EMFs – Should You Really Be Concerned?

Electromagnetic fields are ubiquitous. Mobile phones are everywhere. They burst onto the market with no safety testing, yet we’re told that they can’t harm you. Does the science back those who claim they’re safe? Or are they a health hazard? 

by Lloyd Burrell

Electromagnetic fields, it’s one of those terms that get bantered around a lot. More and more in fact. But do you really understand what it means?

What are electromagnetic fields (EMFs)?

The Environmental Protection Agency tells us EMFs “are invisible lines of force that surround any electrical device that is plugged in and turned on.” The World Health Organization explains “One of the main characteristics which defines an electromagnetic field (EMF) is its frequency or its corresponding wavelength … the frequency simply describes the number of oscillations or cycles per second, while the term wavelength describes the distance between one wave and the next.”

Any clearer? I didn’t think so. How about if we look at the question the other way round? Where can EMFs be found? Since the wireless revolution, even though many of us are not aware of it, EMFs are omnipresent. Wireless technologies like cell and cordless phones, cell towers, ‘smart meters’, WI-FI, wireless laptops, wireless routers, and baby monitors rely on EMFs to function, as do nonwireless technologies like power lines, electrical wiring, and other electrical appliances.

It’s because they are now omnipresent that there’s a problem.

Are these technologies dangerous?

Our governments have taken a back seat on the protection front, particularly since the advent of wireless. When cell phones were first introduced into the US market in the early 1980s, they were strangely exempted from premarket safety testing.

Why was that? Somehow the telecommunications industry managed to convince the government regulatory authorities that the mechanisms of harm at work weren’t detrimental to the human body.

Are wireless technologies safe?

There are basically two types of EMF: ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation means that there is sufficient energy at work to separate bonds in molecules.

Ionizing radiation is the stuff of nuclear reactions. It’s used by devices like x-ray machines, airport scanners, etc. Everybody knows it’s extremely dangerous. Nobody denies this. It’s used with caution.

For non-ionizing radiation, which is what your smart phone, wifi, and laptop use, it’s not as cut and dried. The tactic of the telecom industry has been to argue that the levels of energy involved are so low, it’s perfectly safe. They say that because there is no heating (thermal) effect, there is no effect. But there are effects.

Are there any studies on these health effects?

Study after study has shown that there are adverse biological reactions to long-term exposures to low-level non-ionizing radiation.

This must be quite recent then? No, studies have existed on this for decades. Over the last 30 years, there have been literally thousands of studies that show that these low-level EMFs are dangerous.

The BioInitiative Report 2012, published only a few weeks ago, does an excellent job of reviewing all these studies. The BioInitiative Working Group, who published the report, is comprised of 29 independent scientists and health experts from 10 countries. These are all eminent scientists and public health professionals.

Five years previously in 2007, the BioInitiative Working Group published its first report. It concluded:

[T]he clear consensus of the BioInitiative Working Group members is that the existing public safety limits are inadequate for [EMFs] .

The 2012 report is an update to the 2007 version. Through over twenty-one chapters, the 2012 report assesses the 1,800 new research papers in the intervening 2007-2012 period regarding risks from wireless technologies and electromagnetic fields. It shines the spotlight on the link between exposure to EMFs and Autism, Fetal Exposure, Fertility, Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurological and autoimmune disease effects.

Additional findings lead to some other very important questions. Do you or your children ever complain of headaches? Cell phone use has been linked to a variety of neurological concerns, including migraines and vertigo—not to mention acoustic neuromas or tumors.

Still not convinced?

Here is some more food for thought:

• According to the 2012 BioInitiative Report, young children (including those still in the womb), pregnant mothers, the elderly, and the sick are most in danger.

• Cell phones use virtually the same frequency of EMFs as microwave ovens. Wi-Fi uses exactly the same frequency, 2.45Ghz.—a frequency that is known to be particularly biologically active.

• A study by Dr. Michael Klieeisen from the Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute in Marbella, Spain found that a single call lasting just two minutes can alter the natural electrical activity of a child’s brain for up to an hour afterwards!

What does this mean for you?

The message is clear. In the absence of adequate safety standards for protection against EMFs and wireless exposures you need to be proactive. You should act now to protect yourself from these dangers and act even sooner to protect your kids. Click here for information on how to protect your kids from electromagnetic fields.

Lloyd Burrell became interested in EMFs in 2002 after developing a reaction to his cell phone. He now gives advice on electromagnetic protection, shielding and tips on healthy living with EMFs on his website, Electric Sense (http://www.electricsense.com. He is also the author of a new book entitled “Beating Electrical Sensitivity”. You can follow him on Facebook,Twitter and YouTube.

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