Researchers at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center say that a double-blind provocation test subject demonstrated statistically reliable reactions in response to exposure to subliminal electromagnetic fields under conditions that reasonably exclude a psychological disorder as the cause, proving that electromagnetic field hypersensitivity can occur as a bona fide environmentally-induced illness.
Sensitivity to electromagnetic fields is being reported more often with the advances of cell phone and wireless technology and the installation of new wireless “smart meters” by electric companies.
A Los Angeles Times article (February 15, 2010) cites that people with electrosensitivity include “Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former director-general of the World Health Organization. In 2002, when she still held her title, Brundtland told the BBC that she didn't allow cell phones in her office because the radiation gave her headaches.”
Other symptoms of exposure to electromagnetic fields include nausea, rashes, fatigue, joint and muscle pain, dizziness, loss of concentration, problems sleeping, sensitivity to light, and heart problems.
The symptoms elicited in the study subject were caused primarily by field transitions (off-on, on-off) rather than by the general presence of the field. This raises great concern with the roll out of “smart meters”, which randomly transmit information frequently throughout the day.
Smart meters are power meters that record electricity consumption and communicate that information wirelessly throughout the day to the main station.
Other concerns have been raised over smart meters, including a lack of privacy since they may lead to monitoring appliance use in the future and indicate when someone is home or away by monitoring hourly usage. Another concern smart meters raise is job loss for meter readers across the country which impacts not only health and privacy, but the greater economy.
This study confirms that electromagnetic filed sensitivity is a real disorder induced by overexposure to electromagnetic field transition. Non-ionizing radiation was previously thought to be safe, however evidence now shows that both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation have health effects.
Reference:
McCarty DE, Carrubba S, Chesson AL, Frilot C, Gonzalez-Toledo E, Marino AA. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Evidence for a Noevfel Neurological Syndrome. Int J Neurosci. 2011 Jul 28. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21793784
For more articles on this topic, see: MCSA News.
Copyrighted 2011 Lourdes Salvador & MCS America
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