Climate Council warns of gas dangers in schools and homes

A new report warns children are being put at serious risk because of a “disturbing” hidden danger lurking in Aussie homes and schools.

Parents have been warned that sending their kids to NSW schools could be harming their health.

And the real danger is much wider, with kids at risk across Aussie homes, according to a new report.

The Climate Council warns the use of gas in homes is exposing Australian children to a higher risk of asthma, as well as driving climate change.

“Cooking with gas is estimated to be responsible for up to 12 per cent of the childhood asthma burden in Australia,” report author Dr Kate Charlesworth said.

“A child living with gas cooking in the home faces a comparable risk of asthma to a child living with household cigarette smoke.”

The report, Kicking the Gas Habit: How Gas is Harming our Health, finds that gas commonly used for cooking and heating harms people’s health, while the process of extracting gas exposes communities to hazardous substances.

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Gas heaters still being used in NSW classrooms.

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Asthma Australia chief executive Michele Goldman said Australia had some of the highest rates of asthma in the world and it was the leading cause of disease burden among school-aged children.

“We should be doing everything possible to improve health outcomes for our children,” she said. “Some people will be shocked to learn that cooking dinner on a gas stove could be contributing to their child’s asthma symptoms, we need education to improve awareness for indoor air pollution.

“People can take steps to reduce their risk by increasing ventilation, such as modern extraction fans over gas stoves, flues for gas heaters, and simple measures like opening windows. However, this won’t eliminate the risk completely.”

Dr Charlesworth said just as doctors spoke up on the dangers of asbestos and tobacco in the past, experts had a responsibility now to sound the alarm on the dangers of gas.

Report warns NSW school kids at risk

The report also warns gas heaters used in most NSW schools are exposing children to a higher risk of asthma and dangerous indoor air pollution.

While most states and territories have banned unflued gas heaters in schools that release pollutants directly into the classroom, the report warns the majority of NSW schools still use them.

However, NSW Education said this was not the case.

“Parents would be shocked to learn that sending their child to school could be harming their health,” Ms Goldman said.

“Unflued gas heaters release nitrogen oxides into the classroom, during winter, which can trigger asthma symptoms.

“How many more generations of New South Wales children will have to unwittingly breathe in unhealthy air whilst learning in their classrooms?”

Bailey Linton-Simpkins, 16, from Epping Boys High School, called on the government to address the issue.

“I find it incredibly disturbing that the majority of NSW public schools still use unflued gas heaters when not a single NSW private school nor any schools in states and territories outside of NSW do,” he said.

“They do not use them for the simple but severe reason that gas poses a myriad of risks to our health.

“How am I expected to not only function but excel at school when the link between unfiltered gas heaters and asthma symptoms, indoor air pollution, allergic reactions, and many more adverse effects on health is unmistakeable? The government owes my peers and I an answer to this.”

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Ms Goldman said the NSW Government must remove dangerous gas heaters from schools and replace them with electric alternatives.

Dr Charlesworth said the government’s “Cooler Classrooms” program only targeted certain schools and was not moving fast enough.

“The government should also take simple, practical steps to reduce exposure to gas in homes by ending mandatory gas connections for new residential developments — just as the ACT has done — and make it more affordable for vulnerable households to replace their gas appliances,” she said.

“Gas is both directly hazardous to our health, and also as a fossil fuel drives climate change, which worsens health risks related to extreme weather such as heatwaves, bushfires and intense storms.

“Australians who switch from gas to efficient electric appliances will save money, protect their family and improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.

“The Federal Government must abandon its dangerous, polluting and expensive plans to expand gas operations, and instead spend public money on scaling up clean, safe and affordable renewable energy.”

A spokesman for School Infrastructure NSW said that in 2009, “hi NOx” heaters from public schools were removed, or hi NOx burners were replaced with lo NOx in classrooms.

“To suggest classrooms in NSW are dangerous due to heaters is false. Fear for their children’s safety should not be exploited to convince parents of the merits of reducing gas use,” the spokesman said.

“The majority of schools use heaters. Unflued heaters have either been converted to lo NOx or replaced entirely. Health studies show they are safe. It is disappointing that the findings of these studies appears not to have been considered in this report.

“School Infrastructure NSW has been replacing gas heaters with more efficient heating and cooling systems. Since July last year alone, 2000 unflued gas heaters have been removed.”

The spokesman said the Department of Education inspected the performance of all gas heaters annually to ensure they operated to the required performance and safety standards.