Gas cookers in Irish homes breaching air pollution limits

Gas cookers cause weekly breaches of air pollution limits in Irish homes, a new study suggests.

Cooking on gas in a typical European kitchen without mechanical ventilation causes indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution that exceeds the World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines multiple times each week throughout the year, the report suggests.

Separate lab tests showed that gas hobs also produced carbon monoxide, particulate matter and other pollutants that can cause severe health effects, particularly for children, the report, by the non-profit energy efficiency group CLASP, and the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) said.

The number of children in Ireland with asthma symptoms occurring within the last 12 months due to cooking on gas is estimated at roughly 10,000, while 12 per cent of EU child-asthma cases are due to gas cooking, according to the report.

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More than 100 million EU citizens cook on gas, including in 21 per cent of Irish homes and more than half of all homes in Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Hungary.

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CLASP chief executive Christine Egan said that because people spend the majority of their time indoors, indoor air quality can have “a major impact on our health and wellbeing”.

“Few people are aware of the harmful risks posed by gas cooking appliances. Cooking your dinner could expose you to as many pollutants as second-hand smoke,” she said, calling for the introduction of health warning labels on gas cooking appliances in the EU.

EPHA director general Dr Milka Sokolović said indoor air quality could get “especially bad this winter in homes using gas cookers, as people reduce ventilation and avoid opening windows to save heat and money during the energy crisis”.

“With fewer air exchanges with the outside, it is increasingly important to tackle indoor sources of air pollution, such as gas stoves. Children and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions are most at risk of negative health impacts.”