The NewsUsing a single gas-stove burner can raise indoor concentrations of benzene, which is linked to cancer risk, to above what’s found in secondhand tobacco smoke and even to levels that have prompted local investigations when detected outdoors, according to a new study. For the peer-reviewed study, researchers at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability measured benzene emissions from stoves at 87 homes in California and Colorado and found that natural gas and propane stoves emitted benzene that frequently reached indoor concentrations above health benchmarks set by the World Health Organization and other public agencies. In about a third of the homes, a single gas burner on high or an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes raised benzene levels above the upper range of indoor concentrations seen in secondhand tobacco smoke, the researchers found. They noted that similar concentrations, when identified in 2020 near schools in Greater Los Angeles and the Colorado Front Range, led to investigations by the authorities there.

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Persons: what’s Organizations: Stanford’s Doerr, Sustainability, World Health Organization Locations: California, Colorado, Greater Los Angeles