Lead in Aromatherapy Candles

Cathy Flanders and her husband put their plans for a second child on hold when they discovered that they and their young son were being exposed to toxins from a seemingly innocuous source: aromatherapy candles.

The Flanders had noticed a dark film called "black soot deposition" around electrical outlets and appliances, and on utensils, dishes and clothing. Mystified about what could be causing it, they consulted an engineering firm that recommended testing emissions from their aromatherapy candles. The candles, purchased at The Gap and Banana Republic, were releasing soot and volatile organic compounds, such as benzene and toluene, when burned. The wicks had wire cores made of lead, a potent neurotoxin that was being released into the air.

Because the federal government doesn't require candle manufacturers to list ingredients on the final product, it's difficult for consumers to know which ones are safe. Cathy Flanders, who has filed a lawsuit against The Gap (the parent company of Banana Republic), has been unable to find out what other hazardous ingredients might have been in her candles. "Our doctor has urged me to rethink any plans of future pregnancy until we have a quantitative ingredient list in hand and have reviewed it with a toxicologist for significant reproductive toxins," she says. "Hopefully, the ingredient list will reveal nothing more harmful."

The Flanders aren't alone in experiencing problems. Black soot deposition has been a concern in some college dormitories. Dan Cautley, a research engineer with the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, says the increased use of candles and other indoor combustible materials, including incense and oil lamps, is the suspected cause of black soot deposition and may be an indoor air quality issue.

Home builders are concerned about soot because, in some cases, their customers blame them. "Regarding liability, individual home builders who have called us say that the cost of repainting and carpeting a home, or replacing furnaces that are blamed unfairly for the problem, can easily exceed $10,000," Cautley says. "I know of individual cases where people have spent more than that."