By Kim Goldberg
December 17, 2011
You thought I was talking sex, right? No way. Sex is so yesterday. I’m talking electrosmog. (Is this why I don’t get invited to cool parties anymore?) That’s right – the electromagnetic radiation surrounding and penetrating your life and body 24/7, thanks to the plethora of wired and wireless devices we are awash in.
Many people have become so sensitized to this radiation that they are now partially or fully debilitated by EHS – ElectroHyperSensitivity. Based on current trends, by 2017, 50 percent of the population can be expected to become electrosensitive, according to an article published in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. That’s just six years from now.
Electrosmog levels in sleeping areas are of particular concern because the health impacts of this form of pollution are greater while sleeping, due in part to the disruption of the body’s melatonin production, which is essential for warding off cancer (among other things).
I have been aware of the health risks associated with EMF (electromagnetic fields) for more than twenty years. I have never owned a cell phone, cordless phone, microwave oven, wifi internet or wireless mouse/keyboard for this reason. Nor will I allow a smart meter to be installed on my home. These wireless devices all involve High Frequency EMF.
I discovered that I was far less astute about preventable sources of Low Frequency EMF in my home – and especially my bedroom.
Electrical field reading on this device, when placed on my bed where my pillow normally is, dropped from 20 V/m (dangerous) to ZERO when I simply unplugged three things.
Last month I purchased the ME 3030B Low Frequency Analyser (manufactured in Germany by Gigaherz Solutions). After spending some time getting acquainted with it, I went into my bedroom and placed it on my bed where my head lies. To my surprise, it registered an electrical field of 20 Volts/meter (ungrounded reading). The recommended guidelines cite anything over 10 Volts/meter (ungrounded reading) as being of “Extreme Concern”. I had been sleeping in that field every night for ten years!
By making a few simple changes to my room and home, I was able to reduce that particular reading to ZERO. That’s right, Z-E-R-O.
The biggest offender was a modest table lamp beside my bed. When I unplugged it, the electrical field dropped to 10 Volts/meter. (Extension cords and ungrounded 2-prong appliance cords are big contributors to electrosmog in our homes. These cords are “hot” – that is, filled with electrical current – all the time, whether or not your appliance is turned on).
Next I went out to my back porch, which is on the other side of my bedroom wall behind my bed’s headboard, and I unplugged an unnecessary extension cord. My metering device (still on my bed) dropped to 8 Volts/meter.
My last adjustment was to (briefly) unplug my old 1950’s-era ungrounded freezer on my back porch. At that point, my metering device (still on my bed) dropped to ZERO Volts/meter.
In five minutes I had completely eliminated all low-frequency electrical fields from my bedroom.
~
I subsequently went out and bought a $2 battery-operated light for my nightstand so that I could read my $1 battery-operated clock in the middle of the night. (Electric clock radios are among the worst offenders in the electrosmog Hall of Fame and are best kept out of bedrooms altogether.)
I also decommissioned my ancient freezer on my back porch and purchased a new compact freezer for $199. Not only is my new freezer grounded (3-prong plug) and energy-efficient, it is small enough that I can get it into my basement, far from where I sleep or work.
NOTE: This particular metering device that I have been describing, the ME 3030B, will NOT measure the RF (Radio Frequency) emissions from smart meters, cell phones, cordless phones and other wireless devices.
The HF-35C and the ME-3030B. (When purchased together, you get a 10% discount and free carry case.)
For that job you need the eHF 35C , which I also now have. When you purchase the two meters together from Safe Living Technologies, you get a 10% discount and free carry case. (No, I don’t work for them or get a kick-back. I’m just a satisfied customer.) With taxes and shipping included, I paid a total of $620 (CDN) for my 2 meters.
Stay strong, live long 🙂
Text and Photos © Kim Goldberg, 2011
All Rights Reserved
Pig Squash Press 
OMG, not my clock radio! This is frightening news, Kim. I do hope it’s not true or I have lifestyle changes to make, which aren’t easy.
I remember my grandfather having a wind-up alarm clock with hands that glowed in the dark so he was able to read it. I’m going to browse the second hand stores! Thanks for the tip on ungrounded plugs.
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Thank you! Great post!
Good grief, where do you live that you don’t have neighbors’ Wi-Fi, cell towers or smart meters? I want to move there!
Hi Jill. Thanks for stopping by my site. 🙂
My neighbours’ Wi-Fi, cell towers and smart meters are not (yet) showing significant readings in my own home or bedroom, which is what I am concerned about for the purposes of creating a safe sleeping space. Besides which, all of those items you mention create dangerous levels of RF (radio frequency) emissions. What I was discussing in this article was lower frequency electrical fields (from clock radio, lamps, extensions cords, freezers, etc.)
However, since you mention it, RF readings in my home and bedroom are also very low, due to the fact that I have no wireless devices in my home or anywhere on my property. And the strength of those emissions coming from neighboring properties does drop off noticeably over distance. So by the time my neighbors’ usage of such devices reaches my place it is negligible. My house is on a city lot 51 ft x 132 ft… So, not particularly large, but large enough to enable me to create a safe bubble zone here so far.
If I were living in an apartment or condo, it would be a different story. My home would be filled with RF from neighbors on the other side of walls using cellphones, wifi, microwave ovens, etc. But in a home on a city lot, I find I can go a long way toward making my home electro-safe simply by keeping all wireless devices out of my home (and off my home in the case of smart meter), and then checking and correcting any high sources of low frequency electrical fields and magnetic fields generated by my various household appliances and home wiring. It’s a learning process for sure, and one most people don’t begin until they or a loved one start experiencing some electrosensitivity themselves.
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Just a suggestion on your new freezer, It has a smart chip embedded in it. You need to take that out
My freezer doesn’t have smart chip. Contrary to what many people are saying, most appliances at the bottom end of price range are not ‘smart’. That costs extra. A higher end freezer (or any higher end major appliance) would be smarted. But the cheapest are not. The labeling is quite clear on which appliances are smart and which aren’t. manufacturers consider it a selling point to have a smart appliance. So they advertise that quite explicitly on the labeling. I wouldn’t buy one of those, of course.
check out AlanMaherdesigns.com. It is so complicated it is very simple and it came from a sound engineer..