The Consumer Product Safety Commission is not planning to ban gas stoves, its chairman said Wednesday, seeking to tamp rising political furor caused by another commissioner’s comments earlier this week.
“I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so,” Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a statement.
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He said, though, that the commission is “looking for ways to reduce related indoor air quality hazards.”
His remarks come after Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said earlier this week that the agency plans to take action to address the pollutants, which have been linked to asthma and other respiratory problems.
“Any option is on the table,” Trumka told Bloomberg, describing the pollutants as a “hidden hazard.”
Trumka’s comments sparked a political frenzy, and House Republicans, newly in the majority, have already vowed to take action to block any proposed federal regulations.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) also took aim at the news, saying any proposed regulation would be a “recipe for disaster.”
In October, the CPSC issued a request for information seeking public data on hazards associated with natural gas stoves and input for proposed solutions.
A spokesperson for the agency told the Washington Examiner earlier this week the CPSC has started to work with voluntary standards organizations to examine emissions from gas stoves and address hazards caused by the appliances.
To date, it has not proposed any new regulations.
“CPSC is researching gas emissions in stoves and exploring new ways to address any health risks,” Hoehn-Saric said in the Wednesday statement.
“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. This is part of our product safety mission – learning about hazards and working to make products safer,” he added.
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Gas stoves, which are used in roughly 40% of U.S. homes and are favored by many cooks, have been found to emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other particulate matter at levels deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization.
The agency has not proposed any new regulatory actions, a spokesperson for the agency told the Washington Examiner.
