Convenience may be causing people to get sick

[nfitz]

Look there's an easy solution. Just get a hardhat, and wrap it in aluminum foil. Wear it 24/7, and you'll be fine.

But to be on the safe side, walk backwards down the street while singing - that will surely do the trick.

 

[Jarrek]

I'm somewhat concerned because the EMF in my basement apartment starts at about 1.5 mG near the foyer, and suddenly soars near the middle of the living area (a short distance away), peaking around 100 mG at the doorway to the bedroom. At the bed, it's around 5-6 mG -- but the needle won't stay still and fluctuates between about 4 and 10. The bed is a fair distance from the hydro meters on the outside wall.

That 100mg reading is quite strange. Are there any electrical junction boxes above this area? Is the furnace close somewhere nearby?

 

[tamlin]

Look there's an easy solution. Just get a hardhat, and wrap it in aluminum foil. Wear it 24/7, and you'll be fine.

But to be on the safe side, walk backwards down the street while singing - that will surely do the trick.

Oookaaayy...

Perhaps my implicit question was unclear. Could someone who understands power lines and EMF explain the anomalies in ambient EMF levels -- both indoor and outdoor -- that I measured in my neighbourhood? I find it curious that they are both unusually high (often 1-2 orders of magnitude above what I understand to be normal) and variable (over a short distance). Is any of this indicative of improper grounding?

Please, no more calls to the tinfoil hat brigade.

 

[tamlin]

That 100mg reading is quite strange. Are there any electrical junction boxes above this area? Is the furnace close somewhere nearby?

I forget what exactly is above that spot; I'll probably ask my landlords (who live above me) at some point. The circuit breaker panel is a few feet away (and outside, several feet higher, is the hydro meter). The furnace is nowhere near that area. Incidentally, the reading was much lower last evening, though still high: 8-10 mG. And tonight the reading is almost 100 mG again.

I know the wiring in this house is less than perfect. There was a breaker that would regularly get tripped until an electrician made some adjustments. Since then, a different breaker has been tripped at least a couple of times. Luckily for me, I control the panel .

 

[Jarrek]

I forget what exactly is above that spot; I'll probably ask my landlords (who live above me) at some point. The circuit breaker panel is a few feet away (and outside, several feet higher, is the hydro meter). The furnace is nowhere near that area. Incidentally, the reading was much lower last evening, though still high: 8-10 mG. And tonight the reading is almost 100 mG again.

I know the wiring in this house is less than perfect. There was a breaker that would regularly get tripped until an electrician made some adjustments. Since then, a different breaker has been tripped at least a couple of times. Luckily for me, I control the panel .

Next time there is an electrician in your house tell him to put a clamp-on ammeter on the ground wire running out of the electrical panel to test for a hot neutral condition. The ground is usually connected to the incoming cold water pipe. If there is current on the ground wire, it means that there's a serious wiring issue somewhere (the ground touching a neutral wire, or a mis wired fixture or outlet) within the house, or a faulty appliance is hooked up somewhere on the circuit. If you are to do this yourself, start off with all breakers off, and then switch them on one by one to see where the leak is coming from.

What type of wiring is the house? Is it an older home?

Hot Neutral conditions will create high levels of EMF in your home ...

 

[Jarrek]

Oookaaayy...

Perhaps my implicit question was unclear. Could someone who understands power lines and EMF explain the anomalies in ambient EMF levels -- both indoor and outdoor -- that I measured in my neighbourhood? I find it curious that they are both unusually high (often 1-2 orders of magnitude above what I understand to be normal) and variable (over a short distance). Is any of this indicative of improper grounding?

Please, no more calls to the tinfoil hat brigade.

Once the weather clears up I'll see what type of readings I get in my area.

 

[PukeGreen]

I take this report with a grain of salt, but sometimes I do wonder about the impact of living my life surrounded by electronics. I've spent many of my waking hours since I was about 10 sitting in front of various computer screens, and now I have a wireless internet router pumping out signals all day (and many nights) in my condo. No previous generations lived like this, so in a way we are all guinea pigs for long term exposure to these sorts of things.

It's probably harmless. But every now and then I think of the ancient Romans, slowly killing themselves with lead poisoning every time they used their cups, plates, or water pipes. Centuries from now, will people look back at us shaking their heads in amazement that we surrounded ourselves so flagrantly with something that turned out to be deadly?

It's worth thinking about and investigating further, I think.

 

[tamlin]

Next time there is an electrician in your house tell him to put a clamp-on ammeter on the ground wire running out of the electrical panel to test for a hot neutral condition. [...]

Thank you for the advice. I'll ask if the electrician can perform the test you suggest the next time I have the opportunity.

What type of wiring is the house? Is it an older home?

I don't know the type of wiring, but it's definitely an older house (as are many of the homes in High Park).

 

[tamlin]

Once the weather clears up I'll see what type of readings I get in my area.

Thanks. It will be interesting to learn more about what's "normal" within the city.

 

[tamlin]

It's worth thinking about and investigating further, I think.

That's pretty much my attitude. Ambient EMF from the technologies that surround us is largely unavoidable -- and, one hopes, not too dangerous. But if there's an easy way to avoid significant and unnecessary exposure (such as by fixing faulty wiring), why not err on the side of caution?

 

[Jarrek]

It's probably harmless. But every now and then I think of the ancient Romans, slowly killing themselves with lead poisoning every time they used their cups, plates, or water pipes. Centuries from now, will people look back at us shaking their heads in amazement that we surrounded ourselves so flagrantly with something that turned out to be deadly?

It's worth thinking about and investigating further, I think.

Or the fact that asbestos based insulation was hailed as a revolutionary form of insulation in the 60's, even though studies linking asbestos possibly to Mesothelioma were around for dozens of years.

Then the unthinkable happened and people exposed to asbestos started getting lung cancer in their later years.

Definately worth investigating further.

Speaking of which, there was a study just released by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority that found that cell phone RF radiation alters certain proteins in human skin cells. A Larger study will be conducted in 2009.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/02/12/cellphone-study.html

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/302882

Food for thought.

 

[Jarrek]

Thank you for the advice. I'll ask if the electrician can perform the test you suggest the next time I have the opportunity.

I don't know the type of wiring, but it's definitely an older house (as are many of the homes in High Park).

Are the outlets two prong (ungrounded) or three prong (grounded) ?

Even if they're two prong, they might be grounded to the junction box. My house built in 1958 had two prong outlets, but 14/2 cable with ground running on 15 amp circuits.

Pre-War home - most likely ungrounded wiring.

Post-War home - most likely grounded wiring.

Unless you have knob & tube

 

[tamlin]

Are the outlets two prong (ungrounded) or three prong (grounded) ?

Three prong outlets, fortunately.

 

[Jarrek]

Perhaps it has something to do with that huge static magnetic feild that surrounds us..emanating from the planet we live on.

Ambient levels should not be that high.

..but not as much as you would get from wearing a set of headphones, or pressing a cellphone to your head.

Headphones emit EMF levels between 7mg and 20mg. I'd rather have a pair of headphones on then sleep near hydro meters.

How? Neutral and ground are at the same potential, connecting them together, with NO potential difference between them results in no current flow, no current flow results in no external magnetic field....seems a lot of you skipped high school physics.

I'd write up a whole page explaining how this happens, but it would be just a waste of time. So I'm providing you these links.

Read up, and learn.

http://www.emfservices.com/electric.htm

http://mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/PQ-HTML/HTML/ShouldElectricianHaveGaussmeter~20020326.htm

http://www.vitatech.net/pdf/ENG_GUIDE.pdf

http://members.tripod.com/~masterslic/FAQ-2/18.html

Cheers,

seems a lot of you skipped high school physics.

Did you even go there ?

 

[tamlin]

Perhaps it has something to do with that huge static magnetic feild that surrounds us..emanating from the planet we live on.

Differences of 1-2 orders of magnitude, over very short distances, with the highest EMF levels measured near intersections of powerlines, hydro meters, etc.? Highly improbable.

..but not as much as you would get from wearing a set of headphones, or pressing a cellphone to your head.

Most people don't press a cellphone to their head for eight hours every night. And I'm skeptical of the belief that, if your exposure level is already high, even more exposure can't make a difference.

How? Neutral and ground are at the same potential, connecting them together, with NO potential difference between them results in no current flow, no current flow results in no external magnetic field....seems a lot of you skipped high school physics.

Are you sure about that? According to The All-Knowing Wikipedia:

Since normal circuit currents in the neutral conductor can lead to objectionable or dangerous differences between local earth potential and the neutral and to protect against neutral breakages, special precautions such as frequent rodding down to earth, use of cables where the combined neutral and earth completely surrounds the phase conductor(s), and thicker than normal equipotential bonding must be considered to ensure the system is safe.