More than 40 million households in the US use a gas stove for cooking. And as you’ve heard in the news, these stoves create harmful indoor air pollution, emitting nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and fine particulate matter. These pollutants can exacerbate respiratory illnesses, like asthma, and are especially dangerous for children, whose lungs are still developing. These stoves also leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Moreover, pollution from gas stoves often has an outsize effect in Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income households. These families already experience disproportionate air pollution, because their homes are near heavy industry or simply because their homes are smaller and have poor ventilation.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has the authority to regulate products that pose an unreasonable risk of injury. The commission must protect families from gas stove pollution by implementing commonsense standards for these appliances, including:
- Requiring gas stoves to be sold with range hoods that meet mandatory performance standards
- Issuing mandatory performance standards for gas stoves that address methane leakage, including requiring automatic shut-off valves
- Issuing mandatory performance standards for gas stoves that address the health impacts of hazardous emissions
- Requiring labels on gas stoves that educate consumers about their exposure risks
- Launching a public education campaign on the health risks of cooking with a gas stove and steps that consumers can take to minimize their risk
Please take action to protect families from this dangerous indoor air pollution. Our children deserve nothing less.
TELL THE CPSC: PROTECT OUR FAMILIES FROM GAS STOVE POLLUTION