Study shows gas stoves could be leaking toxic chemicals

BOSTON – A new study led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows natural gas stoves could be leaking low levels of toxic chemicals into the air.

It's odorless and colorless, and now researchers believe if you cook with natural gas – it could be hazardous to your health.

"Your stove is off and the burner is off – it could be leaking small amounts of gas," explained Dr. Curtis Nordgaard or PSE Healthy Energy.

Gas stoves leaking unburned gas at low levels that researchers told WBZ-TV could be toxic when released into the air.

They took samples from nearly 70 kitchen stoves in the Boston area and found 300 chemicals.

"Twenty-one of those are sufficiently harmful to human health that they're considered hazardous air pollutants to the EPA," Dr. Nordgaard said. "Benzene is a known carcinogen. It causes leukemia."

But there's no need to panic said one public health physician.

"The chemicals that we do see, again, we see them at often very low concentrations," said Dr. Aaron Bernstein. "The risks are likely very low."

But it helps to be cautious. Experts suggest that appliances should be installed by professionals and to maintain good air flow in the kitchen.

"We learned about the importance of good ventilation during COVID. That's not just true for infections, that's also true for indoor air pollutants," said Dr. Bernstein.

Dr. Nordgaard added, "what this study brings up is the possibility that it isn't just a safety concern, it could be a health risk."

Next, researchers plan to take this data to study whether low level of gas exposure can be harmful to one's health.