Ohio asthma cases attributable to gas stoves

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Gas stove pollution is responsible for a percentage of childhood asthma in Ohio, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, finds that gas stove use is responsible for 12.7 percent of childhood asthma cases nationwide.

Researchers found that Ohio could avoid nearly 10 percent of childhood asthma if gas stoves were not present in homes.

The findings accompany research connecting gas stoves with unhealthy air quality in homes. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant from gas stoves when in use, is tied to elevated risks of developing asthma.

Researchers at UCLA found that 90 percent of all homes have unhealthy levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution after cooking with gas for just one hour, and homes with gas stoves have 50 percent to over 400 percent higher nitrogen dioxide concentrations than homes with electric stoves.

The study comes on the heels of a letter last month from Rep. Shontel Brown and other members of Congress, urging the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to address indoor air pollution from gas stoves.

In Dec. 2022, CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said that a ban on gas stoves is a “real possibility” in a webinar with the U.S. Public Research Interest Group.

More information on health effects from gas stove pollution can be found here.