The Cooking With Gas Project: We're taking action for a fossil-free future!

The gas appliances installed in homes can emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause respiratory problems, headaches, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. are also common near gas stoves. Families often lean over their gas stoves during cooking, exposing themselves to these poisonous gasses and pollutants at the source. Prolonged exposure to these pollutants has been linked to asthma and other health impacts.

The video footage we captured shows a plume of dangerous air pollutants – invisible to the naked eye – rising up from gas stoves and water heaters when in use. This plume contains unburned methane and other hydrocarbons, ammonia, benzene, carbon monoxide and many other dangerous air pollutants linked to health harms.

The new footage from Beyond Toxics (featured in the video below) comes after a recent New York Times investigation found that NW Natural, Oregon’s largest gas utility, paid a doctor linked to Big Tobacco to testify at a Multnomah County hearing about gas stove air pollution impacts.

To further understand the extent of this air pollution problem in Eugene and Springfield, the Beyond Toxics air quality team used the FLIR camera to collect visual data of emissions from gas appliances in homes. We visited the homes of City Councilors Lyndsie Leach and Emily Semple, among others. Therefore, by identifying the pollutants emitted by indoor gas appliances, the team can now work towards encouraging new policies that help transition Lane County to a fossil-free future!