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A field study of 27 commercial kitchens in California, Pennsylvania, and New York found that the sampled gas kitchens often exceeded health-based air-pollution benchmarks during service, and some remained above benchmarks overnight. The three sampled all-electric kitchens stayed below pollutant thresholds and were cooler. These are measurements from a small, three-state sample—not proof that every gas kitchen is unsafe or that the measured exposures caused illness.
What the study measured
Researchers from PSE Healthy Energy, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and NYU Grossman School of Medicine, working with chef Christopher Galarza, measured air pollution and temperature in 27 restaurants. The peer-reviewed paper, “Combustion-Derived Air Pollution and Heat from Gas-fired Appliances in Commercial Kitchens Can Exceed Health-Based Guidelines,” was published in Environmental Research Letters on October 6, 2026, according to PSE Healthy Energy.
The field sample included 21 gas kitchens, three propane kitchens, and three all-electric kitchens across California, Pennsylvania, and New York. Researchers measured nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), benzene, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and air temperature during restaurant service and overnight. PSE describes it as the first U.S. systematic comparison of these kitchen types under real-world working conditions.
The results concern measured conditions in these workplaces. They do not establish how common the same exposures are across U.S. restaurants, nor do they directly measure long-term health outcomes.
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What pollutants exceeded the study’s benchmarks?
PSE reports that roughly two-thirds of the sampled gas kitchens had pollutant levels above health-based benchmarks in employee work areas during service. The specific findings differ by pollutant and benchmark; they should not be treated as interchangeable measures of risk.
- Nitrogen dioxide: About 70% of the gas kitchens exceeded the EPA’s one-hour outdoor NO₂ standard of 100 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) during cooking hours. One kitchen had a 15-minute average above 1,000 ppbv, exceeding the short-term occupational exposure limit cited from NIOSH.
- Carbon monoxide: Three gas kitchens exceeded California one-hour exposure guidelines.
- Benzene: Five gas kitchens exceeded California one-hour exposure guidelines. Benzene is a known human carcinogen.
These comparisons use different averaging periods and reference levels: the EPA figure is an outdoor one-hour standard, the NIOSH reference is short-term and occupational, and the CO and benzene comparisons are California one-hour guidelines. An exceedance is a finding against the stated benchmark, not by itself a diagnosis or a measurement of an individual worker’s long-term dose.
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What happened in propane and all-electric kitchens?
The study included only three propane kitchens, so the sample is too small to support a broad comparison of propane kitchens as a category. PSE’s summary emphasizes frequent benchmark exceedances in sampled gas kitchens and reports that the sampled all-electric kitchens had some of the lowest pollutant concentrations.
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Why the heat findings matter
Heat was also a major finding. Approximately 68% of gas kitchens with temperature data exceeded 90°F (32°C), the threshold PSE associates with California indoor heat-illness prevention rules and OSHA’s proposed high-heat trigger. Ten kitchens exceeded 100°F, and four exceeded 122°F (50°C).
In one roughly five-hour monitored cooking session, a chef’s shoulder monitor recorded an average temperature of 92°F and a peak of 106°F. PSE also reports that 10 of 13 gas kitchens exceeded 90°F indoors on days when outdoor temperatures stayed below 75°F. The researchers interpreted this pattern as evidence that heat generated inside the kitchen was a substantial driver; it is not a standalone causal estimate.
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Pollution did not end when cooking stopped
Overnight monitoring found higher levels of NO₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄, and benzene than during service in more than two-thirds of monitored kitchens. During these off-hours, ventilation was off and pilot lights remained lit; seven kitchens exceeded the 100 ppbv one-hour outdoor NO₂ standard.
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What restaurant operators and workers can take from the findings
The study does not test a particular hood, range, sensor, or retrofit, so it cannot identify a specific fix. It does point to the need to assess the full workday rather than only the cooking rush:
- Consider equipment fuel alongside ventilation operation when evaluating kitchen air and heat.
- Include overnight conditions in an assessment where pilot lights may remain on and ventilation may be off.
- Distinguish pollutant-specific measurements and averaging periods instead of treating every benchmark exceedance as the same kind of finding.
- Account for workers in different roles and shifts, including cleaning and early-arriving staff.
PSE’s October 6 announcement says the U.S. food-service industry employs 15.7 million people, with about five million spending their working hours in kitchens. The announcement does not identify an underlying source or estimate year for those workforce figures, so they should be understood as figures reported by PSE, not independently verified labor statistics.
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