this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
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Is there some different gas used in the US? Here in the EU lots of countries rely on gas for cooking and/or heating and I have never ever heard anything like it could be harmful (except fire hazard, so we have a ton of regulations and setup stuff to prevent that).
Not saying it isn't bad but usually in the EU we pick on anything even slightly dangerous.
No we picked gas in Europe because it was better than burning coal or wood in your homes, that’s what people did before we used gas, and we found lots of gas fields after the war. It’s still just as bad as US gas. Burning gas in your home creates harmful particulate matter in the air that with longtime exposure can cause asthma and shit, that’s why you need to vent your home while you’re cooking.
Here is more info https://www.tno.nl/en/sustainable/safe-sustainable-living-environment/energy-built-environment/monitoring-energy-performance/indoor-particulate-matter/
It's not just when you're cooking is the problem. It's always releasing toxic fumes
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c08298
There seems to be some movement on the European side as well.
https://www.politico.eu/article/gas-stove-killer-health-climate-pollution/
We have alot of rules wrt. ventilation for gas appliances in the EU. Gas boilers for example have to vent outside away from doorways.. I'm not sure if gas cookers need hoods these days or extractor fans are enough.
Edit: Ahh no, just venting.. you must have an openable outside door or window, or equivalent ventilation.
It's the same gas, and it is dangerous. Not as dangerous as actually inhaling smoke or cooking over a wood fire, but a bit dangerous.
All combustion products, including the ones that are created when you cook food on an electric stove, have a camp fire, or are passed by an ICE car are.
Natural gas does burn pretty cleanly. It does doesn't burn completely into CO2 and water. Other stuff is created too.
Keep in mind that in the US, homes built before say late 70's leaked, a lot. So this was less of a concern.
Everywhere I lived was built before 1970, until about 1994. Since then I've lived in places as old as 1920 (and that was around 2001).
My grandparents house was built in 1900, with a coal-fired furnace. There was no such thing as "sealed" in that place, between the chimneys, giant single-pane wood windows, etc. It was one of thousands (tens of thousands?) like it in their city.
Then there's rural homes where things like propane are common: old farm houses, trailers (mobile homes), etc. Again, those places never had tight tolerances.
No, it’s just American fearmongering. The compounds created by the burning of gas for cooking can be harmful, but only in ridiculously contrived unrealistic settings. The lack of ventilation (not a lack of good ventilation, mind you, but basically any air movement at all) and time periods required for meaningful detrimental exposure is, plainly, completely unrealistic.