Looking at the Hidden Health Hazards of Gas Stoves beyond Cooking
There has been so much news about gas stoves in Nigeria for a while now. While I would like to talk about a cheaper method of cooking, or you switch to an electric stove (which might be a little expensive depending on how you consume electricity and moreover, Nigeria doesn't even have uninterrupted light even when we supply other nations stable electricity). I would have loved to do the comparison between electric stoves and gas stoves but I would rather let us talk about the health impact of gas stoves since we are all conversant with it.
The reason for picking a gas stove is simple, most households in the US and the UK use gas, Most average-living Nigerian use gas, although we know that a lot of Nigerians live below the average and still use coal, and kerosene which I would touch later, but for now, let's do gas stoves. Do you know that having a gas stove in your house is hazardous to you even after eliminating the explosion factor?
The inherent danger of gas stoves extends beyond the risk of explosions. When a gas stove is ignited, the combustion of gas results in the formation of toxic substances like Nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide. These compounds can exacerbate respiratory issues and negatively impact our health. Gas, being a hydrocarbon-based fuel, emits harmful substances like Carbon monoxide, methane, and Formaldehyde, all of which pose threats to our respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
Some may believe that the emissions from their gas stoves are negligible compared to the pollutants released by vehicles. However, the cumulative effect of gas stove emissions is significant. In the US, gas stoves contribute to a staggering 28.1% of total stove emissions. If these emissions were released outdoors, they would likely be deemed environmentally harmful by regulatory authorities.
Do you know that when your gas stove isn't running, it still releases benzene as well as other chemicals that are carcinogenic to humans. The gases from cooking stove has been attributed to causing asthma in children, so that means that just having a gas in your home is enough risk as staying close to someone smoking and inhaling the second-hand smoke. About 13% of childhood asthma in the US ia attributed to gas stove, so we could say it is doing us lots of bad as well as cooking our food.
Methane Emmision from gas stoves is so much that the total emmision of gas stoves in the US can be compared to having about half a million cars on the road. While other gas appliances in the house emit their waste outside, the cooking gas stove does its own inside and like I wrote above that it emits lots of gases, so you can tell that it contributes to the total greenhouse gasses.
For those using gas stoves, incorporating ventilation systems or heat extractors can mitigate some of the risks. However, it's prudent to explore alternative cooking methods. Electric burners, including both standard and induction options, provide a cleaner and safer cooking experience by eliminating the emission of methane and other carbon-based pollutants.
Moreover, adopting safety measures such as maintaining a well-ventilated kitchen and ensuring children's restricted access during cooking can significantly reduce exposure to harmful emissions. As we strive for healthier living environments, understanding the health implications of our daily choices becomes imperative
Reference
- https://www.aeroqual.com/blog/meet-the-nitrogen-oxide-family
- https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.1939.0019
- https://www3.epa.gov/ttnchie1/ap42/ch01/final/c01s04.pdf
- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707
- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c09289
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gas-stoves-emit-more-of-the-carcinogen-benzene-than-expected/
- https://www.npr.org/2023/06/16/1181299405/gas-stoves-pollute-homes-with-benzene-which-is-linked-to-cancer
- https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/75
- https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/42/6/1724/737113?login=false
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-gas-stoves-bad-for-our-health/
- https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
- https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/nitrogen-dioxides-impact-indoor-air-quality
- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.2c02581
There are a lot of things that we actually do not know can be harmful to our health that are actually harmful. I usually advise people against staying close to people who smoke so they do not inhale the second-hand smoke into their body but when I say it, and tell them the health hazard, there is always this look of ignorance to the tips. We moved from coal to kerosine stoves, now gas, but electric cookers are now the next safer appliance. Over time things would innovate, having better ways to cook.
I usually do my best to stay away from people who are smoking when I am around them because I care for my health a lot, and possibly, we would move to appliances more environmentally friendly over appliances that would create greenhouse gases inside the house. Moreover, so many house appliances create these gases but most do them outside and not inside.
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Anything Gas related has a potential hazard to It. In my house, we use electric and gas stoves because butane is scarce in my city.
Also, a year ago I had to move out of my room because of a gas leak. When I walked in, I immediately smelled a strong gas odor. The strangest thing is that if you last about 2 minutes smelling it, you get used to the smell of gas and stop perceiving it.
Excellent post.