Natural Gas Is Linked With Cancer — Not Wind Power

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Last Updated on: 6th April 2025, 02:49 pm

When Donald Trump wrongly claimed that wind power turbines cause cancer, he may have been using an old and tired tactic from the Republican playbook, which is to lie or blatantly lie in order to smear something or someone. The goal is to create fear, uncertainty, and doubt. His claim that noise from wind turbines causes cancer was debunked easily by various sources.

Some Republicans seem to try another obvious tactic: to lie and ignore basic facts that counter their claims. Trump would not publicly say that natural gas and propane contain a chemical called benzene which is known to cause cancer. “A single gas cooktop burner on high or a gas oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit can raise indoor levels of the carcinogen benzene above those in secondhand tobacco smoke,” Stanford University writes.

Specifically, the CDC mentions leukemia as a type of cancer connected to benzene exposure.

You might think turning on a ventilation fan near a gas range or gas oven in use would get rid of the benzene, but that is not effective according to the Stanford article linked above. Range hoods that vent to the outside are not very effective either. The benzene emissions from gas cooking and baking does not only remain in the kitchen. “Overall, the researchers found that indoor concentrations of benzene formed in the flames of gas stoves can be worse than average concentrations from secondhand smoke, that benzene can migrate into other rooms far from the kitchen, and that concentrations measured in bedrooms can exceed national and international health benchmarks.”

Induction cooktops use electricity and emit no benzene.

Gas ranges and ovens emit other pollutants that may increase the asthma risk of people living in homes that have them. The CDC has written that exposure to benzene can contribute to anemia and potentially female fertility issues.

Indoor air pollution caused by gas ranges and ovens in homes might not seem like that much of a hazard until you consider that about 47 million US homes have them.

Some portion of the people have cancer from other causes and some are cancer survivors. Are they aware that gas range and oven emissions in their homes, if they use natural gas, might be harming their health?

Over 25 million Americans have asthma, and using natural gas in the home might be worsening their health too. Exposure to natural gas cooking indoor pollution also has been linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “We know that NO2 is an irritant gas that can cause bronchoconstriction, airway hyperresponsiveness, and inflammation, and there’s increased risk of asthma and COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] exacerbations,” he said. 

Burning natural gas also contributes to climate change, which negatively impacts all species on this planet and their habitats.

Notice that Donald Trump lied about wind power and did not tell the truth about the human health and climate change impacts associated with natural gas.