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Federal Gas Stove Ban?

Reports abounded last week about the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and “gas stoves” based on a letter from 20 legislators. Early reports indicated that an outright ban on gas ranges was on the table, but CPSC Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric has since clarified that there is no plan for the Commission to pursue a ban. The clarification comes after days of criticism from key legislators, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and the Chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA). A formal request for information is expected in March. President Biden’s staff also weighed in saying that “The President does not support banning gas stoves.”

CPSC does, however, seem poised to consider some regulatory effort on gas cooking. While this effort targets gas ranges and not hearth products, it will certainly have wide-ranging implications. At a minimum, this is yet another step by state and federal decisionmakers to curtail – and in some cases eliminate – the use of gas-burning products.

This letter from the Hill was partly a public response to several suspect studies on cooking and indoor air quality impacts – pieces that have been touted by environmental advocates and some in the media without much oversight. With careful review of the “studies,” it becomes apparent what is being purported as settled science is anything but.

UCLA researchers in 2020 published a study that linked gas stoves to asthma. The study compared emissions at “peak concentrations” to average standards. The result was obviously skewed simply based on the uneven comparisons. Coincidently, using the same data when comparing against the same metric, the emissions were recorded well below established health standards. Unsurprisingly, this research was funded by the Sierra Club, an environmental activist group that is staunchly anti-fossil fuel.

Similarly, a 2022 study published by Stanford warned that gas stoves not only cause health issues, but also contribute to global warming. A cursory reading of the study would show that the environment tested for the study encased the kitchen in plastic sheets and removed all sources of ventilation. This is clearly not an accurate representation of the average American kitchen. While surely not every home has a perfect ventilation system, no kitchens operate in a plastic sealed vacuum!

Many of the studies claim that hazardous particulate matter in the air is a result of gas stoves. They ignore the fact that the vast majority of particulate matter released in the air comes from the food you are cooking. Even if you mandated electric stoves across the country, you wouldn’t be addressing the largest source of emissions in the kitchen: your food.

What is most damning isn’t the unrealistic assumptions, fuzzy math, or tarped off kitchens: it’s what is deliberately ignored. The largest analysis of links between gas stoves and childhood asthma was published in the National Library of Medicine and funded by a British healthcare company. After the study that included over 500,000 children sampled worldwide, researchers found “no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis.”

With the evolving narrative of a polarizing issue, there is much to learn about how this process will play out. HPBA will be keeping a close eye on developments. The rulemaking – which insiders indicate may even contemplate a ban on gas ranges – is expected to take a year or more. HPBA will look for ways to take part in the public comment process as it opens.