Ambient air, lead concentrations

Abulfaraj WH, Ahmed M, Mousli KM, et al. 1990. Measurement of ambient air lead concentrations in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Environ Inter 16 85-88. 

Fig. 2.3 Annual ambient air lead concentrations, by area, prior to the August 1974 and August 1975 surveys [8].

Candles represent another source of lead fumes and dust. Some candlewicks contain lead as a stiffening agent. Wasson et al. (2002) observed that burning a single candle in a room can raise the amount of lead in the air of that room above the ambient air lead concentration limit set by the USEPA of 1.5 pg per cubic meter (m ). This lead is in the air as fine particulates that can settle on furniture and floors. Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the manufacture of lead-containing candle wicks in 2003, imported candles, and those purchased at yard sales and from thrift stores, may contain them. 

The study of ambient air lead concentrations has also shown the significant correlation between the combustion of leaded gasoline and soil lead concentrations. The EPA has noted that air lead concentration decreases as you travel from the center of a city and that soil lead levels are a direct function of the deposition of ambient air lead (see EPA reports for 1986). The contribution of leaded gasoline emissions and soil lead levels to interior house dust is evident in studies showing that lead in house dust is related to exterior lead levels (Chaney, 1989). 

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