Biden rules out gas-stove ban after Republican backlash
Republicans furious at suggestion from US regulators that gas stoves could be phased out over links to childhood asthma
Joe Biden has ruled out any ban of gas stoves in the US, following a furious backlash from Republicans to suggestions they could be phased out due to their contribution to dangerous indoor air pollution that has been linked to childhood asthma and other conditions.
Biden “does not support banning gas stoves”, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said on Wednesday. Jean-Pierre added that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal agency responsible for consumer safety, “is not banning gas stoves. I just want to be very clear on that.”
The president’s intervention follows the possibility of a ban raised by Richard Trumka Jr, a commissioner of the CPSC, who called gas stoves a “hidden hazard” and that any option restricting their ongoing sale was “on the table”. In December, Trumka said that “we need to be talking about regulating gas stoves, whether that’s drastically improving emissions or banning gas stoves entirely”.
Gas stoves have become a target for public health advocates, as well as climate campaigners, due to their leakage, even when turned off, of various pollutants such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. The biggest concern is over their emission of nitrogen dioxide, which can trigger cardiovascular problems and cause the inflammation of airways.
