Natural gas stoves and ovens can leak harmful chemicals inside homes even when they’re not in use.
About 47 million U.S. households use such appliances, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
A study published Thursday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found at least 12 hazardous air pollutants emitted from gas stoves in California, including benzene — a chemical known to cause cancer in some people with long-term exposure.
First thought that comes to mind is, unlike a furnace, water heater, or dryer, a gas stove is not vented outside.
I had an apartment with a gas range years ago. A couple times I came home from work to find the apartment full of gas. Found out what was happening: when I heated up the kettle for a morning cup of coffee, the burner would backfire down the ignition tube, and blow out the pilot. So the pilot would then leak gas into the apartment all day.
As metro Detroit heads into winter, I expect the local media to start reporting families killed by CO from an old furnace, or from running the burners on their gas stove for supplemental heat.
Steve
Defective pilot in the stove. Mfr error, or somebody tried to make a change to the pilot (failed), or something hit it/dropped on it, thus damaging it.