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GBlist: Re: EMF
John Bunzick wrote:
>
> Herb Jones wrote:
> >
> > I have read in Harrowsmith Magazine a few years ago about the increased
> > incidence of leukemia among children whose beds are next to or under the
> > electrical panel in the house.
>
> I am very, very skeptical of these claims. I have read of dozens of
> studies that did not find that electrical fields cause cancer, with one
> exception of people living near high-tension transmission lines. In that
> case, they were not able to correlate the increased cancers with the
> electric fields, or possibly something else. I hate to see inuendo and
> fear replace real science on these issues, or we'll be spending our
> money solving problems that aren't real, rather than focussing on known
> risks.
I was under the impression that EMF concerns were viable concerns and
were being treated seriously those concerned with the practice of
developing healthy environments and I have long thought that it was
something I needed to familiarize myself with. I did not immediately
reply because I do not have dozens of studies at hand and I thought
someone would jump in with some facts and figures as this seems worth
discussing. To start this discussion I am quoting from an article by
James Beal titled: Current Concerns: Health Effects Update on
Powerlines, Electrical Equipment & Other Aspects of Electromagnetic
Fields
> There appear to be trends in animal, primate, and
> human research over the years which indicate that
> continual long-term EMF exposure of
> individually-specific pulse rates, intensities and
> waveforms, may produce hypersensitive reactions
> in the living systems exposed [1-4, 7-10, 19, 21,
> 25, 26].
>
> Persons already hyperallerginic to many chemicals
> claim that EMF sources from nearby powerlines,
> home appliances, transformers, and switches are
> one more irritating factor to avoid. These trends
> have caused popular concern, controversy and
> confusion, stimulating government, industry, and
> legal actions regarding the biological effects of
> power frequency electric and magnetic fields
> [15-18, 24].
>
> Research programs are finally beginning to
> investigate the unwanted raw signals (transient
> spikes & surges) coming in on your local power
> lines or generated by home appliance and wiring.
> Interest is being focused on the sharp pulse
> repetition rates (how many times per second), and
> what other frequencies or waveforms are present
> besides the normal 60 cycle [also, called Hertz
> (Hz)] power line frequency.
>
> Information about the length of exposure time,
> when the exposure occurs (especially at night), the
> EMF field intensity (milliGauss), and the
> interactions with people and other living systems in
> the environment is now being gathered. We are
> becoming more aware in recent months of the
> sensitivity of various life forms to EMF via their
> sensory system reactions [20], immune system
> effects [8.9], allergy reactions [10,21], etc. So it is
> not simply 60 Hz magnetic field strength, as
> indicated by a.c. milliGauss meters, that
> determines whether or not a given EMF will have
> biological effects.
>
> Undesirable transients on the power line and in the
> home or business will vary, depending on what is
> switching on and off, how often, how long and
> when (day or night, weekdays or weekends). Five
> recent epidemiological studies in the United States
> and Sweden [6,14] have shown weak, but
> consistent, cancer correlations with proximity to
> transformers, the local wiring code and the
> number of appliances in the home. Because a
> specific subject EMF sensitivity profile has not
> been developed yet, it is likely that the weak
> epidemiological results were diluted by the overall
> test population chosen, and the variability in
> human immune system response to irritating
> stimuli.
>
> Repetitious transients and surges (pulse spikes)
> are not only conducted from power lines into, but
> also created by, factors in home and business
> wiring, appliances and equipment. This repetitious
> long-term exposure may provide a kind of
> irritation or suppression factor, posing potential
> hazards to our health. EMF effects have been
> discovered, at night, reducing brain pineal
> melatonin hormone production, which affects
> immune system efficiency, especially in older
> persons [8,9].
>
> These effects appear to be caused by the sharp
> rise and fall of the pulse spikes created by motors
> and switches (electric blanket thermostat switch,
> for example) turning on and off. That's the reason
> for 'prudent avoidance' of operating electric
> blankets and water bed heaters by children and
> pregnant women. Dr's Wilson and Reiter made
> these discoveries during the past year at Pacific
> Northwest Laboratory and University of Texas
> Health Science Center, respectively [7,8].
>
> This points to a probable irritating or suppressing
> type of influence which would create symptoms in
> a variety of confusing ways, due to personal health
> and immune system factors [4]. Persons at risk
> would be those exposed for years in constant
> proximity to power line components
> (transformers, sub- stations), appliances (electric
> blankets, hair dryers), power tools, switching
> systems, and other sources of potential rapid
> transient (switching) EMF [1].
>
> There is strong stimulus-response evidence,
> verified by eye pupil variations, that continual
> long-term exposure can result in allergic reactions
> to EMF of particular pulse rates, intensities and
> waveforms [10,21]. Environmentally ill (EI)
> persons with compromised immune systems,
> already hyper-allergic to many chemicals, often
> find that EMF transients are one more irritating
> factor to avoid.
(*References for the above article available from
EMFacts Information Service, e-mail:
emfacts@tassie.net.au
John Salmen
TERRAIN E.D.S.
terrain@seaside.net
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