What can be more romantic than lighting candles? For centuries, people have enjoyed having candles to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Before electricity, candles were the main source of light to illumine ones home, and while we no longer need to use candles for this purpose, we still enjoy lighting candles. At special dinners, one may light candles on the dinner table, and almost all quality restaurants will also have candles at each table to create a special ambiance.
While the Ancient Egyptians are credited with the early beginnings of what would evolve into candles, it was the Romans who developed the wick candle and used tallow, which is the fat or suet from cattle or sheep.(1) The main problem with using tallow however, was that they emitted not only a rather unpleasant odor, but were very smoky. The use of beeswax didn’t come into effect until the Middle Ages, and was a marked improvement as these candles burned a lot cleaner and without emitting too much smoke. In fact, some candle manufacturers still use beeswax to this day.
Throughout the centuries, continued improvements were made as to the materials used to make candles, such as the wax that is produced by boiling bayberry bushes, to using spermaceti which is the crystalized sperm whale oil, to finally paraffin, which was developed around the 1850s by using oil and coal and is the material used in almost all candles to this day.
I myself love candles and light several every single night. I especially love the scented candles that while not only do they illuminate my home, but depending on the scent may give off the delightful scent of apple and cinnamon or peaches, that may remind one of apple or peach pie baking in the oven. There is almost no end to the list of wonderful scents some candles can have.
For years, the wick of candles was usually made from nothing more than braided cotton that was dipped in wax itself to stiffen it and also so it wouldn’t burn down too fast. Somewhere along the line, however, on another material was introduced to stiffen the wick, and here lies the problem that most people haven’t been aware of, and all these years have unknowingly been exposed to serious health hazards, and that being that many candles contain lead wicks.
Supposedly, the health-risk dangers of lead wick candles was realized and goes as far back as 1973 when the Health Research Group began a petition to the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban candles containing lead wicks. Studies and research had been conducted by the Health Research Group stating that when lead-wick candles were burned, they emitted toxic levels of the lead, which posed serious health risks, particularly to children exposed to the lead-wick emissions. For years, we have naturally been aware and have heard of the health risks involved with lead based paints that had been used to paint homes that could result in lead poisoning, but few people had realized that they may have had the potential of lead poisoning in a simple thing as using candles.
Exposure to lead can effect not only the nervous system, but cardiovascular and blood systems as well in both adults and children alike, but of course, children are more at risk to the affects of lead poisoning since their systems are still in the developmental stages of growth.
A real irony, if you wish to view it that way, occurred however in that while the Health Research Group had first issued their petition to the Product Safety Commission to formerly ban the use of lead-wicks in candles in 1973, it wasn’t until some twenty-seven years later, in the year 2000 that the petition was formerly recognized and granted.
Now supposedly, while a ban has been effective and made against the the use of lead-wick candles during these past few years, at least in candles manufactured in the United States, and also many leading stores such as Wal-Mart and Pier 1 Imports, will refuse to sell candles that have lead-wicks, however,that doesn’t mean that lead-wicks in candles still don’t exist.
The danger still exists in the candles that are imported from countries such as China and usually are in such candle types as container candles, votive, pillar-types and tealights which still use pure lead-wicks. Most of these types of lead-wick candles are found in the bargain or discount type stores, such as the dollar stores, where naturally candles are sold at a much cheaper price than their counterparts in other stores such as Pier 1, which do sell candles without lead-wicks.
How does one know if the candles they are buying do or do not have lead-wicks? First look at the labels on candles. Almost all candles have some kind of label, that provides warnings of the safe use and burning of candles, and will clearly indicate whether they are lead-wick free. If in doubt, just simply look at the wick itself. If you notice a very thin metal core in the center of the wick, you unfortunately have a lead-wick candle. Also, a sure fire test, (no pun intended) and common characteristic of lead-wick candles is that they burn smokier and often when the candle is extinguished will continue to smoke for several minutes even after the flame is out.
I’ve gotten very conscientious of what candles I buy now. I have to admit, to save money, I have often gotten candles in the dollar stores, as probably many of you have. But when it comes down to it, isn’t one’s health more important that saving a few bucks than the potential risk of being exposed to lead poisoning?
History of Candles
http://www.candlecomfort.com/historyofcandles.html (1)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle_wick
Dangers Of Lead Wick Candles
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Candles-Lead-Wicks.htm
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml01/01083.html
http://www.candlecomfort.com/lead.html
