jackson, from the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, one of the main authors of the study published in the online journal Science Advances, explains that “within an hour after using a gas stove, toxic concentrations in the bedroom exceed reference rates for health, and remain very high even hours after turning off the stove”. Therefore, this type of pollution would not just be a problem for cooks, but “for the whole family”.
Dangers of Nitrogen Dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide is a corrosive irritant gas that attacks the mucous membranes of the entire respiratory tract, especially the bronchi and lung alveoli, resulting in difficulty breathing, coughing and bronchitis, in addition to a greater propensity for respiratory infections and reduced lung capacity. .
Risk groups include, above all, those with respiratory diseases such as asthma or chronic bronchitis, as well as heart patients and children, whose lung development may be compromised. The Stanford authors estimate that the toxic cocktail emitted by gas stoves is responsible for up to 200,000 current cases of childhood asthma in the United States, a fifth of which are attributable specifically to NO2.
They calculate that 19 thousand deaths per year are the result of permanent exposure to nitrogen dioxide at home. This is equivalent to 40% of deaths from secondhand smoke in the country. At the same time, they emphasize that this is just an estimate, as it does not consider repeated exposure to extremely high levels of NO2, for brief periods, as occurs in homes with gas stoves.
Furthermore, the calculation would be based on previous studies on the harmful effects of the gas outdoors, where other toxic agents emitted by cars and plants are also present, the researchers emphasize.
The scientific team at Stanford University has already published several studies on gas stoves. Previous ones have looked at how these household devices emit methane gas and the carcinogen benzol. This research is another piece in the puzzle to understand the effects of these emissions on human health.
This time, they analyzed how strongly toxic substances spread in a home, concentrate and, finally, dissipate. In these calculations, the residential area constituted a measurable quantity. It was also found that the food itself emits very little to no NO2, and electric stoves emit absolutely no NO2 or benzol. “The problem is fuel, not food,” assures Jackson.
He and his team advise using a kitchen exhaust fan if available. Regularly ventilating the house also reduces the pollutant load.
Understand the risks of carbon monoxide
