Holy Smoke: Burning incense, candles pollute air in churches

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.

INCENSED IN CHURCH. Inside this church in Germany, concentrations of air pollutants jumped when incense and candles were burned. Weber

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.