Government officials are considering a ban on gas-burning stoves.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) initiated a recall on a portable gas stove in October due to fire risks it had posed as a result of gas leaks.
Richard Trumka Jr., a CPSC commissioner, stated in an interview that the agency was considering banning gas stoves due to alleged respiratory and other health problems.
“This is a hidden hazard,” said Trumka. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”
Trumka said these kinds of stoves could emit dangerous levels of toxic chemicals even when they were not being used.
Most gas-burning stoves in the United States burn methane gas. While this gas is considered non-toxic and harmless in limited quantities, it does present a risk of suffocation if it displaces too much air.
Research conducted by Stanford University in 2021 on stoves from 53 California homes found that over three-quarters of methane gas escapes from a stove when the stove is inactive. Only one of the 53 stoves had no measurable leak.
Consumer Reports cited the Stanford study in December 2022 and said potentially high levels of nitrogen dioxide emitted from burners in a lab kitchen without adequate ventilation could pose a risk to people with asthma and other respiratory disorders.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the gas leaking from stoves can irritate airways in the human respiratory system and may aggravate respiratory diseases such as asthma.
Such respiratory disorders are often linked to obesity, a major public health crisis affecting Dallas-Fort Worth in particular, which has one of the highest rates of obesity of any U.S. metro area.
But, as former Texas congressman, White House physician, and Navy Rear Admiral (retired) Ronny Jackson pointed out, “187 MILLION Americans have gas stoves in their homes, and it will cost a FORTUNE to replace them.”
“There’s no ‘science’ behind this” attempt by the government to ban gas stoves, Jackson claimed.
U.S. Representative Gary Palmer (R-AL) also dismissed the idea of banning gas-burning stoves nationwide on Monday.
“Over 40 million American households use gas stoves,” said Palmer in a tweet. “This type of power should never have been given to unelected bureaucrats, and it is time for it to end.”
Trumka quickly responded, noting that the agency would not come after existing product consumers and that new regulations would only apply to new products.
“For Americans who CHOOSE to switch from gas to electric, there is support available — Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a $840 rebate,” explained Trumka.