Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) Issues Federal Register Notice on Request for Information (RFI) on Gas Stoves.

As previously reported, on March 1,  the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that it voted 3-1 in favor of approving publication of a draft notice of a request for information (RFI) on the purported hazards of gas stoves.  On Tuesday, the official notice was published in the Federal Register that request comments by May 8, 2023. The RFI requests the following:

• Seeks input from the public on chronic chemical hazards from gas ranges. Note, chemical hazards result in acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) adverse health outcomes resulting from exposures to chemical substances.
•  Does not constitute or propose regulatory action, but rather is intended to inform the Commission and the public.

AGA staff continues to review the questions listed in the RFI and will provide an assessment of information that may be potential responses to the request but there are clearly questions that would not be within our area of expertise or familiarity to respond. BECS Committee members are requested to review the RFI and provide us with feedback on the questions and information CPSC is seeking. 

New Analysis Examines Existing Studies and Government Reports on Gas Stove Emissions.

For your information,  a March 2nd news story,  New Sweeping Analysis Debunks Reports Blaming Gas Stoves for Respiratory Illness , reported on a new analysis — “conducted by the California-based Catalyst Environmental Solutions (CES) and commissioned by the California Restaurant Association and the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) , that examined dozens of existing studies and government reports. It concluded that existing research doesn’t establish a significant connection between respiratory illness and gas stove usage despite recent media reports.”  AGA staff will be reviewing the CES analysis that may be useful in providing responses to some of the questions and information being requested in the CPSC RFI reported in the previous item.

AHRI Releases the January 2023 Heating and Cooling Equipment Shipment Data.

For those interested in shipment trends for residential and commercial gas and electric storage type water heaters, residential gas and oil furnaces, electric heat pumps and air-conditioners, click here for the March 10, 2023 Air-Conditioning Heating, & Refrigeration (AHRI) Press Release that provides the January, 2023 U.S. Heating and Cooling Equipment Shipment Data. For previous monthly shipment releases and historical data, please click here . You may also wish to share this information with other groups or individuals within your organization that would be interested in this shipment data.