A new Stanford University-led study published Dec. 2 in PNAS Nexus links gas and propane stove emissions to serious health risks including asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease. The research reveals that indoor nitrogen dioxide pollution from stoves often equals or exceeds outdoor pollution exposure.

Transitioning to electric stoves could reduce nitrogen dioxide exposure in the U.S. by over 50%, with the heaviest users seeing the greatest benefits. For 22 million Americans—especially those in smaller homes and rural areas—cooking with gas pushes indoor nitrogen dioxide levels above recommended safety thresholds.

Study senior author Rob Jackson from Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability noted that people often assume indoor air is safe, but gas stove emissions create concentrated pollution bursts. Lead author Yannai Kashtan of PSE Healthy Energy emphasized that indoor air quality deserves urgent attention as families spend more time indoors.

The study, the first national comparison of indoor and outdoor nitrogen dioxide exposure, combined air quality measurements with data from 133 million residential dwellings. Researchers created zip-code-level maps showing long- and short-term exposure patterns, finding highest total exposures in large cities where outdoor pollution combines with indoor cooking emissions.