Gas-fired restaurant kitchens expose cooks to unsafe heat and pollution, study finds

Commercial kitchens that cook with gas or propane expose workers to dangerous levels of heat and air pollution despite commercial-grade ventilation, while all-electric kitchens do not, according to a peer-reviewed study published Tuesday in Environmental Research Letters.

Researchers from PSE Healthy Energy, Stanford University and New York University measured temperatures and pollutants for up to a week in 27 kitchens in California, New York and Pennsylvania, from family-run restaurants to Michelin-starred dining rooms. Three of the kitchens were all-electric.

Most gas- and propane-fired kitchens topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit, above the 80-degree indoor heat threshold in a stalled federal workplace safety proposal. Seventy percent had nitrogen dioxide levels above what the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization consider safe, while electric kitchens never exceeded a tenth of the World Health Organization limit. About a third of fossil-fueled kitchens breached health standards even after hours because of pilot lights.

Carbon monoxide and benzene, a carcinogen, also occasionally reached unsafe levels in fossil-fueled kitchens. More than three-quarters of U.S. restaurants burn gas, according to a 2022 National Restaurant Association survey.

"For the first time in my career I was able to do what I loved — and not feel like I'm dying," said Christopher Galarza, a chef, study co-author and co-founder of the kitchen certification company EcoChef, recalling his first job in an all-electric kitchen.

This brief is based on reporting by Alison F. Takemura, published Oct. 6, 2026, in Canary Media. Read the original: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/emissions-reduction/gas-stoves-restaurant-cooks-health