Cooking on Back Burners Better for Indoor Air?

Gas Stoves May Be a Source of Indoor Air Pollution continued...

"There are few if any places that exceed those outdoor standards for nitrogen dioxide," Singer says.

"But indoors, millions of Americans are exposed to those levels from using their gas stoves without venting. For most of those people, if they used their venting range hood, they'd be fine," he tells WebMD.

Nitrogen dioxide is a corrosive gas that can irritate the lining of the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract.

According to the EPA, exposure to even low levels of nitrogen dioxide can make it more likely that people with asthma will suffer attacks. It can also decrease lung function in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and increase the risk of respiratory infections, especially in young children.

If you have a gas stove, researchers advise doing three things to increase the health of your indoor air:

• Make sure the fan over the stove vents to the outside. If it doesn't, consider having a better exhaust system installed. In general, vents that best captured pollutants use metal hoods to temporarily trap gas and soot so the fan can blow them outside.
• Turn the vent fan on while cooking.
• When possible, cook on the back burners of the stove.