The science is overwhelmingly clear: Gas stoves are a source of air pollution located inside your home. They can emit climate pollution, as well as pollution linked to asthma and other health problems. They can release pollution when turned on, and even when they’re off. In some cases, the exposure to pollution is low; in others, the exposure rivals what can occur outside, such as from traffic on busy intersections and highways.
While the scientific studies on this subject span continents and decades, the conventional wisdom is that these appliances, found in about a third of U.S. households, are perfectly safe. “Gas stoves have gotten pretty much a free pass as a source of air pollution in homes,” says Drew Michanowicz, senior scientist at the nonprofit research institute PSE Healthy Energy.
It’s a disconnect driven in part by successful marketing from the gas industry, which pitches this fossil fuel as a “natural” product and sells Americans on gas stoves as the best for cooking — through television ads, product placement, social media influencers and even by crashing Nextdoor neighborhood chats.
That PR campaign is up against very little public awareness about the risks and sources of indoor air pollution. “I think a lot of people, when they think about pollution they immediately think about big industrial facilities or major highways or power plants,” says Jonathan Levy, an environmental health professor at Boston University. “Fewer people think about what are the sources in our homes or our office buildings or wherever we spend most of our time during the day.”