As Taiwanese marked the annual Chungyuan Festival yesterday, the Consumers' Foundation urged the public to be wary of poisonous chemicals in smoke produced in the incineration of paper money for the dead.
A foundation's survey found that among 13 kinds of paper money commonly used, as many as 14 poisonous chemicals were detected in individual samples.
A total of 22 poisonous chemicals were detected across the 13 samples. Toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene and methyl benzene were included in the list.
Benzene is a colorless and highly flammable liquid hydrocarbon derived from petroleum. It is used in or to manufacture various chemical products, including DDT, detergents, insecticides and fuels.
The foundation warned that people may feel dizzy and excitable if they inhale the chemicals, and that inhalation of too much benzene can cause breathing problems and even cancer.
"Benzene is carcinogenic; it can cause leukemia and other serious diseases," said Lin Chieh-liang (林杰樑), chief of the toxicology division at the Linkou Branch of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.
Lin said that infants and young children in particular should keep away from smoke when paper money is burned.
The foundation called on the government to more closely monitor paper-money products to better protect the public's health.
It is traditional to burn paper money for the dead during the Chungyuan Festival.
The seventh lunar month is also known as Ghost Month. The Chungyuan Festival falls on the 15th day of Ghost Month.
Connected to the Taoist tradition, followers honor the dead on this day, when the earth god is said to give absolution for the sins of the dead.
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