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Safety commissioner backtracks on threat to ban gas stoves after backlash, but emphasizes ‘regulation’

January 10, 2023 | | Print Article

Word had barely gotten out about the latest potential overreach from the federal government before swift outcry triggered prompt backpedaling and the claims began, “To be clear…”

Following the release of a study that suggested some cases of childhood asthma were “attributable” to the use of gas stoves in residential homes, Richard Trumka Jr., the commissioner of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) acknowledged that a ban was within reason for “products that can’t be made safe.”

Monday, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, was among those decrying such micromanagement of the American household as he tweeted, “Over 40 million American households use gas stoves. This type of power should never have been given to unelected bureaucrats and it is time for it to end.”

In response, Trumka, the son of the late AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, contended via quote tweet, “Thanks for your interest! To be clear, CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves. Regulations apply to new products. For Americans who CHOOSE to switch from gas to electric, there is support available–Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act which includes a $840 rebate.”

The study led by the Rocky Mountain Institute claimed that roughly 650,000 American children “are suffering from asthma who might not otherwise if they weren’t exposed to gas stoves.”

Brady Seals, a researcher on the study, posted that they “found that 12.7% of childhood current asthma in the US can be attributable to gas stove use” which the report stated was “similar to the childhood asthma burden attributed to secondhand smoke exposure.”

Trumka’s backtrack was far from earnest as he had expressed to Bloomberg that gas stoves posed a “hidden hazard” because of emissions and that “products that can’t be made safe can be banned.” In addition, CPSC can choose to set the standards on acceptable emissions from gas stoves, effectively removing products from the market.

Furthermore, the commissioner tweeted, “My guiding duty is protecting consumer health and safety. Gas stoves can emit dangerous level of toxic chemicals–even when not in use–and @USCPCS will consider all approaches to regulation.”

He then thanked the “excellent journalism” of Bloomberg’s Ari Natter for his reporting on the story.

Gas stoves were already zeroed in on last year by climate doomsayers as a contributing factor in pumping an estimated 2.4 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere yearly. That, it was reported, was an estimable equivalent to the amount of annual greenhouse gases from 500,000 cars.

Adding further nuance to the hypocrisy of the powers that be and the likelihood that this was another slapdash effort by The Science™ to cart out experts to support their selection of winners and losers, Amy Curtis shared an oh-so-awkward image of first lady Jill Biden cooking at a gas stovetop.

CPSC is expected to be accepting comments on potential regulations of gas stoves over the winter.

Kevin Haggerty
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