Cooking at home is a daily routine in the U.S., with gas stoves still used in roughly 38% of homes nationwide, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A Stanford-led study published May 3, 2024, narrowed in on gas stove use and found it can raise long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant tied to asthma and other respiratory problems.
What the study found about gas stove cooking
Researchers at Stanford University, published in Science Advances on May 3, 2024, analyzed methane and nitrogen dioxide exposure tied to gas stove use in more than 6 million U.S. homes through modeling based on housing and appliance data. The study reported that gas burners can create indoor nitrogen dioxide levels that would violate outdoor air quality standards if measured outside.
The paper found that people in the highest-exposure homes can breathe 3 to 4 times more nitrogen dioxide from gas cooking than the national average. Lead author Rob Jackson of Stanford said the burden is not shared evenly, with smaller homes and apartments showing higher concentrations because pollutants have less space to disperse.
The study focused on long-term exposure, not a one-time cooking event. Its findings add to past research from groups including the American Medical Association, which in 2023 adopted a policy supporting public awareness of gas stove emissions and ventilation.
Where the impact is highest in the U.S.
The Stanford team said the highest average exposures were found in states including California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, where population density and housing size can increase indoor pollution levels. In those places, common cooking habits can produce a larger pollution dose than in larger homes in less dense states.
Researchers also found that children were often exposed at higher levels because they spend more time at home, and the study estimated elevated exposure for tens of millions of Americans overall. The paper did not release a full address-level list of affected households, and it did not say that every gas stove user will face the same level of risk.
What is confirmed is that ventilation mattered. Homes using range hoods vented to the outdoors had lower pollution concentrations, according to the study, though the researchers noted that venting systems are not installed or used consistently across all U.S. homes.
Why researchers say this matters for daily life
Nitrogen dioxide is a well-studied pollutant that federal regulators already track outdoors, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has linked it to respiratory effects, especially in children and people with asthma. The Stanford authors said indoor exposure has received less policy attention even though cooking is one of the most common ways people encounter it at home.
The health concern is tied to repeated exposure over years, not just one dinner cooked on a gas flame. Jackson said in the study release that simple steps such as using a vent hood, opening windows, and maintaining appliance performance can reduce concentrations, but the paper did not say those steps remove exposure entirely.
For customers and residents, the practical takeaway is narrower than many online claims. The study did not call for an immediate ban, did not examine electric or induction stove injuries, and did confirm that indoor pollution from gas cooking is a measurable long-term health issue in millions of U.S. households.
