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PRUDENT AVOIDANCE—living with and checking radiation

 

Electricity is an inseparable part of our modern day society. This means that electromagnetic radiation will continue to be all around us for the foreseeable future. But, as Discover Magazine postulated, aside from making our lives easier, is electricity also making our lives shorter? Perhaps a more important question is "Until more is known, what can we do to minimize the potential risks?"

Prof. M. Granger Morgan, a well-known expert at Carnegie Mellon University, says it certainly can't hurt to take simple steps. EMF "may pose no risk," he says, "but most experts I have talked with give me odds somewhere between 10 percent and 60 percent that within the next decade it will become clear that they do." Prof. Morgan advocates "prudent avoidance."

"Prudence" means to be sensible and to exercise sound judgment in practical matters. Hence, prudent avoidance means that we should avoid exposure to EMF when it is consistent with sound judgment. In other words, learn where EMF comes from and then distance oneself from it whenever such avoidance won't cause too much personal or economic disruption.

Most experts agree that limited, non-chronic exposure to EMF is not a threat. For example, it is probably acceptable to be near a toaster in the morning, but it is not advisable to sleep under an electric blanket operating all night. Certainly the person who works on a computer all day, watches TV close up at night, lives near a power line, and sleeps under an electric blanket, is under an extreme case of chronic exposure. This condition applies to millions of Americans and people throughout the world.

If you wish to practice prudent avoidance, the following advice is offered:

· Measure your environment with a Gauss meter, and avoid areas where the field is above 1 mG. Measure the fields both inside and outside your home, and don't let your children play near power lines, transformers and microwave towers. For a couple of available meters, see here  or if you’re in Australia, ask about our service.

 

· Measure the magnetic fields from appliances, both when they are operating and when the are turned off. Magnetic fields are created only when current is flowing, but some appliances (such as TVs) are still drawing current even when they are switched off.

 

· Don't sleep under an electric blanket or on a water bed. If you want to warm your bed before go to sleep, when you're ready to get under the cover, unplug the electric blanket (don't just turn it off). Even though there is no magnetic field when the blanket is turned off, there may still be a high electric field.

 

· Don't sit too close to your TV set. Distance yourself at least 6 feet, but keep in mind that EMF from some TV sets can be measured as far away as 10 feet or more. An ELF and VLF Gauss meter can help you decide where to sit.

 

· Don't sit too close to your computer display. Keep at least an arm's length away from the screen, but remember that at this distance you will still be within the magnetic field. Computer monitors vary greatly in the strength of the magnetic fields which they emit.

 

· Rearrange your office work area so that you and your co-workers are not exposed to EMF from the sides and backs of each other's VDTs.

 

· Turn off your VDT when you are not using it.

 

· Simply replace your VDT (CRT monitor) with a display based on shielded LCD technology. Using a portable computer is a good idea.

 

· Don't stand close to your microwave oven when in use. Even if your microwave oven is not leaking microwaves, it will still give off strong ELF magnetic fields.

 

· Move your electric clock away from your pillow. Several feet away should be sufficient. Better yet, buy a battery-powered digital clock.

 

· Keep other electric appliances away from your pillow, too. Telephones and answering machines generate EMF.

 

· Eliminate dimmers and three-way switches; they create high fields.

 

· Eliminate wires running under your bed.

 

· Be wary of cordless appliances such as electric toothbrushes, which use magnetic induction to charge the battery. Such devices deliberately create a large magnetic field.

 

· Remember that EMF passes right through walls, so check out what's on the other side. It could be a cordless electric toothbrush, or a television set, or a clock-thermostat radiating EMF into your bedroom.

· Use some of the products on this site to reduce the effects of all of these radiations.

 

A final note on AC fields:

Just like medicines have good and bad effects, not all AC electric and magnetic fields are negative influences. Under controlled circumstances, AC fields can be used to help our health. Some AC (and DC) magnetic fields, for example, are used at hospitals to promote bone growth in the case of fractures.

Similarly, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines are very useful in detecting tumors, aneurysms, etc., and are an excellent alternative to X Rays or CAT Scans. Other devices that use AC magnetic fields are also in use, such as AC Tens units to treat pain, as well as other magnetic devices that treat other symptoms and complaints—for example, the Scenar device.

Static magnets have now been reported in the medical literature as being beneficial for diabetic neuropathy, (tingling and chronic pain in the feet), a condition affecting half of all diabetics, or almost 10 million people. 

Static magnets have also been shown to be effective in many pain complaints.

 

See also here for our service for checking a site for these and other issues

 

 

 

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For where to check for radiation, see here

For information on our service for checking onsite, see here

For another article on electrical sensitivity, see here

For protective devices: PowerHouse, ElectroGuard, Space Clearer, catalyst bead