WASHINGTON (Yaakov M / VINnews) — The Biden administration may impose a ban on a convenience that many Americans benefit from.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is considering a national ban on gas stoves — due to the harmful pollutants released by the appliances, according to CNN.
Recent studies show that the emissions can cause health and respiratory problems. In addition, members of Congress claim that gas stoves are more harmful to Blacks and Hispanics than to White people.
“This is a hidden hazard,” CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”
A December 2022 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that almost 13% of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use.
“Short-term exposure to NO2 is linked to worsening asthma in children, and long-term exposure has been determined to likely cause the development of asthma,” a group of lawmakers said in a letter, adding it can also exacerbate cardiovascular illnesses.
The letter, signed by Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and others, argued that Black, Latino and low-income households are more likely to be affected by these illnesses, because they are either more likely to live near a waste incinerator or coal ash site or are in a home with poor ventilation.
Some reports have shown that the stoves emit pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine matter at levels deemed unsafe by the EPA and WHO.
The studies also linked gas stoves to respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, cancer and other health conditions.
In a statement to CNN, the CPSC said the agency has not proposed any regulatory action on gas stoves at this time, and any action would “involve a lengthy process.”