Cooking on gas caused asthma symptoms in more than seventy thousand Dutch children last year. That conclusion draw health body European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and the umbrella organization for clean energy systems Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), based in part on research by knowledge institute TNO. The two European organizations, which compiled the health risks of gas cooking in a report, state that 12 percent of the number of children with asthma symptoms could have been prevented by not cooking with gas.
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All gas cooking appliances, the report says, release pollutants that are harmful to human health. The devices produce harmful substances such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ultrafine particles, which can cause serious health problems. Cooking on a gas stove is said to have led to asthma symptoms in 700,000 European children last year. In the Netherlands, this applied to more than 70,000 children.
More than 100 million EU citizens still cook on gas. Dutch households – one of the frontrunners with a percentage of 65 percent – also remain loyal to gas cooking. According to the researchers, the risk that children from these households have had asthma symptoms in the past 12 months is 42 percent higher. The risk of a diagnosis of lifelong asthma – 24 percent – also increases considerably as a result.
Energy crisis
CLASP and EPHA warn that the energy crisis this winter could worsen the air quality situation. Because residents keep their windows closed to save energy, there is a good chance that nitrogen dioxide will increase indoors to such an extent that it causes health risks.
There is growing evidence that air pollution from gas cooking has adverse effects on the brain development of young children. Also for adults, pollutants have negative effects on the brain, respiratory system and nervous system.