Public Citizen & Health Research Group has
filed a petition to issue a legally mandatory ban & recall on the
use of lead in candle wicks. I'm hoping to enlist your help by submitting
your comments in writing in support of enacting a mandated ban of
lead in any & all candles made or sold in the U.S. This is an action
that is long overdue, necessary & attainable - but the deadline is
June 12th [I know the deadline says that it's June 12th, but I was
informed by the CPSC that late arriving comments would be accepted
& considered but to get them in asap ;c)]. If you are active in other
environmental & public health advocacy lists or groups or keep in
contact with people that would support this - it would be so appreciated
if you could circulate this with some of the groups you associate
with. The petition needs all the support that can possibly be brought
together. This is truly a case of every letter counts or they will
& fully intend to sweep this again right under the rug with another
unenforceable, voluntary and basically meaningless, ban, clearly this
is not in the best interests or the safety and welfare of consumers,
their families & especially their children or even the "hands-on"
candle makers themselves. [The industry & their trade association
are pushing for a more lax voluntary action rather than mandatory
ban.]. This was an issue back in 1973 & 1974 & should have been taken
care of then but in spite of the EPA Administrator at the time urging
a mandatory ban...a voluntary ban was approved and then not complied
with or even monitored. The EPA study that Mr. Train references was
performed in 1974 & determined that - "Burning only two candles three
hours each day on a regular basis in the home could increase exposure
to airborne lead by a factor of 5 or more. This exposure to lead from
candles could equal or exceed the exposure to airborne lead associated
with the busiest freeways in America." [keep in mind this was a time
when leaded gasoline was still fairly commonplace]. "Inhabitants of
homes in which lead wick candles are burned could be exposed to substantial
incremental quantities of lead which, if continued on a regular basis
would pose a significantly high risk to health especially among children."
Mr. Train goes on to say: "In my opinion candles represent an unnecessary
incremental source of lead that can readily be controlled. It is my
strong recommendation that the Consumer Product Safety Commission
do all in it's power to prevent exposure to the substantial and unnecessary
source of lead in candles."
INFO
LINKS
Air
Purifiers Overview - view all air purifiers
sold by AllergyBuyersClub.com
Air
Purifiers Comparison Chart - a comparison with pluses and minuses
of all the best air purifiers
At any rate, the CPSC is taking comments from the
public regarding this proposal until June 12th. It's unbelievable
that in the year 2000 we even need a petition & comment period to
ban an insidious poison consumers may be unwittingly releasing into
their homes & attempt to fix an erroneous policy on lead in candles
from 26 years ago. But the fact remains that's where we stand now.
I hope I can count on your participation in submitting comments,
possibly even encourage like minded individuals to submit comments
as well by sending this out to the other groups & individuals to
which you are a member or have affiliations with.
The address where comments need to be sent:
Petition HP 00-3 Requesting a Ban of Candle Wicks Containing Lead
and of Candles Containing Such Wicks. www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr00/wicks.html
Comments accepted until 6/12/00
ADDRESSES: Comments on the petition should be sent to: cpsc-os@cpsc.gov
With the subject heading: "Petition HP 00-3--Candle Wicks Containing
Lead."
Office of the Secretary Consumer Product Safety Commission
Washington, DC 20207
telephone (301) 504-0800
OR
delivered to: Office of the Secretary,
Consumer Product Safety Commission
room 502, 4330 East-West Highway
Bethesda, Maryland 20814.
My heartfelt appreciation to those who take
the time to respond in support of this petition. I will keep the
membership apprised of the petition's progress. Feel free to contact
Cathy if you have any unanswered questions pertaining to the petition
or the issue in general. rkfabf@aol.com
