It’s getting hot in here.
A Biden-appointed commissioner at the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission tried to turn down the temperature after a report that the agency was considering a national ban on gas stoves because they emit harmful pollutants.
Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg that the appliances are a “hidden hazard” in a story published Monday.
“Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” he told the news outlet.
Trumka — the son of late AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka — later clarified that any new regulation would only pertain to new appliances after he was called out on Twitter by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.).
“Over 40 million American households use gas stoves,” Palmer wrote. “This type of power should never have been given to unelected bureaucrats and it is time for it to end.”
Trumka responded to Palmer with a cheery “Thanks for your interest!”
“To be clear, CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves,” he added. “Regulations apply to new products. For Americans who CHOOSE to switch from gas to electric, there is support available – Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act which includes a $840 rebate.”
Palmer was unconvinced.
“As I said yesterday, unelected bureaucrats should not have the type of power to even consider such an action,” he tweeted Tuesday, linking to a Post story about the mooted ban. “It is time to rein in the Biden administration and their continual desire to control American’s lives and decisions.”
According to Bloomberg, recent studies by the American Chemical Society and New York University Law School’s Institute for Policy Integrity found gas stoves emit pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine matter at levels considered unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization.
Studies also linked the use of gas stoves to respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular problems, cancer and other health conditions.
The report said the CPSC planned to open a public comment period on the initiative this winter.
The agency released a statement following the report saying any action would follow a “lengthy process.”
”Agency staff plans to start gathering data and perspectives from the public on potential hazards associated with gas stoves, and proposed solutions to those hazards later this year,” the CPSC statement said. “Commission staff also continues to work with voluntary standards organizations to examine gas stove emissions and address potential hazards.”
Any potential ban or regulation would likely face a lengthy legal challenge.
