by Ruggiero Corcella
The results of measurements on emissions from gas cookers in 247 homes in 7 European countries: Italy, Spain, France, Holland, England, Slovakia and Romania.
Are you convinced that you breathe “good air” when you cook? If the kitchen is gas-powered, as happens in 68% of families in Italy, you need to think again. In reality, it’s like being in peak traffic in Milan. In fact, even worse. Smog hidden within the home is a serious problem.
Just scroll through the data from the new report by CLASP, the non-profit group for energy efficiency, which in recent months has conducted a study in 7 European countries, including Italy, with the scientific support of the Organization for Scientific Research Applied Netherlands (TNO). Among the most alarming findings is that 72% of homes with gas cookers exceed the WHO daily guideline value for nitrogen dioxide. Given that it puts Italy in second place after Spain (77%) and before the United Kingdom (55%), Holland (54%), France (53%), Romania (52%) and Slovakia (44%).
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The study in Italy
Forty families were involved, 36 were those in which the data was successfully collected: 31 with gas cookers, 5 with electric cookers. Those who cook with gas have a significantly higher concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the kitchen and living room, compared to families who cook with electric appliances.
In homes with gas cookers, the value of the EU hourly limit for nitrogen dioxide, the most dangerous for the most vulnerable, was also exceeded in 24% of cases, while no exceedances were recorded in homes with electric cooking. Almost all homes examined, whether with gas or electric stoves, exceeded the WHO daily guideline value for fine particles (PM2.5). A value that is not linked to the type of hob, but rather to the cooking itself.
Lack of ventilation
Exceedings that demonstrate a lack of adequate ventilation and how the latter does not represent a solution. «Through the field study in Italy we found that families who cook on gas are exposed to significantly higher levels of nitrogen dioxide than those who cook on electric. In gas cookers, levels of nitrogen dioxide are recorded that exceed the WHO guide values and the limits imposed by the European Union, to the point that the most sensitive subjects, the most fragile, therefore asthmatic, feel its direct impact . Furthermore, we also found that ventilation is important, but it had no impact on the reduction of pollutants” says Sara Demartini, CLASP project manager.
Children and fragile people at risk
Data that makes us think, especially if we consider the categories most at risk such as children and fragile people, as explained by Dr. Laura Reali, pediatrician and member of the European Academy of Pediatrics: «Nitrogen dioxide is a lipophilic gas that can penetrate through the mucous membranes and the respiratory tract even in depth. Small, evolving and more rapidly penetrable lungs, such as those of children who breathe faster than adults, are more directly exposed and sensitive. If we then transfer this to the situation of the expecting mother, the mother who inhales nitrogen dioxide can also cause damage to her child. Naturally we are talking about prolonged and intensive exposures.”
«In the study in Italy we found that in homes with gas stoves the EU limit value of NO2 for one hour of exposure is exceeded in 24% of cases, while external levels remain lower than these values. The switch to electric cooking combined with the use of ventilation hoods, well designed to reduce exposure to high levels of particulates resulting from cooking, can bring these values below recommended levels” underlines Piet Jacobs, researcher at TNO.
Symptoms linked to gas cookers
It is no coincidence that, according to the previous report by CLASP and EPHA (European Alliance for Public Health), there are over 700 thousand children in the EU with asthma symptoms linked to the use of gas cooking. Asthma, but also attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders; while adults would be affected on the respiratory and nervous systems. And to say that the health effects caused by stoves have been known for over fifty years, just as studies on asthma estimates have also been conducted in the United States.
Data that surprises even those who took part in the test, like Angela, 33 years old from Massafra (Taranto), married and mother of an 11-year-old child: «I would never have thought that there were all these emissions in my kitchen. I knew that gases were circulating, even harmful to health, but I imagined that they were so tolerable that I didn’t feel threatened. It is important to start taking action: if I want to follow a healthy and sustainable lifestyle I have to start with the data found through research.” In fact, yours is one of the kitchens with the highest level of nitrogen dioxide and ultrafine particulate emissions.
A new energy label
According to CLASP, little has been done in Europe to prevent nitrogen dioxide pollution from gas cooking appliances, yet according to research conducted by the consumer group, a considerable number of families in Europe are ready to switch from gas to electrical appliances if he was aware of the health problems associated with gas cooking. Hence the importance of increasing awareness of the health impacts of gas cooking and establishing an energy label for both gas and electric cooking appliances.
Which is why, at a stakeholder meeting with EU officials scheduled for 30 November, CLASP will call for a new energy label to compare the efficiency of gas and electric hobs and highlight pollution levels . «By facilitating the transition to electric cooking, we can pave the way for healthier, safer and more sustainable families» says Nicole Kearney, director of CLASP Europe.
An “electric” future: but how much does it cost?
According to CLASP, the use of the hood and relying on families for correct ventilation of the environment are not sufficient. The best solution remains the switch to electric. Yet the costs remain the doubt of Angela and many like her: «The thing that still stops me from converting my hob from gas to electric are the costs, because I don’t know how much it consumes. If I believe that an induction hob is more sustainable and healthy than a gas one, then I could convert this appliance into my home.” For this reason, CLASP recommends the introduction by the EU and the Italian government of adequate support policies to facilitate the energy transition and protect citizens from the impact of gas cookers.
How the research was conducted
The objective of CLASP was to evaluate the impacts of polluting emissions from gas cookers on people’s health. The study consisted of two phases: the first, simulation; the second measuring in 247 homes in 7 European countries: Italy, Spain, France, Holland, England, Slovakia and Romania. The families were recruited through Opinium, a market research company. Participants were selected based on frequency of kitchen use, excluding families of smokers and those who lived near industrial complexes. The families were not aware of the specific motivation for the study, so as not to be influenced in their behavior. 80% of them use gas cookers and 20% electric cookers.
The measurements were conducted by sending a kit of sensors, which had to be installed in the kitchen, in the living room, in a bedroom, preferably the one where children sleep, and outside the house. Measurements of air pollutant concentrations were taken and with temperature sensors on the hob and oven door to determine cooking times. Nitrogen dioxide samplers were positioned outside the houses to have a comparison with internal levels. In houses with gas cooking, NO2 levels were higher than those recorded outside. Measurements were taken for 13 days in each house.
November 8, 2023 (modified November 8, 2023 | 5:43 pm)
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