Danger - EMF in the home 

by Dawn Gibbins MBE

There is so much controversy surrounding Electro Magnetic Fields and whether or not they pose a health threat. Should we be concerned and, if so, what can we do to protect ourselves?

I can remember, oh more than 20 years ago, a Manchester entrepreneur and inventor called Mike Locke recounting his wartime experience as a pioneer in RADAR. Apparently, on night shift he would keep his mug of cocoa warm using the electro magnet fields 'leaking' from the electronics - often wondering what it might also be doing to his own nervous system.

The Northern Lights are spectacular nightime displays in the skys of the norther hemisphere. caused by high-speed particles from the sun hitting the atmosphere and releasing EMF - visible as brightly coloured light. According to research just published (June 2008) in the International Journal of Space Weather, they are causing SatNavs similar problems to thos produced by more local EMF on the human brain.

Fast forward the clock and today we are all aware of the risks posed by EMFs emitted from everything from mobile phones to PCs, from microwave cookers to hair dryers.  You can’t see them, hear them, taste them, or feel them but, to quote the World Health Organization:

"For some time a number of individuals have reported a variety of health problems that they relate to exposure to EMF. While some individuals report mild symptoms and react by avoiding the fields as best they can, others are so severely affected that they cease work and change their entire lifestyle. This reputed sensitivity to EMF has been generally termed 'Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity' or EHS."

Lots of the 'authorities' are in denial, but so many experts have come out of the closet and expressed their concerns.

Dr. David Carpenter, former Executive Secretary of the New York Power Lines Project and now Dean of the State of New York School of Public Health, for example who says:

"I am now convinced that EMFs pose a health hazard. There is a statistical association between magnetic fields and cancer that goes beyond the shadow of reasonable doubt. I think there is clear evidence that exposure to EMFs increases the risk for cancer. This is most clear with leukaemia and brain tumours, but in the residential studies, statistical significance increased for all kinds of cancer. And we're just beginning to have a whole body of evidence that reproductive cancers are increased by exposure."

To those of us who are firm believers in the principles of Feng Shui, this comes as no surprise. We talk of a personal EMF called Chi Energy and believe that undue exposure to external EMFs can only cause harm. Whether you are conversant with Feng Shui or not, though, it clearly makes sense to avoid unnecessary exposure.

Amongst other sources, I am grateful to my good friend Simon Brown who has been using an electronic meter to measure the EMF for these observations:

• The baddies include items with motors and heaters. Things like blenders, juicers, cookers and electric heaters. Of all the common electrical household appliances, hairdryers produce the strongest EMFs
• Most common sources of EMF (eg computers, music centres, TVs, telephones, DVD players, fax machines, small photo copiers, electrical outlets / sockets) the harmful EMF’s only extend about a metre or yard from the source.
• Basement flats and offices are at risk from strong EMF from cables running underground close to the building.
• Low wattage lights and their cables do not give off enough EMF to register.
• Old electrical equipment often gives off greater EMF the modern items.
• Wires bedded in walls do not give out as much EMF as those in external plastic trunking.
• BX twisted wire electrical cabling doesn’t produce significant EMFs, so if rewiring your house.....

Some personal observations:

• Ban radio alarms from your bedroom! The bedroom (when not indulging in physical activities!) is for relaxation and recuperation.  In fact, ban any electrical devices from the bedside table.
• The same goes for mobile phones. Switch them off at night. Relax!
•  We have already touched on electrical cabling in walls. Murphy's Law dictates that office seats are so often placed right up against cabling. I can remember visiting a CEO who suffered back problems that were solved once I suggested moving her desk - yes, cabling running absolutely parallel and inches away from her spinal cord!
• I would like to make this a public warning - Avoid electric underfloor heating wherever possible. This from the lady who really knows about flooring (I am currently researching ways of providing safe electrical underfloor heating).
• Electric blankets? Fine if they are simply used to pre-heat the bed, but an invention of the devil is used while the bed is occupied.
• When indulging in the joys of a holistic Spa, check out whether the massage beds are heated electrically. Why undo any positive benefits they may offer with EMF pollution?
• Finally - and this really is a personal observation - forget underwired bra's. I really believe they may contribute to breast cancer by concentrating EMF radiation.

So there we have it. With just a little planning and vigilance, we should always be able to find ways of reducing harmful exposure to EMF radiation. Here's to a healthier lifestyle!