Benzene, a carcinogen, and 11 other hazardous chemicals are leaking from gas stoves
A startling new study reveals that gas stoves are leaking harmful, perhaps cancer-causing substances into the house even while they are off.
Stoves in California were discovered to be producing 12 dangerous compounds, including the carcinogen benzene, according to PSE Healthy Energy researchers. Nearly all of the study’s tested stoves contained the extremely toxic chemical, making the issue nearly universal.
Leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and a number of other serious medical disorders have all been associated with it. Up to seven times the permitted exposure levels, according to health experts, were found in the air inside the home.
Due to their negative effects on the environment and the pollutants that they expose users to within their homes, experts have advised against using these stoves. There are about 40 million gas burners in American homes despite health experts’ warnings.
According to earlier studies, having a gas stove in the house can hurt children who have asthma the most and produce as much air pollution as a freeway.
Researchers discovered that gas stoves commonly contain 12 harmful compounds. The most common was hexane, which has been connected to nerve injury. Nearly every stove in the sample contained the cancer-causing chemical benzene as well.
Around 40 million American homes have gas stoves, which means that millions may be unknowingly exposed to these harmful pollutants. Boston University professor Dr. Jonathan Levy advises the 40 million American homes that still use gas stoves to switch to electric.
Researchers collected gas samples from 159 stoves located in 16 different California counties, and they published their findings in the journal Environmental Science and Technology on Thursday.
The size of the kitchen, ventilation, and the number of chemicals being leaked were all factors employed in a model that assessed the average exposure to chemicals.
The most hazardous substance of the lot, benzene, was discovered in almost every burner. The air in homes had the greatest quantities of hexane, with an average of about 7.5 parts per million by volume (ppmv).
Long-term exposure to the substance is known to result in irreversible paralysis and nerve damage in the feet, legs, and hands of those exposed. Researchers collected gas samples from 159 stoves located in 16 different California counties, and they published their findings in the journal Environmental Science and Technology on Thursday.
At 5 ppmv, cyclohexane, the second most prevalent chemical, can burn people and irritate their noses and throat. Benzene is a carcinogenic substance present in glue and paint. In the US, benzene—also known as a carcinogen—is frequently used in manufacturing. It causes cancer.
It is used to make items including plastic, nylon, rubber, paint, and glue. Additionally, it is present in industrial pollutants as well as cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust. A person’s blood can suffer serious harm from long-term contact with the toxin. It has been connected to blood cancers such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukaemia
