OUR WORLD RUNS ON ELECTRICITY. HAVE YOU ASKED YOURSELF… Do I live too close to power lines? Will they cause cancer in my children? Can cellular phones really cause brain cancer? How can I identify EMF and EMR sources at home and at work? Are my hair dryer and toaster dangerous? Is it safe to sleep under an electric blanket? Is it safe for my children to play video games? Am at risk when I use my computer at work? How can I get action and answers from my electric utility company? Who in the federal government is responsible for EMF and EMR? Why can’t I get straight answers when I ask questions about EMF and EMR? Who is going to pay for solutions to the EMF and EMR problem? Get the answers to these questions and scores more in… THE EMF BOOK What You Need to Know About Electromagnetic Fields, Electromagnetic Radiation, and Your Health “An indispensable guide…a practical and user-friendly book that should be required reading for anyone needing more information about EMFs—and that includes all of us.” —Joel Shufro, executive director, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health “THE EMF BOOK is a valuable resource for anyone who wants a comprehensive introduction to this emerging but uncertain area of scientific activity” —Dr. Robert B. Goldberg, Information Ventures, Inc. “A terrific reference manual! It fills a great void for people trying to come to grips with the issue…and is both educational and practical. This book provides a much needed single source of information about EM fields and their possible hazards.” —Dottie English, board member, National EMR Alliance “Mr. Pinsky has taken a complicated, vital subject and made it accessible… readable, entertaining, and above all, balanced. The subject needs the respect which Mr. Pinsky affords it.” —Michael Hiles, president and CEO, Norad Corporation “Here is a visionary book that will be seen as amazingly on target… practical, balanced, well informed, I welcome THE EMF BOOK as must reading on the number one environmental issue in America.” —George S. Lechter, Safe Technologies Corporation Copyright Copyright © 1995 by Mark A. Pinsky All rights reserved. Warner Books, Inc. Hachette Book Group 237 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017 Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com First eBook Edition: October 2009 ISBN: 978-0-446-56875-3 To my family ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MANY PEOPLE HAVE, CONTRIBUTED TO THIS BOOK IN SMALL AND big ways. For particular help and support in researching and writing, my appreciation goes to Dan Dasho, Robert Goldberg, Tina Irvin, Colleen Kapklein, Ed Leeper, Jennifer Paget, Dr. Linda Pinsky, Karl Riley, Jeriy Sontag, and Dave Weiss. I have strived to make this book precise and accurate. In simplifying complex scientific information, I may have condensed some data in pursuit of clarity. This is unfortunate but unavoidable. Contents OUR WORLD RUNS ON ELECTRICITY. HAVE YOU ASKED YOURSELF… Copyright ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION SECTION I Understanding EM Fields and EM Radiation CHAPTER 1 GRAPPLING WITH EM FIELD AND EM RADIATION HEALTH EFFECTS SECTION II Your Exposures and What You Can Do CHAPTER 2 YOUR EM FIELD EXPOSURES CHAPTER 3 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR REDUCING YOUR EM FIELD EXPOSURES CHAPTER 4 YOUR EM RADIATION EXPOSURES CHAPTER 5 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR REDUCING YOUR EM RADIATION EXPOSURES SECTION III EM Field and EM Radiation Policy CHAPTER 6 PEOPLE HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE CONCERNED CHAPTER 7 THE POLICY GAP CHAPTER 8 POLICY IN THE MAKING SECTION IV Resources APPENDIX A A GUIDE TO EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH APPENDIX B AN EM FIELD AND EM RADIATION PRIMER GLOSSARY FURTHER READING THE INVISIBLE ENEMY INTRODUCTION T HIS BOOK IS ABOUT ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS (EM FIELDS) AND electromagnetic radiation (EM radiation)—two forms of energy. Everyone who lives or works near electronic devices or who uses electricity is exposed to one or the other, or to both. EM fields and EM radiation are present almost every-where you are. Not long ago I made a list of the ways my family and I are exposed. We live in a suburban community, and so our experience is similar to millions of other people’s. We have power distribution wires strung on telephone poles along the edge of our property, and feeder wires bring power from the distribution line to our house. My wife and I have an electric bedside alarm clock, and my son has a lamp clipped to his hunk bed. Our stove is electric, and in our kitchen there is a microwave oven, a mixer, a coffeemaker, a washing machine, a dishwasher, and two small fluorescent lights. We have two television sets, one “boom box” radio, and a component stereo. Our forty-five-year-old house has metal (as opposed to plastic) plumbing, which can conduct electricity. Though we cannot see the wiring in the walls, the electrical outlets every ten to fifteen feet show us the path electricity takes. My son’s playroom, located directly below the master bedroom, has a ceiling fan. In my office, I use both a desktop and a laptop computer. My desk lamp uses a halogen bulb, and the heavy base contains a transformer that, like all transformers, emits relatively high EM field levels. The electric power feeder line runs along the outside wall of my office, though the “drop—off point” is in the basement of the building, two stories down. The photocopier and laser printer—both known to put out strong EM fields—are in a far, outside corner of the second office in my suite. My son’s day-care center has fewer exposure sources inside, but 200 feet away is a large, green metal structure that contains a transformer serving not only the day-care building but also the neighboring hospital. Visible from the day-care center is an electric power transmission line, the type suspended from tall metal towers. It is too far from the day-care center to concern me, but nearby it cuts across an elementary school yard and within fifty feet of one side of the school. It also passes near a residential development. Driving in my community, I pass industrial buildings with small lattice metal towers supporting radio transmitters for local delivery systems. Along the way, I see microwave relay dishes—they look a little like gray kettledrums on their sides. I have made many choices to reduce my EM field and EM radiation exposures. I do not use cellular or cordless phones, except in emergencies. I used a meter to measure EM fields and EM radiation to identify the areas in my home where the levels were highest, and I made some changes. My wife and I placed my son’s crib, and later his bed, in the area in his room where EM fields were lowest. Instead of a wireless room monitor, we used an intercom with a wire. Our television sets are located so that they hack against out-side walls, since the highest FM radiation levels occur at the hack and on the sides. For the same reason, I set up my computers so that exposures are minimal under normal circumstances. The copier and laser printer are in a far corner, away from desks and common work areas. The halogen lamp is pushed as far back on the desk as possible. The wires bringing electricity to my office building are new, bundled wires that are known to produce significantly lower EM field levels than older wiring systems. Though I did not take measurements in the office, I used a simple experiment to determine that the EM field levels were low. I placed a computer monitor along the wall near the bundled wires to see whether the image on the screen was distorted in any way, a problem that occurs when a strong field is present. The image was unaffected.