| Time to institute Candle Control Laws!June 22 2001 at 6:03 AM | Mike F. |
| Jun 21, 2001
Deaths From Candle-Related Fires on the Rise
By David Ho
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of people killed by house fires started by candles has skyrocketed over the past two decades, government safety officials said Thursday.
Deaths from all residential fires fell from 4,500 in 1980 to 2,660 in 1998, but candle-related fire deaths rose from 20 to 170, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a report. In most cases, unattended candles caused those fatal fires.
"Candles are no longer used for the occasional dinner party. In fact, only a small percent of candle fires start in dining rooms," commission Chairwoman Ann Brown said. "Candle sales are booming and families are lighting candles in their living rooms, family rooms, dens and bathrooms."
J.C. Edmond, a spokesman for the National Candle Association, said candles are as safe as they have always been, but candle use has increased nearly fivefold in the last 10 years. He said candle retailers will sell an estimated $2.3 billion in candles this year.
The agency's report found that the number of house fires dropped from 655,000 in 1980 to 332,300 in 1998, while house fires caused by candles increased from 8,500 to 12,900.
Nearly half of candle fires start in bedrooms with mattresses or other bedding the most likely items to go up in flames, the commission said, noting that children playing with or near candles is a frequent cause of candle fires.
In 1998, the last year for which figures were available, candle fires accounted for 6 percent of fire deaths, the report said. Cigarettes started 30 percent of fatal fires.
The report does not include fires suspected of being caused by arson.
To explain the overall decline, the agency cited new safety standards for clothing, furniture and child resistant cigarette lighters.
To reduce the chance of home fires, particularly those involving candles, the government advises consumers to:
-Keep matches, lighters and candles away from children.
-Never leave burning candles unattended.
-Keep combustible materials away from candles.
-Don't put candles in a location where children or pets could knock them down.
-Use only nonflammable candle holders and always trim the wicks before lighting.
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Forget Kyoto scented candles are America's new environmental fear
By Chris Gray
15 June 2001
The American obsession with health may have snatched away one of the few antidotes to stress-filled modern living.
Scented candles, as fundamental to New Age relaxation as Feng Shui and yoga, could be exposing users to illegal levels of pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA released research yesterday showing that burning nine candles in one room would lead to higher levels of pollutants than would be legal outdoors. Scented candles were even worse they emitted more black soot containing particulates, which have been linked to breathing problems.
Some candles bought in America were also found to have wicks containing lead, which is routinely removed from petrol in the West because it can cause brain damage in young children.
The agency warned against the over-enthusiastic use of scented candles, no matter how relaxing their smell proved.
Michael Osborne, a spokesman for the EPA, said: "If I were someone who had a health problem like asthma, and I were looking for things to prevent aggravating respiratory problems, candles and incense are two things I would seriously consider."
The findings were rejected by the American National Candle Association and met short shrift from candle makers in Britain.
David Constable, owner of Candlemakers Supplies in west Kensington, London, said: "The Americans are paranoid. Burning anything is going to put pollution in the air. I would say that [the research] must have been done by someone really jumpy.
"If you think that Bush is saying global warming is not proved and the others are saying don't burn candles it doesn't add up. Diesel and petrol are the worse by far."
Mr Constable, who has been making candles since 1969 and supplies the Prince of Wales, said smoke from candles could easily be kept down by trimming the wick and snuffing them out. "The real danger is people who don't know how to use them and set their house on fire," he said.
The Environment Agency said there were no British legal controls on pollution levels indoors. All candle smoke gave off a certain amount of pollution, the agency added.
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| | Author | Reply | Webel Fetzer
| When they come for my candles... | June 22 2001, 6:05 AM |
When they come for my candles, they will have to pry them out of my cold, dead fingers!
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| Redstone
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Can you say.. environmentalism to the extreme?
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| mommason
| Untitled | August 2 2001, 6:41 PM |
I object! I'm an enviromentalist... candle flame is all organic... smog is a natural creation of many plants, and the air around a campfire is to be sneezed at if its pine and you're allergic but that's how it is. Keep those candles burning...just not the house.. there is good and bad in everything... sigh. otherwise, just stop breathing if you can't stay upwind or open a window
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| Mike F.
| You got it! | August 6 2001, 5:44 AM |
Right on, Mommason!
A single pine tree can create more photochemical smog than your family car. It's the terpenes that do it.
Also - when oxygen mixes with the lipid fractions of the mucous in your lungs, it creates a carcinogen.
Happy breathing!
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