Eco Friendly Candles

photo credit: steepways

Not trying  to be a scrooge, but with lots of candles being lit for the holidays, our thoughts turned towards how eco friendly are their emissions are? Do candles worsen indoor air quality?

I found an interesting article on BNET (CNet’s business site).  The author was threatened to attempt to squash the article.  Some interesting excerpts:

“David Krause, an air quality engineer and former employee of the Florida Department of Health, says that the soot given off from the burning of paraffin candles is the same as that given off by burning diesel fuel. Some of the air contaminants in paraffin fumes include toluene, benzene, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and naphthalene–substances found in paint, lacquer and varnish removers.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that benzene and toluene are probable human carcinogens.

The state of California, under its Proposition 65 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, has identified at least seven major toxins in paraffin wax including the carcinogen benzene.”

The upshot was that one should look for cleaner burning candles made from beeswax or any other natural vegetable wax such as soybean instead of traditional petroleum based paraffin candles.

Other tips include keeping the wick trimmed and trying to go easy on scents.

Related posts:

1. Airline Clean Drinking Water EPA Ruling
2. Green Eco Friendly Pest Control
3. Eco Friendly Pots and Pans
4. Eco Friendly Hair Lice Treatment
5. Eco Friendly Zero VOC Wood Stains

Posted on January 5th, 2009
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