Pioneering consumer advocate Debra Lynn Dadd -- author of Nontoxic, Natural & Earthwise, The Nontoxic Home & Office, and Home Safe Home -- gives advice for choosing products that are better for your health and the environment. She discloses health and environmental effects of common products, reveals harmful ingredients that aren't on product labels, tells how to choose safer products, and offers tips for making products yourself.
Do you want to choose and use products that are better for your health and the environment, but don't know how to choose them or where to find them? Then this column is for you.
CHOOSING SAFE HOLIDAY CANDLES The burning of candles is a beautiful holiday tradition that carries with it the ancient symbolism of "keeping the light" of the sun through the dark days of winter. Yet not all candles are the same--some have safety precautions you should be aware of.
The problem is only with paraffin candles and some scented candles. Some paraffin candles still have lead core wicks which, according to preliminary tests, does volatilize during normal candle burning, resulting in particulate matter lead in emissions. Children are particularly vulnerable. Chronic low-level exposure to lead has been found to produce permanent neuro-psychological defects and behavior disorders in children, including low IQ, short attention span, hyperactive behavior, and motor difficulties. Early signs of lead poisoning in adults include gastro-intestinal problems, muscle pains and weakness, irritability, excessive thirst, headache, insomnia, depression, and lethargy. Preliminary wipe test results show 40mg of lead per sq. ft. in a home that burned a number of lead core wick candles. 100% of lead that is inhaled is absorbed into the bloodstream. There is no safe level for lead exposure.
Simply breathing in small particulate matter, such as that released by lead core wicks, can irritate and damage the lungs, causing breathing problems. People with asthma or some type of lung or heart disease are directly impacted by this.
Fumes from the paraffin wax itself have been found to cause kidney and bladder tumors in laboratory animals.
With the recent rise in popularity of aromatherapy, many inexperienced & amateur candlemakers have jumped into the manufacturing of candles to capitalize on their current popularity without the proper training or expertise. Candlemakers are dumping increasing amounts of (often artificial) fragrance oils into their wax mixtures -- some of which are not even suitable for combustion. Toxic chemicals that have been found in the combustion by-products of some scented candles include acetone, benzene, trichlorofluoromethane, carbon disulfide, 2- butanone, 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, toluene, chlorobenzene, ethylbenzene, styrene, xylene, phenol, cresol, cyclopentene, lead, carbon monoxide, soot, and particulate matter. In addtion to producing toxic chemicals, these artificial fragrances do not offer the healing benefits found in the true essential oils used by experienced aromatherapy practioners.
In addition to their health effects, burning candles can also create harmful soot that can damage electrical appliances and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
Candle manufacturers are not required to list or disclose hazardous, toxic or carcinogenic compounds used as ingredients in their products or even place warning labels on their products regarding lead content and emissions.
You can still enjoy candles, however, by purchasing beeswax candles with cotton wicks. These are available in some candle stores and most natural food stores, as well as from mail order sources. Also for the holidays try bayberry candles, made from the wax of the bayberry plant, which you can order from Vermont Country Store (802/362-4647).
If you want to burn scented candles, be sure they are authentic aromatherapy candles that are scented with real essential oils. If the label isn't clear about this, call the manufacturer before purchasing.
For more information on the problems with candles, visit the Candles and Indoor Air Quality site.
For more information on choosing nontoxic products, see Home Safe Home.
by Debra Lynn Dadd
Author, Home Safe Home
To contact Debra, e-mail debra@dld123.com .Copyright © Debra Lynn Dadd 1999
PAST COLUMNS:
Written by: Debra Lynn Dadd.
To contact Debra, e-mail debra@dld123.com ."The queen of green" - New York Times
"The guru of nontoxic living" - KCBS-TV News
"One of the country's few authorities on natural and nontoxic consumer affairs" - Boston Globe
"The godmother of natural living" - New Age JournalDebra's work as a consumer advocate, author, and consultant has been a leading influence on the natural products market-to consumers, marketers, and manufacturers-for almost two decades. Many refer to her well-researched consumer guidebooks as their "bibles."
Back in 1980, when a "green" product was one the color of grass and "hazardous waste" was something you found only in a factory, Debra was diagnosed with an immune system disorder commonly known now as "environmental illness" or "chemical sensitivity." Her widely varied symptoms were disabling, but she was told there was no cure-other than removing toxic chemicals from her home. As no books on household toxics or nontoxic alternative products were then available, she set out to write one, and in the process healed herself and countless others.
After self-publishing her first consumer manual for others with chemical sensitivities, the makers of nontoxic Bon Ami Polishing Cleanser sent her on a media tour to promote the concept of nontoxic cleaning products. By then it had become clear that the issue of chemicals in products was much larger than a few sensitive individuals; as she researched toxic chemicals in products Debra found that many products contained chemicals that are harmful to the general public and that illness caused by these household toxics could be prevented. Nontoxic & Natural was published in 1984, followed by The Nontoxic Home in 1986. Both books not only alerted consumers to toxic dangers, but offered alternative products.
By 1987, Debra was living in a completely nontoxic home in an idyllic Northern California forest. Having taken the idea of toxics within the home as far as it would go, she realized that our consumer choices also affected the larger environment as well as our own health. She began to research the environmental effects of consumer products and in 1990 came out with Nontoxic, Natural & Earthwise, adding products that had environmental benefits--such as being recycled, energy-efficient, biodegradable, or organically-grown--to her lists of nontoxic and natural goods. In 1992, her other book was updated to The Nontoxic Home & Office.
As products with environmental claims flooded the market, Debra became concerned that many of the products that made environmental claims were nothing more than green hype. Because there were no standards or guidelines for evaluating green products, Debra set out to discover what it means to truly live in a way that is responsible to the earth. Her book, Sustaining the Earth, called for sustainability to be used as the standard for evaluating consumer products, and told everything a consumer needs to know to evaluate green products for themselves.
Debra's work came full circle in 1997 with the publication of Home Safe Home, a new, completely revised edition of her books on household toxics. With new scientific evidence showing the dangers of common household products to be even worse than previously imagined, her work continues to be timely and valuable.
In addition to writing books, Debra published her own newsletter (1985-1991), and has written occasional articles for Vegetarian Times, New Age Journal, Greenpeace, East West Journal (now Natural Health) and Self magazines as well as major newspapers, including USA Weekend. She has written columns for Let's Live (1986-1990) and Environmental Action (1990-1991) magazines and is currently a columnist for Natural Home magazine.
Debra is also a co-founder of WorldWise, Inc., a company that provides useful products that enhance sustainable living through mass market outlets. To contact Debra, e-mail debra@dld123.com .
RELATED LINKS:
|
|---|
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|
