Combustion-derived air pollution and heat from gas-fired appliances in commercial kitchens can exceed health-based guidelines
7 affiliations
- 1PSE Healthy Energy
- 2Stanford University
- 3New York University
- 4Forward Dining Solutions
- 5EcoChef
- 6School of Public Health, University of California
- 7Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
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.
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BibTeX
@article{kashtan2026combustionderived,
title = {{Combustion-derived air pollution and heat from gas-fired appliances in commercial kitchens can exceed health-based guidelines}},
author = {Yannai S Kashtan and Eric D Lebel and Nicole Lucha and Colin Finnegan and Gan Huang and Tamara L Sparks and Abenezer Shankute and Antonio F Saporito and Christopher A Galarza and Robert B Jackson and Seth B C Shonkoff and Drew R Michanowicz},
journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Combustion-derived air pollution and heat from gas-fired appliances in commercial kitchens can exceed health-based guidelines
AU - Yannai S Kashtan
AU - Eric D Lebel
AU - Nicole Lucha
AU - Colin Finnegan
AU - Gan Huang
AU - Tamara L Sparks
AU - Abenezer Shankute
AU - Antonio F Saporito
AU - Christopher A Galarza
AU - Robert B Jackson
AU - Seth B C Shonkoff
AU - Drew R Michanowicz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Environmental Research Letters
DO - 10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae9d96
AB - 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.
SN - 1748-9326
ER -