Some Candles Emit Hazardous Materials for Human Health and are Indoor Air Pollutants

Aims: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of burning candles from paraffin sources to determine whether indoor environment under that condition is safe and healthy for human.

Study Design: Burning chamber (8” x 8” x 26”) attached to a vacuum pump on the top, was constructed locally, and Coconut Charcoal CSC Cat. No. 226-01GWS was purchased from SKC, Inc. The adsorbed emission products on the charcoal were extracted by a given volume of carbon-disulfide, and after filtration injected into a GC/MS equipped with NIST library of compound allowing us to identify all the components.

Place and Duration of Study: All the study was carried out at South Carolina State University from January 2008 till June 2010.

Methodology: A candle burning chamber was constructed, while candles were burning under normal condition, the emission products were adsorbed on coconut charcoal and extracted with carbon disulfide. The extracted samples were injected into a GC/MS system under the temperature and flow rate conditions to produce chromatograms and also to identify those substances present in the samples. The ill-health effects of all emission products are available in literature.

Results: Several kinds of paraffin candles were examined, the samples produced various hazardous products including benzene, toluene, and alkenes.

Conclusion: Paraffin candles are hazardous for human health to be burned in enclosed and limited areas.