{
  "abstract": "Commercial kitchens may expose an estimated 15.7 million U.S. workers to elevated air pollution and heat, yet real-world measurements are limited and no prior study has compared commercial kitchens with gas-fired appliances to fully electric ones. We monitored pollutants and temperature in 27 commercial kitchens in California, Pennsylvania, and New York, including 24 natural gas- or propane-fired and 3 fully electric, during both work and idle periods. We measured nitrogen dioxide (NO ₂ ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), methane (CH ₄ ), benzene, and temperature at five locations within each kitchen relevant for chefs and cooks. During work hours, NO ₂ measured immediately outside ventilation hoods and in ambient kitchen areas exceeded the US EPA and world health organization 1 h guidelines (100 ppbv) in 17 of 24 (70%) kitchens with gas-fired appliances, reaching a maximum of >1000 ppbv in four kitchens. In total, we captured ∼170 work hours where the 1 h NO ₂ guideline was surpassed outside hoods or in ambient areas. CO levels also exceeded the California 1 h guideline (20 ppm) outside of hoods and in ambient kitchen areas for ten hours in three kitchens with gas-fired appliances, whereas benzene exceeded the California 1 h exposure guideline (8.4 ppb) for 12 h in five different kitchens. Likewise, 13 of 19 (68%) fossil-fueled kitchens exceeded OSHA’s proposed high-heat trigger of 90°F (32.2 °C), with 10 recording maximum temperatures above 100°F (37.8 °C). Overall, workers in ∼70% of kitchens with gas-fired appliances we sampled faced routine exposures to pollution and heat that exceeded health-based guidelines despite ventilation systems. None of the electric kitchens exceeded pollutant or temperature thresholds. While we frequently observed high pollutant concentrations during work hours, two-thirds of fossil-fueled kitchens exhibited higher median concentrations of NO ₂ , CO, CO ₂ , CH ₄ , and benzene overnight when ventilation was off but pilot lights remained lit. This finding has implications for cleaning and prep crews and for co-occupants in mixed-use buildings.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "PSE Healthy Energy",
    "Stanford University",
    "New York University",
    "Forward Dining Solutions",
    "EcoChef",
    "School of Public Health, University of California",
    "Lawrence Berkeley National Lab"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yannai S Kashtan",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6323-1533"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Eric D Lebel",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5255-6893"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nicole Lucha",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-1715-3273"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Colin Finnegan",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2619-2584"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gan Huang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Tamara L Sparks",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8525-0513"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Abenezer Shankute"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Antonio F Saporito",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4246-0238"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Christopher A Galarza"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Robert B Jackson",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8846-7147"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Seth B C Shonkoff",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2696-0259"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Drew R Michanowicz",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2538-4819"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/faxw6ajyrtd52.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "faxw6ajyrtd52",
  "issns": [
    "1748-9326"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2307|Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220657912",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-06",
  "publisher": "IOP Publishing",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/faxw6ajyrtd52.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:55Z",
      "native_id": "10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2307|Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure",
      "subfield": "pharmacology-toxicology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Combustion-derived air pollution and heat from gas-fired appliances in commercial kitchens can exceed health-based guidelines",
  "title_text": "Combustion-derived air pollution and heat from gas-fired appliances in commercial kitchens can exceed health-based guidelines",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:55Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/faxw6ajyrtd52",
  "venue": "Environmental Research Letters",
  "versions": []
}