Earlier this week, reports from a Biden-appointed US Consumer Product Safety Commissioner suggested the White House wanted to ban gas stoves. However, the White House is now refuting that claim.
The CPSC official, Richard Trumka Jr., spoke with Bloomberg about the possibility of placing a ban on gas stoves, citing several risks that come with the appliance.
“Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” Trumka said.
Trumka described them as a “hidden hazard,” saying “any option is on the table” when it comes to regulating them. This could include “setting standards on emissions” that the stoves give off.
The interview was quickly picked up across the media, and those both for and against the move spoke out.
However, White House spokesman Michael Kikukawa shared with CNN and The New York Times that “The President does not support banning gas stoves – and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is independent, is not banning gas stoves.”
Before the statement from the White House, several politicians took to social media to speak up about the possible ban or regulation.
“I’ll NEVER give up my gas stove. If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!” Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
In response to Jackson, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted, “Did you know that ongoing exposure to NO2 from gas stoves is linked to reduced cognitive performance.”
A December 2022 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health did list a danger in using the home appliances, saying that they are associated with an increased risk of current asthma among children, with 13% attributed to their use.
Still, lawmakers continue to argue back and forth about the dangers of the stoves, but there are those on both sides of the aisle calling the thought of regulation a “recipe for disaster, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Ted Cruz (R-TX).
“This is a recipe for disaster. The federal government has no business telling American families how to cook their dinner,” Manchin tweeted. “I can tell you the last thing that would ever leave my house is the gas stove that we cook on.”
Still, all of the outrage seems to be for nothing, as CPSC Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric shared a statement on Wednesday, clarifying the statements made by Trumka, saying that he and the commission are “not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so.”
“CPSC is researching gas emissions in stoves and exploring new ways to address health risks. CPSC also is actively engage in strengthening voluntary safety standards for gas stoves. And later this spring, we will be asking the public to provide us with information about gas stove emissions and potential solutions for reducing any associated risks,” Hoehn-Saric wrote in the statement.
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