According to a group of doctors from Washington, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association for July 12, lead compounds are still used to stiffen the wicks of domestic candles. In order to estimate the danger these pose to children, a survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of such candles, bearing in mind the fact that a blood lead concentration as low as 10mcg/dl may adversely affect development and influence behaviour in a small child.
The survey showed that 86 of 285 types of candle investigated contained metallised wicks. Nine of them contained lead, with a total content varying from 24,000 to 118,000mcg per wick. The lead concentration in air produced in 24 hours when these candles burned ranged from 15.2 to 54.0mcg/m3, which is between 10 and 36 times the 1.5mcg/m3 standard set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The candle containing the least lead was capable of producing an air concentration averaging 30.6mcg/m3 during three hours of burning, exposing a six-year-old child undertaking normal activity in the home to the recommended lead maximum within 45 minutes. Obviously there is a powerful case for outlawing candles which contain wicks stiffened with lead compounds.