Safety Features Incorporated into Every Southern Candle And Why.

Part 2 : Wicks

Once you have served in a Fire Safety capacity, it is difficult to leave behind any concerns related to fire. Because of this, we at Southern Candle have done everything possible to make our jar candles as safe as possible. We hot glue the metal tab (wick holder) into the bottom of the jar and use wicks made only of 100% natural fibers with no lead or zinc so there are no toxins released when the candle is in use. Securing the tab in the center of the jar ensures that the wick and therefore the metal tab will not slide to the side of the jar once the wax has begun melting. This way, there is no risk of the metal heating up either side of the jar and causing it to break or burst. In addition, the candle is designed to burn down only to the top of the wick holder (3/8”) and then self extinguish, reducing the risk of fire if a candle is accidentally left burning or forgotten during the night. Southern Candle is so adamant about ensuring they provide only the safest scented candles available that they have conducted research to measure how many BTU’s each jar is capable of handling without risk of breaking. Accordingly, each candle has been adjusted to output a BTU rating below that of the thermal limit of the jar.

What You Need To Know About Metal-Core Wicks

About 30 percent of the candles on the market today have lead core wicks. Lead and zinc are metals commonly used in the core of the wicks. The metal makes the wicks stand up straight making candle manufacturing easier.

The University of Michigan recently conducted a study which showed that one-third of the candles tested from the United States and overseas released more lead into the air than is recommended as safe by the EPA. The study also showed the amounts of lead in the air increased the longer the candles burned.

The study is by Jerome Nriagu, a professor of environmental health sciences, who examined lead emissions from 15 different brands of candles made in the United States, Mexico and China. He also examined the concentration levels of lead that lingered in the air in an enclosed space, such as a room measuring 12 feet by 12 feet and 10 feet high, after one hour and then again for five hours.

Nriagu's study showed that lead emission rates for the candles ranged between 0.5 and 327 micrograms per hour. After burning the candle for one hour, the lead levels in the air of an enclosed space were estimated to range from 0.04 to 13.1 micrograms per cubic meter, which compares to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommendation of 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter for ambient air. After one hour, five of the candles Nriagu tested emitted unsafe levels of lead into the air that measured greater than 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter. After five hours, the lead levels in an enclosed space ranged from an estimated 0.21 to 65.3 micrograms per cubic meter. Candles produced in China and the United States released the highest levels of lead into the air. Regular exposure to lead in this manner in confined spaces could pose health risks to people with weak immune systems, especially children and the elderly, Nriagu said.

"Lead poisoning remains one of the most serious environmental health diseases in this country and other parts of the world. It affects many organ systems and biochemical processes with the most serious sequelae often occurring in the central nervous, cardiovascular and blood systems," Nriagu said. Nriagu's findings are consistent with an Australian study due to be published in the journal, Science of the Total Environment. In that study, Mike van Alphen of Lead Sense, an independent consultancy in Australia involved in environmental lead testing, lead exposure investigations and consumer product testing, examined a single brand of candle sold in Australia. The candle he examined released up to 1,130 micrograms of lead per hour!

Studies have shown that the central nervous system of children is particularly sensitive to lead. Some of the most damaging neuropsychological effects of lead poisoning of young children include learning disabilities, reduced psychometric intelligence and behavioral disorders. These effects have been associated with chronic low-level exposure to lead and are believed to be irreversible. Nriagu's study measured the rate of lead emission in a laboratory setting using a flux chamber. The lead released as candle fume was collected in nitric acid and analyzed by means of an atomic absorption spectrometer. In addition to measuring emission rates, he calculated concentration levels of lead in the air in an enclosed space after one hour and then again, for five hours.

"The half-life of lead in air obviously would make a difference in terms of it being inhaled. A recent study has shown that particles emitted by candles during a normal burn are sub-micron in size and should remain suspended in the atmosphere for some time. Even if a particle is deposited after only a short trajectory through the atmosphere, it adds to the lead burden in the house dust. Airborne lead represents a hazard in more ways than one," Nriagu said.

House dust is widely recognized as a primary route of childhood lead exposure through hand-to-mouth activities.

"Assuming that only 50 percent of the lead released is deposited in an area measuring 12 feet by 15 feet (such as a living room), we estimate that the loading of the lead to house dust will exceed the U.S. EPA guideline of 100 micrograms per square meter by burning one of the Chinese candles for a few hours. Our data thus shows that burning leaded candles can result in extensive contamination of the air and house dust with lead," Nriagu said.

In general, Nriagu found that metal cores in Chinese candles were made of either pure lead or lead alloy while those made in the United States or Mexico consisted of zinc or lead-containing alloys. Lead was detected in small quantities in emissions from zinc-based wicks, suggesting that the lead may be a common contaminant in the zinc, wick or wax. The levels of lead were small, but still may represent a health risk over a long period of time.

 

 

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