US safety commission issues ‘Request for Information’ on safety of gas cookers

America’s Consumer Product Safety Commission has published a notice to ‘request information on chronic hazards associated with gas ranges and proposed solutions to those hazards.’

The Commission have been talking about gas cookers for some months, since research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health at the end of last year stated that 12.7% of childhood asthma in the USA was attributed to gas stove use. They now appear to be doing something about it.

Given that 40% of America homes use gas cookers it seems improbable that they could be banned outright but the Commission’s Richard Trumka Jr has ruled the idea very much in, saying in a recent interview: ‘This is a hidden hazard. Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.’

The request for information asks for input from consumers, manufacturers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and researchers on chronic chemical hazards associated with the use of gas ranges.

The CPSC specify the sort of information they are after:

• Relating to the scope and scale of potential chronic chemical hazards, exposures, and risks associated with gas range use.
• Relating to data sources and approaches CPSC should consider when completing an evaluation of chronic chemical hazards, exposures, and risks related to gas range use.
• Relating to any chronic chemical hazards, exposures, and risks associated with gas range use.

Speaking in October 2022 Richard Trumka Jr said: ‘CPSC has the responsibility to ban consumer products that emit hazardous substances, particularly, when those emissions harm children, under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

‘There is sufficient information available for CPSC to issue an NPR [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] in 2023 proposing to ban gas stoves in homes.’

At the time of writing the Request for Information has received 583 comments, with almost all of them following the same theme: ‘This is a complete joke. Myself and my family have always used gas, and no one has EVER had any health issues related to gas stoves! It heats up quicker than electric and cooks faster. This is a power grab that has nothing to do with concern for anyone’s health.’