United States: According to a recent exploration, those who constantly take in dangerously high amounts of nitrogen dioxide live in houses with gas or propane ranges.
Household Exposure Risks:
According to study, using these stoves regularly raises exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by an estimated 4 parts per billion over the course of a year also these studies include, that is 75% of the NO2 exposure threshold that the World Health Organization considers dangerous for outdoor air.
Lead researcher Yannai Kashtan, a PhD student in Earth system science at Stanford University, stated in a press release that “that’s excluding all outdoor sources combined, so it makes it much more likely you’re going to exceed the limit.”
Health Implications
Researchers found that long-term inhalation of elevated NO2 levels has been associated with impaired lung development in children and can exacerbate asthma episodes.
Researchers found that up to 200,000 instances of childhood asthma are now thought to be caused by a combination of pollutants from gas and propane stoves, with nitrogen dioxide alone accounting for 25% of these cases.
Asthma Cases and Fatalities
Researchers also found that long-term exposure to NO2 from gas stoves is high enough to be responsible for up to 19,000 fatalities annually.
For the study, NO2 concentrations were measured using sensors in over 100 different types of dwellings with different layouts, sizes, and ventilation systems.
Senior researcher Rob Jackson stated in a news release, “I didn’t expect to see pollutant concentrations breach health benchmarks in bedrooms within an hour of gas stove use, and stay there for hours after the stove is turned off.” He teaches in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University.
Residence Size Impact
Researchers discovered that annual exposure to NO2 is twice as high for residents in residences under 800 square feet, or around the size of a modest two-bedroom apartment, as opposed to the national average.
Additionally, compared to residents of the biggest residences under study—homes larger than 3,000 square feet—they are exposed to four times as much NO2.
Researchers noted that exposure varies among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups due to the significant impact of housing size.
Ventilation Recommendations
Researchers found that houses with Black and Hispanic residents had a 20% greater long-term NO2 exposure, while American Indian and Alaska Native homes had a 60% higher exposure.
According to Jackson, “people in poorer communities sometimes don’t have the money to replace their appliances, or they might rent and are unable to do so because they don’t own them.” “For the same stove use, those in smaller houses are also breathing in more pollution.”
Cooking food releases little to no nitrogen dioxide, according to the study.
Jackson stated, “It’s the fuel, not the food.” “Benzene and nitrogen dioxide are not released by electric burners. If you have a gas or propane stove, you must use ventilation to lower your exposure to pollutants.
Even with a range hood turned on and air venting outside, NO2 concentrations in bigger homes frequently shot up to dangerous levels, according to research findings.
We discovered that the single largest factor influencing your exposure is how much gas your stove burns. Do you have an efficient range hood after that, and do you utilize it? stated Kashtan.