Study Finds More Evidence Gas Stove Pose a Potential Cancer Risk in Homes Nationwide

Proper ventilation can significantly lower the risk of benzene exposure from gas stoves, which may decrease the incidence of cancer for residents living in the home.

New data suggests using gas stoves in homes without ventilation increases a person’s risk of cancer by up to 16 times in certain cases, renewing concerns about the safety of gas stoves installed in homes throughout the U.S.

According to findings published in the July 15 issue of Journal of Hazardous Materials, gas stove use doubles the cancer risk for children compared to adults, adding to a growing body of research that highlights the serious health hazards associated with gas stove emissions.

Recent Research Warns of Gas Stove Health Risks

Roughly 47 million American households have natural gas stoves. However, these stoves can produce nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and benzene, which is a known carcinogen.

Chronic exposure to benzene has previously been linked to an increased risk of leukemia and other types of cancers. Benzene exposure can also cause sleepiness, headaches, body pain, tremors, memory loss and skin allergies.

Research published in March indicated children are especially susceptible to exposure to benzene from gas stoves. Children are exposed to twice the levels of benzene as adults which greatly increases their risk of developing cancer.

A study published by Stanford University researchers indicates cooking with gas stoves emits similar levels of benzene that are seen with secondhand cigarette smoke. Another study published last year indicated exposure to benzene from indoor gas stoves not only increases the risk of cancer but also other health conditions, including irritating airways and increasing the risk a child will develop asthma and chronic lung disease.

Increasing concerns about the safety of gas stoves have led federal regulators to propose limits on gas stove emissions.

For the new study, researchers from Stanford University evaluated population-level benzene exposure for the 6.3 million U.S. residents exposed to the top 5% highest benzene-emitting gas stoves. The research team used the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s CONTAM, a multiline indoor air quality model, to simulate benzene concentration distributions across 24 floorplans, ranging in square footage from 690 to 2,840.

Led by Anchal Garg, the team looked at a combination of predicted levels of benzene, measured levels from indoor residential sources, and room-based measurements, evaluating low, medium and high use gas stoves.

The data indicated using gas stoves on medium or high without ventilation increases the risk of cancer and exceeds the benzene limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). High use without ventilation exceeded California’s 8-hour reference benchmark limit for cancer effects.

Benzene exposure was the highest in apartments and small houses, especially among those that did not use ventilation from vented hoods or open windows.

Ventilation helped reduce the risk, especially when high efficiency vented hoods were used, according to the data. Vented hoods reduced the benzene concentration by 25%, high efficiency hoods reduced the concentrations by nearly 75%, the researchers determined.

Leaving windows open all day reduced benzene levels by 95% to 99% with high and medium stove use. Among moderate stove use, leaving the windows open one hour in the morning and afternoon and two hours at night decreased benzene levels by 42%.

Children Face Increased Gas Stove Cancer Risks

The data also suggests that children’s exposure to gas stove emissions increases their cancer risk 1.85 times higher than adults. However, the Cumulative Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk often exceeded the WHO safe threshold of IE-06 by four to 16 times. Benzene exposure also increased the risk of other non-cancer side effects, according to the data.

The findings show gas stove exposure increases the risk of cancer, especially in homes that have high stove use and do not properly ventilate the spaces with hoods or by opening windows, the researchers concluded.

They also called for more efforts to address benzene emissions and other indoor air pollution, especially from household appliances like stoves, to help improve public health. Switching to electric stoves, opening windows for longer periods of time, and using high-efficiency hoods while cooking all can help reduce the risks, the researchers concluded.