Advocates call on WA Department of Health to counter gas industry misinformation with trusted resources for public

November 30, 2023

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Nineteen health, environmental and social justice organizations submitted a letterto the Washington Department of Health today calling for the agency to inform the public on the health impacts from burning gas in homes and buildings. Gas equipment, including furnaces, water heaters and stoves, generates as much smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution as Washington's coal and gas-burning power plants.

"Burning gas for heating and cooking generates many of the same pollutants as car exhaust, worsening air quality indoors and out, but many Washingtonians don't know the risks," said Dr. Mark Vossler, Past President of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility."The Washington Department of Health has a responsibility to research and amplify the deadly impacts of burning gas, and to help Washington residents make informed decisions on how to avoid exposure to toxins in their homes."

The letter comes on the heels of a new reportdetailing how the gas industry long used Big Tobacco's tactics to manufacture controversy over gas stove health research. Beginning in the 1970s, the gas industry responded to growing research linking gas stoves to respiratory illnesses by funding studies from private labs with a history of publishing information "consistent with the Sponsor's interests and wishes." Gas industry-funded efforts muddied the waters for regulators, thwarting health-protective regulations.

"Millions of Washington children have grown up with toxic air quality in their homes due to the gas industry's decades-long campaign to obscure the health risks from gas equipment - but the next generation of children doesn't have to suffer the same fate. The Washington Department of Health has a critical role to play in ensuring communities across the state know the risks of gas," said Dr. Anna Janecek with Pediatricians for Climate Action.

Burning gas in stoves and ovens releases harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde and NO2 directly into the indoor environments where Washington residents live and work. Gas stoves are associated with a 42% increased risk of current asthma symptoms in children and a 24% increased lifetime risk of an asthma diagnosis, and the EPA has foundthat older adults are at increased risk for NO2-related health effects.

Health departments across the country could play an important role in countering decades of gas industry misinformation by providing communities with information from trusted academic institutions. In their letter, health groups including Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility and Washington Pediatricians for Climate Action joined traditional environmental and climate groups like the Sierra Club and Climate Solutions in calling for the Washington Department of Health to help inform the public by developing a literature review outlining the risks.

Gas-burning equipment contributes to approximately 50 premature deaths in Washington each year due to outdoor air quality impacts alone. Analysis using EPA's Co-Benefits Risk Assessment tool indicates that this pollution is responsible for additional negative health and economic effects, with total health impacts valued at almost $113 million annually.

As awareness of the pollution associated with the use of gas in buildings grows, governments across the country are taking action to transition to upgrading homes with healthier electric equipment like heat pumps. Regulators in states across the country have adopted or are exploring air quality standards that limit pollution from new gas-burning HVACs and water heaters, an important step to improve air quality. Earlier this fall, Washington State announced its intentionsto explore a similar policy in a U.S. Climate Alliance press release.

"Washington must continue to lead on the transition off of fossil fuels," said Ruth Sawyer, Senior Field Organizer with the Sierra Club. "Passing healthy air standards will protect clean air and send a strong market signal to manufacturers while safeguarding our climate for generations to come."

###

Data Sources:

NOx emissions data is from EPA's 2020 National Emissions Inventory. Appliance emission estimates include residential & commercial emissions for the gas, oil, & other fuel categories, with commercial emissions adjusted to exclude non-appliance sources like pipeline compressor stations.

2021 gas consumption estimates for the residential& electricsectors are taken from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's State Energy Data System.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.