WRITTEN QUESTION E-2296/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(25 July 2002)

Subject: Ban on imports of candles with lead-treated wicks which cause health dangers, especially for children and low-paid people

1. Is the Commission aware of the report carried on page 15 of New Scientist dated 22 June 2002, concerning possible health risks from candles with lead-treated wicks?

2. Why has the import of candles containing lead, many of which are made in the Far East, not been restricted when, according to this report, lead is no longer used in the wicks of candles manufactured in the European Union?

3. Is the Commission aware that researchers have detected levels of lead particles in air after the burning of certain brands of candle which are thirteen times higher than the recognised safety limit?

4. Can it confirm that children are particularly at risk, since such levels of lead exposure can cause brain damage, and that people on low incomes are most in danger of exposure because leaded candles are cheaper?

5. Will the Commission join the US Consumer Product Safety Commission in considering a ban on the marketing of leaded candles, whether from imported or domestic sources?

6. If not, what alternative measures does the Commission plan to take to avoid future problems?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(15 October 2002)

The Commission is aware of the potentially harmful effects of lead and its compounds to human health and in particular of the latest indications of possible health risks from lead-treated wicks.

The Commission shares the concerns expressed by the Honourable Member and is considering an overall approach to the issue of risks to health and the environment from lead-containing products.

In order to assess the general health and environmental risks of lead, the Commission had requested the views of the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (CSTEE).

In its opinion of 5 May 2000, the CSTEE expressed the views that exposure of humans to lead levels that may surpass the safety limit may come from a variety of sources (air, soil, water and food, products) and via a variety of routes (inhalation, oral, etc). The CSTEE identified emissions from leaded petrol combustion, paints, lead shot ammunition, lead water pipes as the major, but not the only, sources of lead contamination which could eventually lead to exposure of humans. Children were identified as particularly sensitive to the effects of lead even at exposure levels that are at or below the safety threshold. At the same time the CSTEE recognised that exposure of humans to lead in the Community is declining, mainly due to the decline in the use of leaded petrol. It also urged the Commission to carry out additional work to identify additional uses of lead in products that may contribute to the overall exposure to lead and to assess the potential risks.

In response to the CSTEE request, the Commission commissioned a study to identify and assess the risks to human health and the environment related to the use of lead in products. The study has just been completed and has identified a wide range of applications of lead that could contribute to the overall exposure. The results of the study have been submitted to the CSTEE for critical review.

This study did not identify lead-treated wicks as a source of exposure to lead in the Community. However, the Commission has been informed recently through its regular contacts with the United States Consumer Product Safety Committee (US CPSC) of the results of the latest investigations on the potential health risks associated with lead treated candle wicks. Low-income adults who tend to buy and use more the cheaper candles with lead-treaded wicks and children of families that use candles with lead-treated wicks were identified as the two high exposure population sub-groups.

According to the latest information received from the US CPSC and mentioned in the 22 June 2002 report of the New Scientist magazine, the amount of lead particles released when candles with lead-treated wicks burn for a long period of time (four hours per day over 15-30 days) can result in blood lead levels above the recognised safety limit.

The Commission has requested all pertinent information from the US CPSC in order to submit it for review to the CSTEE so that the Committee can include this particular exposure situation in its overall assessment of potential risks associated with the use of lead in various products. On the basis of the CSTEE opinion, the Commission will in due time propose appropriate risk reduction measures for those uses that are found to result in exposures of concern.