New report ties childhood asthma to gas stoves, fuels support for NY HEAT Act

Albany, N.Y. — As advocates and lawmakers rallied for the NY HEAT Act this week, a new report was released presenting the risks of gas and oil infrastructure, with significant findings in regards to gas stoves.

The report is called the "Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking and Associated Gas and Oil Infrastructure, Ninth Edition, October 19, 2023," put together by the Concerned Health Professionals of NY and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

To put together, they say they compiled findings from peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals, investigative reports by journalists and government agencies, and advocacy organizations.

In this case, the organizations looked at the impact of gas-fired appliances on indoor air pollutants, finding that in New York, 18.8 percent of childhood asthma cases are connected to gas stoves.

"There are dozens of studies that show the same thing," said Sandra Steingraber, co-founder of Concerned Health Professionals of New York and lead author of the report. "Gas appliances in general, but gas stoves specifically, really raise air pollution inside our homes to levels that would not be considered safe by regular health standards."

The report states a United States EPA statistic, saying compared to homes with electric stoves, homes with gas stoves have average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide 50 to 400 percent higher, which exceeds health guidelines. The study found smaller homes with poor ventilation with weak range hoods are most at risk of allowing pollutants to have an impact.

"One of the big obstacles is that in low-income housing, some people rely on their gas stoves for heat," Steingraber said. "Because they live in a place where the heat is not reliable or, as happened in Buffalo last year when the electrical grid went out, relied on gas stoves. Not safe, but it is a form of heat."

Steingraber said in many cases, those measures are taken in low income or Section 8 housing, disproportionately harming communities of color had a higher rate.

Those behind the report have thrown their support for the NY HEAT Act, which would end the "100-foot rule," a measure used to incentivize and subsidize gas installations with a certain range of a building. Some estimates say this costs taxpayers $200 million every year and is used as an incentive for utility companies.

NY HEAT Act advocates say passage would eliminate that cost to taxpayers, bringing down energy bills. But, the legislation only passed the Senate during the 2023 legislative session, as pushback has come, mainly through the Republican conference.

"The out of touch politicians supporting this gas ban clearly don’t understand what my constituents deal with each winter," State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Lockport), said in a statement. "This ridiculous proposal would make heating their homes more expensive and less reliable. New York should be embracing natural gas as part of our clean energy portfolio to keep prices down and protect our environment. The New York Heat Act misses the mark on both."

Proponents of the bill are now hoping it's included in the governor's next budget proposal in early 2024.