The safety of our consumers, infrastructure and workers is the number one priority for the natural gas delivery industry. All gas heating equipment and appliances, including stoves, adhere to strict installation rules and regulations developed by the Canadian Standards Association. According to Health Canada, all cooking, regardless of the energy source (natural gas, propane or electric), creates airborne emissions. Health Canada recommends proper ventilation as the most effective measure to mitigate cooking emissions. The use of a hood vent can help reduce airborne emissions by 80%.
Other studies have been conducted on natural gas that have confirmed cooking with natural gas is safe. A recent Gas Technology Institute review of 30 published articles determined that many conclusions about the relationship between cooking with natural gas and asthma appear to be more coincidental than causal. Furthermore, a 2021 study done for the California Restaurant Association found there‘s no significant difference between cooking with natural gas and electric stoves in terms of indoor air quality.
Natural gas has been used safely in Canadian homes for over 75 years. To learn more about safe cooking practices, please refer to the following factsheet that provides information to Canadians. https://www.cga.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Natural-Gas-and-Cooking_Safety-Facts-and-Tips.pdf
In addition:
In a press release on January 10th, the American Gas Association in response to Bloomberg story said, “Any discussion or perpetuation of the allegations in this report which is funded by non-governmental organizations to advance their agenda to remove consumer energy choice and the option of natural gas is reckless. The authors conducted no measurements or tests based on real-life appliance usage, and ignored literature, including one study of data collected from more than 500,000 children in 47 countries that “detected no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis.”
A White House spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday January 11th, “The President does not support banning gas stoves – and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is independent, is not banning gas stoves.” The full article can be found here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/politics/biden-gas-stoves/index.html
For more information, please contact:
Harshivam Bawa
Communications Officer
HBawa@cga.ca
226-219-7562