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A new study explored the link between gas stove usage and cancer risk.
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It found that gas stove usage without proper ventilation raises cancer risk in adults, but especially in children.
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Keep reading for details how to mitigate risk.
The gas versus electric stove debate is polarizing for many reasons—especially for home chefs—but there’s one battle that gas can’t really win: One emits benzene, a flammable liquid and known carcinogen. A new study found that gas stoves greatly increase cancer risk, especially in children.
Meet the Experts: Joe Mignone, M.D., an oncologist and co-founder of SurvivorRx; and Daniel Landau, M.D., oncologist, hematologist, and contributor for The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com.
The risk is present for adults, too, but is particularly high for kids. Keep reading to learn exactly why this is and what the findings mean for people with fuel-powered cooktops.
What did the study find?
While the study did not follow humans and track how many used gas stoves and how many developed cancer, researchers used CONTAM, a program developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to analyze and simulate benzene concentration distributions across 24 home floor plans provided by U.S. housing stock data. To ensure their benzene emission level estimates were accurate, researchers utilized six test homes and measured the concentration of benzene in them after four to eight hours of emissions were produced, and used those measurements to validate findings from CONTAM.
Low, medium, and high stove usage—reflective of the number of burners used, their set flame intensity, and duration of cooking—were compared with and without ventilated conditions (i.e. open windows, vent hood). Medium stove usage most accurately represented average cooking tendencies in most homes, with one burner set to medium flame used for 30 minutes in the mornings, and two used for the same amount of time in the evenings. Researchers measured cancer risk using the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Human Health Risk Assessment, a four-step process used to estimate the nature and likelihood of negative health effects from contaminated environments.
In short, the study found that high gas stove usage without proper ventilation greatly increases cancer risk, especially for kids. The usage often surpasses the limits of Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risks (ILTCR) set by the World Health Organization (WHO), the study found. In fact, children’s cancer risk by gas stove exposure was found to be 1.85 times greater than adults “due to their higher air intake relative to body size,” explains Joe Mignone, M.D., an oncologist and co-founder of SurvivorRx.
“This study highlights a critical yet often overlooked health concern: indoor air pollution from gas stoves,” Dr. Mignone adds. “It reveals that gas stoves emit benzene—a known carcinogen—not only during use but even when turned off. Alarmingly, the benzene levels detected can be comparable to those found in secondhand smoke or near heavy traffic.”
The study also found that high-efficiency vented hoods substantially reduced benzene exposure.
What limitations did the study have?
House data was based on 87 homes located in California and Colorado, “which may not represent the diversity of housing types, climates, and cooking practices across the United States,” says Dr. Mignone. Those houses also had poor ventilation, “potentially reflecting worst-case conditions rather than typical household situations,” he adds.
Also: “We can’t necessarily conclude that the only factor involved in cancer risk would be the stoves,” says Daniel Landau, M.D., oncologist, hematologist, and contributor for The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “We can’t conclude that there weren’t other factors involved that also could have contributed to cancer development.”
How gas stoves may increase cancer risk
“Benzene exposure has been linked to just about every type of cancer, including leukemias, lymphoma, bladder cancer, and others,” says Dr. Landau. The WHO states that there is no safe amount of exposure to it. It’s known to damage DNA, “and those DNA breaks can lead to cancers as the body tries to heal,” he explains. In other words, when DNA splits and comes back together, it does so abnormally. “The body doesn’t recognize the error, then the starts producing abnormal cells that are cancerous,” Dr. Landau concludes.
The study found that people with gas stoves without proper ventilation were at the highest risk of developing cancer.
“Children may be at a higher risk of cancer development from benzene because their DNA splits more rapidly than adult DNA,” Dr. Landau explains. “There is also a longer time for cancers to develop when exposures happen at younger ages.”
Also, the study stated that kids exhibited higher inhalation rates relative to their lower overall body weights, meaning the concentration of benzene exposure was higher than that of adults.
The bottom line
If you have a gas stove, proper ventilation is crucial, say Drs. Landau and Mignone. “Opening windows, using the vent above the stove, turning on a fan, and using air purifiers are all great ways to mitigate this risk,” Dr. Mignone adds. This is particularly crucial for cancer survivors and those with already increased cancer risk, he adds.
The study’s findings are also a good reminder of the various indoor pollutants we are commonly exposed to that may contribute to cancer development. “Let’s keep in mind other risks of benzenes in the homes, including gas fireplaces, household paints, varnishes, adhesives, and some cleaning agents,” Dr. Mignone says. “Garages with stored gasoline, paints, or solvents can all contribute to exposure and increased risk.”
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