The invisible rays called electromagnetic fields (EMFs) seem to
have caught our collective imagination; they have become Americans’
number one environmental health concern. Conflicting reports
about where one finds EMFs and what effects they have on humans
(especially children), have fueled our alarm.

EMFs are low-frequency fields derived from our use of electric
power. Appliances such as alarm clocks, dishwashers, electric
lines, television sets, and headsets-to give but a few examples-
all give off quite predictable EMFs. High tension power lines,
electrical line transformers, and electrical power stations are
other possible neighborhood EMF sources whose fields are very
site-specific. The most unpredictable source of high EMFs is
found in “askew” buildings, as a result of faulty grounding
and wiring. Note that EMFs are not the same as radiofrequency
EMFs produced by such sources as cellphones, which are the
source of health controversy in their own right.

Research suggests that under a certain level, exposure to
EMFs pose no increased cancer or leukemia risk, but that above
that level there is reason to believe EMFs are possible human
carcinogens that may potentially cause the doubling of leukemia
risk among children.

On June 27, 2001, the expert scientific group of the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
joined other prestigious committees around the world, including
the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to
conclude that power frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are
a possible human carcinogen with a potential of doubling the
leukemia risk among children consistently exposed to fields above
4 milliigauss (mG).
Click here to read the full report.

A 2002 study, as reported in Microwave News, issues a strong health warning about EMFs.

The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that no more
than a quarter of homes exceed 2 mG of overall background
electromagnetic radiation. However, EMFs from appliances can
cause localized fields well in excess of the 4 mG mentioned
in the study. Milligaus refer to a unit of measure for the
strength of an electromagnetic field. A gaussmeter is a
sensor that reads these fields.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
What is your own risk for exposure to EMFs? One way to find
out is to rent or buy a gaussmeter (a gauge for measuring EMFs)
to determine your exact exposures in your home and work
environment. Find sources for gaussmeters
here.

By making the
invisible fields visible to you with a gaussmeter, you can
correct any problems that you may find and feel at peace that
your overall exposure is within safe limits.

Here is what I learned from using a gaussmeter in my house and
some friend’s houses (I asked their help since I am not an
Appliance Queen, and don’t even own a microwave). Note that
most of our home environments had a general zero reading on
the gaussmeter. It was when we were very near (within a few feet)
to an appliance that we found fields, and sometimes these were
very high (up to 100 mG). The lesson here is to keep appliances
at a distance; six feet or more is ideal.

ELECTRIC STOVE: With two burners at the highest range, the
stove gave off only 1 mG at two feet, and there was no reading
at 6 feet. With the oven set to “bake” at 300 degrees, the
reading rose slightly, to 1.75 mG at two feet and .4 mG at six.
Standing immediately in front of the stove, with two burners
on the highest setting, the field level jumped to 25-35 mG.

DISHWASHER: At the controls on the front panel, the dishwasher
measured over 100 mG when running-off the scale on some meters.
Even when it wasn’t running, the dishwasher registered 50 mG.
The lesson about this appliance is to stay as far away from it
as you can.

TRANSFORMER-POWERED APPLIANCES. I speculate that there may be a
transformer in the dishwasher. Transformers are found in many
desk and halogen lamps, in battery chargers, and in those
little black cubes that plug into the wall to run things like
answering machines and portable radios. All transformer-powered
appliances give off strong, localized fields. A typical reading
for a wall plug-in transformer is 50 to 100 mG at a few inches’
distance; however, there is no detectable field at two feet.

TV: In front of my television, I found 90 mG. This dropped to
20 mG at 2 feet, and 1 mG at six.

HOT-AIR POPCORN POPPER: Fifty mG standing right next to it.

THE POINT WHERE ELECTRICAL WIRES ENTER THE HOUSE FROM TELEPHONE
POLE: I was the most worried about this because the wires
enter the house on the outside wall of my daughter’s bedroom.
It was with relief that I learned that while the EMFs were quite
high at the entry point, the fields dropped off very quickly
within a few feet. We moved her furniture around so there is
nothing in that area but a bureau.

REFRIGERATOR: When the refrigerator’s motor was running measured
2.5 mG at two feet and 1 mG at six; there was no field when the
motor was not running. Note, however, that EMFs travel through
walls and ceilings. Try not to place your bed over the refrigerator
on the floor above.

RANGE HOOD FAN: Over 50 mG at 2 feet

ANALOG DIAL CLOCK: 2.5 mG at 2 feet

MICROWAVE OVEN: When the oven is turned on, at close range
the field was too high to be read by the meter; the field was
50 mG at 2 feet, and 1 mG at 6 feet.

METAL VS. PLATIC CASED FANS: A plastic-bodied 12-inch fan gave
off no detectable field at 2 feet. A small six-inch metal body
fan measured 0.5 mG at 6 feet, 10 mG at 2 feet, and steep
35 mG at one foot.

A LOCAL RESTAURANT: At 50 mG throughout, and holding steady,
I concluded that the restaurant had faulty wiring.

DRIVER’S SEAT OF CAR: Over 4 mG in the drivers seat; 20 mG
in the passenger seat.

HIGH TENSION POWER LINES: Directly underneath at ground level
the field was 15 mG. Fifty feet from the lines the field was 8 mG.

REGULAR POWER LINES: Surprisingly, directly underneath these
ordinary lines at ground level, the fields were 35 - 40 mG, much
higher than those high tension lines that look so ominous.

COMPUTER: Two feet from the computer the field is 6 to 12 mG.
Directly in front of the computer 25 mG; inches from the screen
the field is 35 to 100 mG.

AMBIENT OFFICE EMFs: On visiting a typical office, I found the
field to be between 2-8 mG, with localized of much higher,
especially under fluorescent lights.

IRON: At the handle, when the iron is on, the field is 35 mG.

ANSWERING MACHINE: At two feet the field was 0.5 mG.

DIGITAL CLOCK RADIO: At six inches the clock scored 3 mG; .5 at
2 feet.

HEADPHONES: At moderate volume the measurement was 7 mG. At
high volume the headphones measure 15 mG.

Some conclusions
* An appliance’s electrical use is not an indicator of the
EMFs it might generate. A television set that draws only 125
watts produces a field two and half times as strong as a
1500-watt electric space heater.

Although fields can pass through walls and floors,
they don’t build up, nor can they be carried on another object.
Heat and light are no indication of an EMF.

When reducing your overall close exposure to appliances,
remember to think about what is on the other side of the wall or
ceiling.