Holy Smoke: Burning incense, candles pollute air in churches

Science News ^ | 8/19/06 | Ben Harder

[elkfersupper]

Incense and candles release substantial quantities of pollutants that may harm health, a detailed new study of air quality in a Roman Catholic church suggests.

Even brief exposure to contaminated air during a religious service could be harmful to some people, says atmospheric scientist Stephan Weber of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen, Germany. A previous study in the Netherlands indicated that the pollutants in smoke from incense and candles may be more toxic than fine-particle pollution from sources such as vehicle engines.

Numerous studies have examined the health effects of combustion by-products from major outdoor sources, such as automobiles and power plants. Researchers have also examined some sources of indoor pollution, including stoves. But there have been few investigations of the health consequences of candles and incense, even though they are usually lit indoors, sometimes in crowded spaces with limited ventilation.

Weber conducted the new study in St. Engelbert Church in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. The church staff burns candles during each mass and incense on some holidays.

Weber installed two devices that continuously sampled air during a 13-day period that began on Christmas Eve of 2004. The equipment measured concentrations of particles up to 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) and also those 1 µm or smaller (PM1), which endanger people's hearts, lungs, and arteries (SN: 8/2/03, p. 72: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030802/bob8.asp).

During the study, incense burners and candles were lit for services at midnight on Christmas Day, on the morning of the following day, and on New Year's Eve. During services on other days, only candles burned.

Concentrations of both types of particles almost doubled during services that used only candles. Simultaneous use of incense and candles raised the concentration of PM10 to about seven times that recorded between services, and PM1 reached about nine times its background abundance.

Particulate-matter concentrations quickly dropped after the candles were extinguished, but remained elevated for 24 hours after simultaneous use of candles and incense, Weber reports in an upcoming Environmental Science & Technology.

Even the relatively modest increase linked to candles concerns Theo de Kok of Maastricht University in the Netherlands. In past experiments, he and his collaborators found that PM10 from candles might be especially harmful because, in the body, unidentified constituents of the smoke readily generate free radicals that damage cells.

After candles had burned in a Dutch chapel for 9 hours, particles in the air there formed 10 times as many free radicals as airborne particulates collected along busy roadways do, de Kok's group reported 2 years ago.

"Even after relatively short exposure, you can expect acute health effects" in susceptible groups, such as shortness of breath in people with asthma, de Kok says. He adds that he knows of no study examining whether groups such as priests and frequent churchgoers have elevated rates of cancer or other pollution-associated health problems.

Incense isn't used exclusively for religious purposes. Some people who live in cramped quarters burn incense to mask household odors, de Kok notes. In fact, an incense-using student originally proposed the study that de Kok's group conducted.

[Tamar1973]

Weber installed two devices that continuously sampled air during a 13-day period that began on Christmas Eve of 2004.

How convenient that they chose one of the busiest times of the year in your typical Catholic Church to do this "study". I'm sure that inflated their numbers quite a bit to make their point.

[JohnnyZ]

I am incensed

[LadyDoc]

when I worked in a coal mining region, a lot of our people had black lung. So Father only used incense at the 10 o'clock mass, and would announce the week before if there would be incense, so the miners with black lung could go to 8 am mass

[NYer]

The use of incense in the ancient world was common, especially in religious rites where it was used to keep demons away. Herodotus, the Greek historian, recorded that it was popular among the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians. In Judaism, incense was included in the thanksgiving offerings of oil, grain, fruits and wine (cf. Nm 7:13-17). The Lord instructed Moses to build a golden altar for the burning of incense (cf. Ex 30:1-10), which was placed in front of the veil to the entrance of the meeting tent where the ark of the covenant was kept.

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[Alia]

Ping.

[Diva]

And after the churches will come the back yard BBQ.

[knuthom]

There are some kinds of incense that bother me a lot. Can make my eyes water. The priest thought I was really affected by the service, but I had to tell him it was only the incense.

[BelegStrongbow]

Thanks for the ping!

[Northern Yankee]

Even brief exposure to contaminated air during a religious service could be harmful to some people, says atmospheric scientist Stephan Weber of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen, Germany.

Ahhh... but for the soul, an enternity of salvation.

Take your pick! ; )

[Northern Yankee]

It was cold and damp outside yesterday as I made my way to morning Mass. When I walked into St. Stephen's, one of our Catholic churches, I could smell the candles burning, and the see quiet glow of the candle light before the altar.

It brought a warmth to the soul that cannot be described. I gazed over to the alcove to see statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bathed in the light of the blue votive candles, and thought to myself, "This is home".

Bring on the candles!

[stocksthatgoup]

atmospheric scientist vs GOD
Listen to the Higher Authority!

[sneakers]

Yeah, you'd better correct it,or the spelling and grammar police will be hounding you! I once, accidently, spelled it "alter" instead of "altar" and it didn't take long before the self-righteous spelling hounds were rudely correcting me in public!

[Straight Vermonter]

Poor spelling bothers me but I keep it to myself.

[Aquinasfan]

I say we show up at their lab with pitchforks and incense-burning torches.

[IrishBrigade]

The deep pockets of Big Incense are about to be raided...kind of gives a whole new meaning to the word censor...

[sneakers]

I love the atmosphere of a Catholic church before an early morning daily mass (not that I've had an opportunity to go in a looooong time!) It's the most peaceful and perfect time to spend before the Blessed Sacrament.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

If frankincense and myrhh were appropriate gifts for Jesus, how could a church ignore this tradition?

[F.J. Mitchell]

Holy Smoke is not a pollutant.

[Tokra]

Next cooking will be banned. We'll all be eating tofu soon.

And raw tofu to boot.

[Northern Yankee]

I love the atmosphere of a Catholic church before an early morning daily mass..

I hope that you can do so again soon.

Nothing quite like it! ; )