Environmental Assay Inc.

Environmental Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)

Some of the primary concerns revolving around EMFs presented to this author are: "How many milliGauss (mG) are bad?", or "I read 0 mG on my meter, yet I still react, to something . . . "     However, Magnetic Field strength (mG) is only one component of Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs). For those that want the full picture, EMF implies that something Electric and/or something Magnetic are involved (the physics law of Induction states that "an Alternating Electric Field will produce an Alternating Magnetic Field, and vice versa"). Nonetheless, when one's curiosity is stirred, the first and most obvious concern is addressed, being that which is most visible (as on an iceberg) or that "last straw that broke the back," until the individual becomes aware that the iceberg is much bigger than at first thought and considers all aspects, possibly making that last straw almost irrelevant.

In contrast, those who live in a major metropolis, as those in the five boroughs of NYC,
which use metal-clad wiring, have a slightly different iceberg to deal with.

EMFs by definition then include

1. Alternating Electric Fields
2. Alternating Magnetic Fields
   • "Stray" Currents and Voltages . . . by design
3. Wideband emissions
   • many frequencies simultaneously, sometimes associated with transient phenomena -
     a.k.a. "dirty" electricity
4. Radio Frequency (RF)

While the generally non-changing Electric and Magnetic fields associated with our planet are necessary for good health, all of the bad contributors are Alternating in quality. That is, they continuously change in size and orientation with time. Ideally, a Healthy habitat should be free of all Alternating fields. However, reality is far from this ideal.

By necessity this document can only touch on the highlights of the field types, but to produce a framework where everyone has a similar knowledge level, a beginning from basics immediately follows.

Electromagnetic fields are by definition created by motion of elemental charges (electrons (e-)), either in free space, or constrained within a wire. When that motion or flow is relatively constant, we define it as Direct Current (DC). When it is changing with time, we define it as Alternating Current (AC).

The motion of these elemental charges is created by a difference of charge distribution wanting to come to equilibrium relative to each other, akin to two containers of water with different levels in them, connected by a tube at the bottom. If the charge distributions are prevented from equalizing by any form of Electrical Resistance, then the difference is measurable as a potential difference, or Voltage. Any Voltage source will produce an Electric field in free space. Allowing a limited amount of charge flow (defined as Current) will allow the Voltage to remain fairly constant, and yet provide useful output, or work. Any path of Current will produce a Magnetic field in free space. If the Voltage is relatively constant, we define it as DC Voltage. If the Voltage is changing with time, we define it as AC Voltage.

In DC, a current is produced when a resistance is placed across a source as follows:

During this passage of current, a Magnetic Field is formed around the current path, resembling a series of concentric sleeves, with the strongest field present nearest the current path. An Electric Field is similarly established around the conductors, which resembles rays emanating out from the wire.

Both fields will have directional properties that depend on the direction of current flow. [8, 10] While it may be comforting to think that these fields remain constrained within the insulation surrounding the wire, unfortunately they do not. That is the reason why these fields impact biological systems, and the pressing question becomes not "IF", but "how much" and "for how long".

The above are exemplified in the majority of electrical wiring schemes in an automobile, except for the Ignition wiring. Because there is no connection between the automobile's electrical system and the Earth, we describe the wiring system as "Floating". That is, touching any "ONE" connection in the 12 Volt system, there is no chance of shock. Similarly, trying to measure the voltage of any one point in this system, relative to "Earth ground", will render an unstable and unpredictable value.

When DC was employed for public and long distance domestic usage, it became a dismal failure, because of Wire Resistance. While most wire is made of Copper and Aluminum, and its resistance is quite low, over a considerable distance of several or many miles, the resistance becomes a limiting factor. In a DC scheme, the generating station would have to feed the customers directly at the required voltages. So if a customer next to the station needed 120 volts, the station would produce 120 volts. If another customer several miles away needed 120 volts the station would produce 120 volts, plus the voltage required to overcome the wires' resistance. This is where standard formulas begin to fit in, as the current needed (I) times the wire resistance (R) will produce a Voltage Drop (E), (E=I x R), over the length of the wire (being subtracted from that produced). This situation spelled the end of the DC distribution system. In an automobile this length/wire-resistance issue is small enough to be irrelevant, so it can function quite well.

A normal electromagnetic system exists within and around our planet that is necessary for our survival. It produces DC voltage and current. These steady-state Magnetic and Electric fields have been our normal everyday setting, from before recorded history until the late 1800s. [1, 6] The planetary Magnetic field, and the gently changing Electric field have connected us to the Earth's periodic rhythms. [1] However, this was soon to change.

In the mid 1800s, experimenters noticed that when a current was pulsed through a wire coil (the Primary), it would produce a similar pulse of current through a nearby coil of wire (the Secondary), where changing the numbers of turns on one side or the other allowed them to increase or decrease the voltage on the Secondary coil. This is the foundation of the modern Transformer. (This process is now known as Induction / Action-at-a-Distance. It will create currents and voltages within any electrically conductive system (biological or inanimate) in reach of its fields. These time-varying fields are of biological interest because they have been shown to produce an increase in various forms of illness).

Electric Fields

The Electric Fields of interest are those that are Alternating, or changing with time. They can be produced from Power Distribution wiring, Structural Cavity wiring, or Appliance Cordage.

Most residential structures are transparent to electric fields. The emissions from a Power line nearby are usually dwarfed by those from structural cavity wiring, while those from a fixture nearby one reading a book dwarfs those from structural cavity wiring. Shown to the right is a cycle of Alternating Voltage, with a depiction of molecular alignment changing with each portion of each cycle, and in the extreme shown on the horizontal axis, even atomic orbits become distorted. When biological structures are exposed to such fields, every molecule will consistently try to align with each field variation. The same happens within a microwave oven, to such an extent that molecular friction is produced that manifests itself as heat. At power line frequency (60 or 50 cycles/second) molecular friction is quite reduced, although interference with chemical synthesis persists, because random alignment is continuously interfered with, possibly preventing certain reactions. While true scientists and junk scientists (those paid by vested interests) duke it out as to what exactly is happening, exposure continues possibly promoting a variety of diseases that cannot be associated with any other factor(s), such as Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Sleep Deprivation, general irritability, etc. Regardless of the uncertainties, those with environmental hypersensitivity can feel immediate relief when the source of power is turned off, eliminating the electric field presence.

Magnetic Fields

The Magnetic Fields of interest are those that are Alternating. They can be produced from Power Distribution wiring, Grounding Interconnections to mask a fire hazard, wiring errors, and locally from appliances. While those from appliances are point sources, whose level of emission drops off dramatically with increasing distance from the source, they are nonetheless important if exposure is lengthy (as from a stove-top exhaust fan).

The fire hazard occurs because grounding connections fail, causing unstable voltages (170 in the sketch above). Multiple connections between multiple systems causes Stray Current flow everywhere, as below. More on Stray Currents and Voltages.

Fields from wiring errors are more insidious because they only occur when the mis-wired circuit(s) is(are) in use. What happens is that the current going from the breaker panel to the using device sees multiple paths to return through. In doing so the current splits, reducing cancellation effects from nearby opposing currents, and generating fields that may engulf the structure.

Most residential structures are transparent to Magnetic Fields. The interaction, however, is more complex than from Electric fields, causing strange "windowing" effects. That is, effects that manifest most easily at certain intensities or frequencies, although even for the single-frequency exposure to power line frequencies (60 or 50 cycles/second) one of the marked effects of extended exposure to more than a few milliGauss is an increase in the occurrence of Leukemia.

Wideband Emissions

Wideband Emissions, typically triggered by high voltage devices, equipment close to end of life displaying failure symptoms, rapid current turn-off (or turn-on as in dimmers), or Digital electronics, have several peculiar characteristics:

1. each burst will produce a ringing of the EMF spectrum (trigger many frequencies simultaneously ("wideband emissions")), whose Frequency extent will vary with the energy content of the burst
2. although caused by individual transients, the emission bursts may appear as a continuous stream, when detected by simple devices such as an AM radio
3. they are able to penetrate insulating barriers more easily

This latter feature is employed in Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulators (TENS) that are used to alleviate pain. This is an example of a controlled and beneficial biological electrical application. Similar rapid transitions are employed in TASER guns, used by law enforcement to inflict pain. Many Transient Phenomena produced by common residential electrical devices ride on the 60 Hz Voltage [5] and can likewise penetrate the skin and interfere with the Central Nervous System (CNS). The CNS performs Muscle control by electrical pulses (Action Potential) that are characteristic to the electrochemical messages constantly occurring within the body. [9] When an electrical pulse (or pulses) of similar waveform is (are) able to enter the highly conductive structure below the skin, interference in the form of irritation, pain, or outright failure to control physical activity may occur. Other pulses wholly within the brain can similarly be interfered with. When these wideband emissions have a convenient carrier, such as a whole-house Alternating Electric or Magnetic Field, then these emissions become immediate and whole-body exposure concerns (a former client wished to use a digital widescreen television, but due to the power supplies' rapid transitions, and the home's Electric fields from structural cavity wiring acting as carriers, she could not tolerate it (it was almost as if the emissions were occurring within her anywhere inside the home)). These are examples of uncontrolled and detrimental biological electrical applications.

These Wideband Emissions can usually be detected with an AM radio. Events as simple as operating a light switch will produce transients that can be easily detected anywhere in the AM spectrum. That is because any step-change in current flow will excite the EMF spectrum like a spark discharge. A dimmer in use will produce this type of electrical emission continuously, throughout the AM spectrum, blanketing all frequencies in an otherwise quiet background.

While Wideband emissions are easily controllable at the source, or by appropriate filtering, some unscrupulous marketers are selling "filters" of various sizes with the claim to "clean" "dirty" electricity. While "clean" electricity is continuously varying with time, and in and of itself is an irritant,Wideband riding on the AC can be especially irritating. However, indiscriminately installing filters without investigating the residence's electrical system, and verifying there are no wiring errors, will cause more harm than good. Read more at Capacitive Filter recommendations.

Irritating Wideband or Transient Phenomena can manifest themselves through the Auditory, Visual, Tactile senses, or directly by EMF interaction with the CNS.

Source: PHOTOSENSITIVE EPILEPSY

The study associated with this close-up of a portion of the frequency spectrum, involved Photosensitive stimulation of epileptic and/or convulsive behavior. Although the study noted involved only a small group of primarily young individuals, Environmentally Sensitive individuals may suffer sensitivity and irritability when exposed to these frequencies at any age, be they produced visually, or otherwise, in any form.

There are certain low frequencies that occur naturally, such as Lightning-induced Atmospheric Schumann Resonance, and Lunar and Solar cycles that are very l ow in frequency. These various frequencies are needed by humans, animals, and plants to synchronize with normal and periodic cycles characteristic of growth and good health. [1] The encroachment of this frequency region by artificial means is especially troubling, as hinted at by the above study.

When one considers the benefit of shielding from artificial sources, one needs to consider the detriment of also shielding from the Natural Electrical Background.

Radio Frequency (RF)

The 120-Volt power distribution system within a home needs to be considered as a "permanently energized grid" of wires, because even though there are many loads connected to it, it is still and always essentially at 120 Volts (within the limits of its engineered design).

This "permanently energized grid" will absorb and echo impinging Radio Frequencies (RF). RF has properties that behave differently with biological systems primarily due to the frequencies involved, and the energy or information associated with that frequency (another example of a windowing property). As the frequency involved becomes progressively faster the energy becomes more directional to the point where, like light energy, it can be "beamed".

The EMF Spectrum (of which RF is only a small part) is a continuous grouping of frequencies. This continuum encompasses frequencies from 0 (DC) to infinite variations/second. Within this realm are energies that Conduct through a physical medium (wire), and energies that Radiate through space. The transition area between Radiation and Conduction occurs at about 30 MHz (Megahertz (MHz), or millions of cycles/second). [6]

Below 30 MHz, Voltage and Magnetic components (which Radiate into the space surrounding the conductor at the speed of light) need to be considered and treated as separate entities. The predominant entity can be either Electric or Magnetic.

Above this frequency the two components are so intertwined as to be inseparable, and require a different treatment. The predominant entity is Electric.

The promoted perception is that energies slower than Visible Light do not have enough energy to produce physical changes in matter such as Ionization. Ionization, however, can easily be produced when even a minuscule amount of electrical current is involved, such as that within a Fluorescent lamp.

The primary interaction with matter from RF, as with all Electric fields, is a polar molecular alignment that is forced to change with each cycle.

As the electric field becomes more intense, even atomic orbits become distorted.[10] At certain frequencies this manifests itself as a molecular friction that is known as heat (a classic example occurs within a microwave oven). Although this is the basis for Thermal Biological effects (and exposure recommendations), there are other effects that are more subtle that interfere with normal body chemistry. At faster frequencies chemical changes can be brought about directly, forming such compounds as cataracts. [6]

An additional consideration with RF impinging on a biological system is that the latter is not Linear. That is, biological systems have certain behavioral characteristics that resemble semiconductors [2], allowing for Heterodyning, where the impinging energies are combined to form sum and difference frequencies. [11] These can provide for avenues of interaction not considered when only the original frequencies are considered. This mixing and combining can produce synergies that are beyond the scope of this paper, as well as beyond the scope of most studies to date.