300 million candles are sold in the US each year. It is estimated that at least 3 million of those have wicks that contain lead. Depending upon the amount of candle burning activity, the number burning simultaneously, and indoor room conditions, lead concentrations in excess of both environmental and occupational standards could occur.
While the primary danger is from inhalation, the deposition of lead-bearing fine particulate in household dust provides a secondary exposure route for babies and toddlers due to their ubiquitous hand-to-mouth behavior.
It was found that individual candles emitted lead to the air at average rates that ranged from 100 to 1700 µg/hr. deposition. This can easily raise the source room concentration above the ambient air lead concentration limit of 1.5 µg/m3 set by EPA. Burning multiple candles can elevate it above OSHA permissible exposure limits of 50 µg/m3.
Improve The Air Quality in Your Home!!! Simple Tips For a Healthier House...
Whenever you can, open the windows and let the fresh air in.
Change your furnace filter regularly.
Give your pets regular baths.
Keep litter boxes away from vents.
Turn on your furnace system blower to circulate polluted air through your furnace filter when you vacuum and dust.
Verify that each exhaust fan is operational and properly vented to the outdoors rather than to the attic or crawlspace.
Make use of ventilation fans that are installed in your kitchen and bathrooms.
Add front door mats to the outside and inside of your home. This decreases the likelihood that your family will track allergens inside on the bottoms of their shoes. In fact, consider making yours a No Shoes Allowed Home.
When vacuuming, be sure to use a modern vacuum cleaner fitted with a HEPA filter. Also be sure you’re getting all the particles up off the floor. It takes seven or eight passes over the same area to effectively remove all the dirt and dust trapped in your carpet. Most people don’t vacuum one spot long enough.
Wash bed linens in hot water once a week. Washing laundry in hot water (140 degrees) kills 100% of dust mites and their eggs. Washing the same items in warm water…kills only 7% of dust mites!
Trap allergens by installing a high efficiency filter on your heating and air conditioning system. Whole home solutions are more effective than in-room styles.
If you have a tip regarding your HVAC system that you would like to share, let us know... If we like it, we will add it to our website!
