From Abracadabra to Zombies
reader comments: electro-magnetic fields
11 Jan 2001
I'd like to add a reader's comment to topic Electromagnetic Fields. I
recently co-authored a book on electrical accidents, covering legal
aspects, and included a chapter on this topic.
It is quite true that the plaintiff's bar did file a number of lawsuits, and many more were waiting at the first sign of success. It looked like the next mass tort. But a funny thing happened. Science won out. There were some early settlements, but no successes after that. The National Research Councils' 1966 report and similar consensus reports were persuasive even on juries. Most cases were dropped, and the very few that went to trial resulted in defense verdicts. Even the notorious cancer cluster case in Guilford, CT, hyped by "investigative reporter" and non-scientist Paul Brodeur, was dropped just before trial in 1993 when the plaintiff's best experts witnesses backed out.
Paul Hill
Omaha, Nebraska
6 Nov 2000
Hey SkepDic, What you had to say about electromagnetic fields really
pissed me off. I've watched too many people deal with depression, sweets
cravings, insomnia, and cancer due to EMF stress.
reply: I don't doubt you've watched people with these and many other problems, but what makes you so sure that the cause is EMF stress?
It's a problem that the public is left relatively uninformed of unless they study it for themselves, and your uninformed opinion doesn't do it justice. I've learned that much of the research published is false information because it is funded by the people who will not profit from anyone finding out that electromagnetic fields truly are damaging to the human body.
reply: Where did you get this information?
In all states but California, it is code that the power box in residences be grounded out on the water line. In some houses, this creates a measurable current through the building, I know this because I used to live in a house that ran a charge of 3 milligauss. I cut off the current between the water line and the street after I spent a week carrying a Trifield gauss meter everywhere I went, and observing how my body and mind felt in different fields.
reply: I'm sorry for your troubles, but how can you be sure your problems are caused by EMFs? Have you seen a doctor? Maybe you have some other sort of disorder.
Even if cancer is not necessarily proven to be caused by low
frequency EMFs, there is plenty of proof that the body's moods and
balances are affected through altering the pineal gland's production of
the hormone melatonin, and also the balances of the neurotransmitters
dopamine and serotonin. These effects show themselves in different ways in
different bodies, but put your head on straight. What we understand about
the true nature of the human body equals dick. Please don't further the
dismissal of an item that I know is an important step towards the growth
of the entire human race. Make an attempt at your own understanding before
you listen to someone else's bullshit.
-Adam from MN
reply: I will if you will. But first read the following letter.
Adam from MN writes:
"In all states but California, it is code that the power box in residences be grounded out on the water line."
The reason for grounding the fuse box is to provide a path for electrical current should a fault develop. This current will trip the breaker in the fuse box. If the ground path were not present, a person can be killed by touching the faulty equipment. It is vital for safety.
"In some houses, this creates a measurable current through the building, I know this because I used to live in a house that ran a charge of 3 milligauss."
If grounding the fuse box causes a measurable current to flow in the ground line, there is a fault in the electrical system which must be corrected. To state that the '[current] ran a charge of 3 milligauss' makes no sense because (a) a current is not a charge (b) charge is not measured in Gauss (c) the earth's magnetic field alone is about 500 milligauss at ground level, and therefore 3 milligauss is negligible.
"I cut off the current between the water line and the street after I spent a week carrying a Trifield gauss meter everywhere I went, and observing how my body and mind felt in different fields."
I don't know what this means but I hope it does not mean that he lifted the ground connection from the house wiring, which is illegal and potentially fatal.
Tom Kite
DSP Engineer
electro-magnetic fields
