Pomona, NY – Burning candlewicks that contain lead can release harmful lead vapor and dust into the air. Exposure to lead vapors or dust can cause lead poisoning. Even small amounts of lead in your body can be dangerous. At high levels lead can be fatal. Children six years old or younger are more at risk for lead poisoning because their brain is still developing. As a result it can lower IQ and cause learning and behavior problems. In adults, it can cause high blood pressure, headaches, and can cause miscarriage or premature birth in pregnant women. For more information go to http://epa.gov/lead/ or call the Montefiore Regional Lead Resource Center 718-547-2789.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the sale of candlewicks and candles containing lead in 2003, however, candlewicks containing lead are still being sold in some Rockland County stores. The product, Super Wicks locally distributed by Ner Mitzvah, have been found to contain significant levels of lead. Ner Mitzvah also sells candle products that do not have metal centers. Rockland County’s Office of Consumer Protection has been working closely with the Rockland County Department of Health, and is conducting inspections of stores in and around the location where the candles/candlewicks were reportedly sold, requesting merchants to voluntarily remove this type of product from their shelves.
Candlewicks, normally made of braided cotton, may contain a metal center made of lead, or zinc. To see if the wicks you have contain lead, remove the wax from the tip of the wick, separating the fibers from the wick to check if there is a metallic center. To find out if the metal is lead, rub the metal center on a piece of white paper. If the metal is lead, it will leave a grey mark. If the metal is zinc (which is not harmful) it will not leave a grey mark.
Not all candles or candlewicks are harmful, but labels won’t tell you which ones are safe. It is important to watch out for shiny metal wires in the candlewicks. The best thing is to get candles or candlewicks with pure paper or cotton wicks.
The Rockland County Department of Health urges you to check your candles and candlewicks for a metal core and discard those that contain lead. For more information, call the Health Department at (845) 364-2608.
This warning would have been more timely before Chanukah instead of afterwards.
It would have been even more timely in 2003 when the rules went into effect.
Does that mean this company sold wicks with lead knowingly??
Does that mean that Jewish companies sell products with trans fat? Does it mean that Jewish companies sell whole wheat products, which every producer knows turn rancid within a certain specific time, without any sell-by dates? No. Can’t be. They would never ever do anything like that to fellow Jews.