POLLUTION Their sweet scent is popular, but scented candles can cause indoor air pollution
Scented candles emit pollutants and ultrafine particles. — Public Co/Pixabay
- As winter and the holiday season approach, many people enjoy lighting scented candles at home.
- Candles that delicately scent the indoor air and which, according to some, improve its quality.
- Is it true ? Or are scented candles a source of indoor air pollution?
Close your eyes, and just inhale , relax and travel. With the sheer power of a scented candle, the sweet and spicy, gourmet or floral scent. Let yourself be soothed by the little dance of its flame and its delicate fragrance.
At the supermarket around the corner or in luxury boutiques, there are scented candles for all tastes, all scents, and for all budgets. A perfect little cocooning gift for everyone. to offer or to treat yourself during the winter and to the approach of the end of year celebrations. But is it safe for health? Do their fragrance and their combustion make them an ally? indoor air or an additional pollution factor? And if they were at light in moderation?
A source of ultrafine particle emissions
When you’re unfamiliar with it, a scented candle is wax, a wick and a fragrance. In short, nothing too bad. Lighting one would be a harmless, even purifying gesture. This is what 68% of consumers think, who believe that scented candles have no effect on the quality of their candles. indoor air. And almost a quarter of these users of scented candles (23%) light them believing that it improves the quality of their candles. air in their interior, according to a TNS Sofres survey quoted; by Ademe, the ecological transition agency.
We are quickly undeceived; by putting one’s nose in the studies carried out on the subject. “As they burn, scented candles emit ultra-fine particles,” 20 MinutesIsabella Annesi-Maesano, research director at; Inserm and epidemiologist of allergic and respiratory diseases. “Fine particles, generated in particular by road traffic with the combustion of hydrocarbons, or by domestic heating, measure 2.5 microns [i.e. 2.5 thousandths of a millimeter] , and are harmful to health. respiratory. The ultrafine ones measure 0.1 micron, even a few nanometers, explains the epidemiologist. And according to the data we have, we know that the finer the particles, the more they penetrate to the bottom of the bronchial tree to reach the pulmonary alveoli, which allow oxygen to go into the blood. There, because of their size, they manage to cross the alveolar barrier, a sort of net with very tight meshes, and to pass into the blood. What makes them very harmful to health? cardiovascular”.
Is there a sign that a candle is emitting ultrafine particles? “It’s when it produces black smoke as it burns, says Isabella Annesi-Maesano. If there is soot on the wax or the glass wall of the candle, it”s not good.
A source of volatile organic compound emissions
And that’s not all. “These candles also give off pollutants, emitted by their fragrance, whether synthetic, natural or artificial. based on essential oils,” adds the epidemiologist. Products which, at combustion, are at the origin of volatile organic compounds (VOC) dangerous for health. “The main volatile pollutants emitted by candles are toluene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde,” ne”, confirms Ademe in a report on “exposure to pollutants emitted by candles and incense in indoor environments”.
Admittedly, “the levels of volatile pollutants emitted are much lower than those recorded for incense”, tempers Ademe, but “formaldehyde, acetic acid” aldehyde and toluene are measured at concentration levels of several micrograms per cubic meter.” And the pollution doesn’t stop when you put out your candle. The agency observes “a slight decrease in formaldehyde concentrations after the end of combustion, or even an increase in post-combustion concentrations for several candles tested, which probably indicates ;secondary missions of these products”.
In short, « Scented candles emit some of the most dangerous VOCs for health, in particular formaldehyde and benzene, classified as carcinogens for humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) », insists Isabella Annesi-Maesano. VOCs which may also have « toxic effects on reproduction. But in the first place, all these pollutants emitted can cause respiratory diseases such as asthma, ailments of the eyes, skin and cardiovascular disorders,” she adds.
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Good reflexes for improving improve the quality indoor air
Of course, the worst evils do not occur simply by lighting a scented candle for a few minutes from time to time. What is problematic “is the very high level of indoor pollution: in the measurement work carried out by the Quality Observatory; indoor air, we found a lot of formaldehyde in many homes, explains the epidemiologist. There is this widespread but erroneous belief that outdoor air is more polluted, but indoor air is more polluted: there are a huge number of pollutants in homes, more of 5,000 minimum, especially since it’s not only in the air, but also in the ground, in water, in many new furniture or in cleaning products. And scented candles. However, we do not have complete data on the cocktail effect of all these pollutants.
From where? the importance of reducing indoor pollution generated by candles. First gesture valid at; both against pollutants from candles and against the viruses that are currently rampant – Covid-19 and flu in mind &ldash, “You have to air your home every day, and for several minutes when you put out your candle”, prescribes Isabella Annesi-Maesano. And before that, it is better to choose what to light it with. “The use of matches represents an additional source of particles at the very beginning of combustion, warns Ademe. Using a lighter makes it possible to limit these particulate emissions”.
And for the least charged air; possible in pollutants, it is recommended not to light several candles, not to place them too close to each other, nor near a window or an air vent, to prevent the flame from agitates and generates smoke, therefore ultrafine particles.