Electromagnetic radiation, or electromagnetic fields (EMF), encompass many types of man-made energies:
Low Frequency Radiation: This type emanates from a building’s wiring and also from power lines. It includes AC (Alternating Current – 60 cycles per second in the US) electric fields AC magnetic fields, and Harmonics, commonly referred to as “dirty electricity.”
Harmonics, which are frequencies other than the utility’s smooth sine wave of 60 Hz, are produced by nonlinear use of current. Nonlinear current users include fluorescent and LED lighting, low-voltage Quartz halogen lamps, dimmer switches, and switching power supplies used in computers and other electronic devices. Linear current users include incandescent lamps, heaters, and ovens.
Any reduction is worthwhile.
–Building Biology® tenet
AC magnetic fields are present when current flows to power appliances and lights. Under most circumstances, magnetic fields are not prevalent except immediately near wiring, as supply and return currents cause cancellation. Sources of magnetic fields include power lines and wiring within the home, along with electronic appliances; magnetic fields from appliances typically decrease very quickly with distance from the source and can easily be kept away from the sleep space.
AC electric fields are present when an appliance is plugged in, regardless of whether or not it is turned on. They are also produced by power lines and are present in the wiring within walls, floors, and ceilings of a home.
Radio Frequency Radiation (RF): This type is associated with communications and found in the air, emitted wirelessly by sources such as cell towers and antennas, cordless telephones, cell phones, pagers, wireless internet, Bluetooth devices, broadcast and digital broadcast TV, AM and FM radio, and emergency and military communications. The energy output from these is billions of times stronger than the natural high frequency energies from the cosmos.
Today these energies are all-pervasive and can be measured everywhere on the earth. The wireless age is increasing the density of such energies at an unprecedented rate.
“…childhood and adult leukemia, childhood and adult brain tumors, and increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)… In addition, there are reports of increased risk of breast cancer in both men and women, genotoxic effects (DNA damage…impaired repair of DNA damage in human stem cells), pathological leakage of the blood-brain barrier, altered immune function including increased allergic and inflammatory responses, miscarriage and some cardiovascular effects.
Insomnia (sleep disruption) is reported in studies of people living in very low-intensity RF environments with WI-FI and cell tower-level exposures. Short-term effects on cognition, memory and learning, behavior, reaction time, attention and concentration, and altered brainwave activity (altered EEG) are also reported in the scientific literature.” 2
Not all people notice effects from EMF. Symptoms and levels of severity can vary from person to person, even within the same household. As a result, some may feel no effect whatsoever, while others may feel “unwell” and not know why, and still others may be severely affected.
3Louis Slesin, PhD, Microwave News, A Report on Non-ionizing Radiation, Volume XVI, No 1., March/April 1996, http://microwavenews.com/news/backissues/m-a96issue.pdf.
4Federal Communications Commission FACT SHEET, Information provided by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, New National Wireless Tower Siting Policies, April 23, 1996, http://wireless.fcc.gov/nepa/fact1.pdf.
5Serious Flaws With the FCC RF/MW, adapted from B. Blake Levitt, Electromagnetic Fields: A Consumer’s Guide to the Issues and How to Protect, http://www.emrpolicy.org/faq/fcc_flaws.pdf.
6Louis Slesin, PhD, Microwave News, A Report on Non-ionizing Radiation, Volume XXI, No. 4, July/August 2001, http://microwavenews.com/news/backissues/j-a01issue.pdf.
7Cindy Sage, BioInitiative 2012, Section 1, Summary for the Public (2012 Supplement). http://www.bioinitiative.org/report/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/sec01_2012_summary_for_public.pdf, page 3.
8International Agency for Research on Canter, World Health Organization, IARC Classifies Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans, http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf.
9Cindy Sage, BioInitiative 2012, Section 1, Summary for the Public (2014 Supplement). http://www.bioinitiative.org/report/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/sec01_2012_summary_for_public.pdf, page 2.
10There’s a Clear Cell Phone-cancer Link, but FDA Is Downplaying It, Ronald Melnick – https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/416515-theres-a-clear-cell-phone-cancer-link-but-fda-is-downplaying-it
11NTP Final RF Report, https://microwavenews.com/news-center/ntp-final-rf-report
photo credits: shog9, alisdair and Gary Lerude via photopin