--- title: "The US Government Is Considering a Ban on Gas Stoves" description: "The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has its eyes set on banning new gas stove products in the wake a of new study that links it to childhood asthma." date: "2023-01-11" modified: "2023-01-11" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-government-considering-gas-stove-ban" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "gas" - "gas stoves" - "natural gas" - "the digest" --- # The US Government Is Considering a Ban on Gas Stoves ![The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has its eyes set on banning new gas stove products in the wake a of new study that links it to childhood asthma.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Hidden Hazard Can't stand the heat? The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is weighing a ban on gas stoves, [*Bloomberg* reports](), as evidence piles up that they emit harmful pollutants linked to asthma in children. "This is a hidden hazard," said agency commissioner Richard Trumka in an interview with the outlet. "Any option is on the table," he added. "Products that can't be made safe can be banned." But Trumka later clarified that a ban wouldn't mean feds coming to your house to tear out your grandma's gas stove. "To be clear, CPSC isn't coming for anyone's gas stoves," he wrote in a [tweet](). "Regulations apply to new products." ## Noxious Fumes Still, a potential ban isn't something that's likely to fly well with many chefs, nevermind the 35 percent of homes in the country that currently use gas stoves. But the case against them grows more compelling by the day. The latest and likely not the last nail in the coffin is a new [study]() published last month in the *International Journal of Environmental Research* that linked gas stoves to kids developing childhood asthma. To paint an even uglier picture, the study found that 12.7 percent of all childhood asthma cases in the country can be attributed to using gas stoves, totaling around 650,000 kids. Gas stoves can release a number of dangerous pollutants like carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, but in particular it's nitrogen dioxide — a known lung irritant — that's singled out as causing asthma in children. "It's like having car exhaust in a home," study coauthor Brady Seals [told the *Washington Post*]() last week. "And we know that children are some of the people spending the most time at home, along with the elderly." ## Predictable Pushback The natural gas industry hasn't been taking these claims sitting down. Last week, the American Gas Association released a [statement]() condemning the study's methodology — [a common tactic]() — claiming that "no measurements or tests based on real-life appliance usage" were conducted, and suggesting that the health risk estimations the authors used were possibly "wrong or biased." Meanwhile, in a [statement]() to *CNN*, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers have upheld good ventilation rather than a blanket ban as the key to combating indoor pollution. Take either interested party's claims with a grain of salt, of course. As of now, no regulatory action has been proposed, the CPSC [told *CNN*](), and any concrete action would require a "lengthy process." **More on natural gas:** *[Russia's Main Pipelines Leak Natural Gas Into Sea After Apparent Explosions]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()