Scented Candles
Recently I was talking with a friend about scented candles. I love the smell, but I started thinking that they must be causing indoor pollution -- after all, the candle melts, and where does it go? Into your lungs? According to WebMD, some candles with metal wicks can cause lead poisoning. I have a few candles, but they don't have metal wicks. But what about the other stuff? The EPA did a literature review on the topic:
http://web.ksl.com/dump/news/cc/series/candepa.htm
They found that: "When candles are burned, they emit trace amounts of organic chemicals, including acetaldehyde,formaldehyde, acrolein, and naphthalene (Lau et al., 1997). However, the primary constituent of public health concern in candle emissions is lead."
These organic chemicals were found to be at safe levels in most normal candle-using scenarios, but a "worst case scenario", such as burning 30 candles for several hours in a small space (your bedroom perhaps?) could result in harmful levels.
As much as I totally trust the government, and believe in the "acceptable" risk levels that the EPA sets, I think I'll opt out of the candles. Indoor air pollution is already a problem, so why add to it?
4 Bags unstuffed
Today was an awesome day in getting rid of stuff. My husband got involved and we have a HUGE bag of weird tools and household items to get rid of. I also threw in 2 years of Men's Health magazines and a cookbook that I haven't looked at since we got married (how to throw a cocktail party -- hah!)C (my husband) says he has "divorced" the car. He rode his bike and took the bus to school day and was very happy with how it worked out. I rode the scooter to work and stopped by WF for some swiss chard (I'm addicted) and had to carry it around in my backpack with my students' papers because I forgot to bring my bag. Good thing it wasn't wet.
Car miles today: zero! :)
photo: www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org
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3 comments:
With regard to the candles...your research reassures me that burning an occasional candle will not, in fact, be my demise. You know - I'd always associated "having a lot of candles" with "having a lot of money" or, you know, being FANCY. Odd to see this blog associate it with "indoor pollution" since the 3 people I can think of who have the most candles are very actively not concerned with outdoor pollution (or recycling) either.
Aha!! Now that otherwise romantic (winter) evening when the atmosphere was mitigated by open windows and a fan makes sense! (Apparently, advocates for indoor air purity have been around for some time.)
I'd long been hoping to one day have the funds to be fancy and have many candles (we'd go to the Yankee Candle stores where, yes, the air was smelly), but I suppose that dream has gone up in smoke...
Indoor air pollution is not something that I had really thought about until fairly recently. It's hard to believe that just by being at home, you are exposing yourself to pollutants. I looked at a house today that had just been painted & had new carpet & floor put in. It stunk.
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