EMF and Noise Pollution

 

My family and I live in Western Massachusetts. I have lived in this area since 1983. I have hiked the Appalachian Trail at points all over this area. We live where there is no industry and no major roads. We drive 8 miles in any direction to amenities. The ambient background at night is normally is no greater than 22 dB (A-weighted.) We have lived for over two years with an insidious and invasive electrical noise which is in violation of MA Noise Regulations, which raise the nighttime sound level by an unacceptable level and produces constant pure tone noise. I know what our environment should sound like, how it used to sound to me just a few years ago, and it shouldn't sound like this! Our lifestyles and wellbeing have been greatly compromised for almost 2 years. We have been unable to enjoy a normal night of sleep for over a year and a half. Noise pollution due to electrical sources has been linked to serious health problems. We have not been able get help from our local, state or government officials, who will not enforce the law. Instead of help, we have received abuse and reverse condemnation.

 

Click here to view/hear the video displaying this DSL noise pollution.

 

Why is this happening? DSL, and all forms of telecommunication, including wireless, must be grounded to the electric utility company's neutral wire to operate. In many instances and locations, the outdated infrastructure of the power grid is overburdened and is often no longer compatible with modern requirements of technology. As the grid stretches the distance to rural communities, its quality is compromised to save costs. Technology is marching forward at a pace which the grid cannot handle. As a result, our communities, all of them, are being flooded with what is well known as harmonics, pure tones, audible frequencies, and stray voltage, which have all been proven by science to contribute to radiation and be carcinogenic. The utility companies have no true regulatory oversight and have been allowed to say anything and do anything to avoid accountability and spare themselves the costs of appropriate and proven mitigation options.

 

How do we know? We did a power quality test in our home by a power quality engineer.  We have a week of monitoring that indicated that the Utility Company, National Grid is delivering dirty power. We have graphs and waveforms to prove the harmonics are double the IEEE 519-1992 limits allow.  The Utility company has spent a year trying to dismiss that there is any problem.  They never completed a single test that would be considered expert or as required by procedures prescribed by the EPA and adopted by our State's Department of Environmental Protection, nor could they disprove results we got with sound level meters and octave band filters.  Our State sent employees that work in the Waste Management Division.  None of them were qualified to make an expert determination, but dismissed the problem and were allowed to do so as the lines of State and Corporate influence are seriously blurred.  It took us another year to find an engineer that would help us, even though several physicists and scientists, and electrical researchers validated our experience and our results.  Many acoustic and electrical engineers are worried about their reputation with the Corporate Giants.  I am sure that if they have families they are doing a grave disservice by not aligning themselves with the truth or expanding their knowledge and acting according to what is in the better interest of the Public's health and wellbeing.

 

Now, today, we have 8 reams of emails, hundreds of hours of audio recordings, scientific research, acoustical and electrical evidence of electrical leakage and radiation in our community and communities in every State we have visited and conducted testing, and a growing network of concerned citizens. As time goes on we have gathered more and more evidence of this problem, and spoken with people all across the country who are experiencing the same reactions from their utility company and officials. Some are dealing with illness related to EMF and Radio Frequencies.

 

Whether or not you are bothered by the electrical noise, these frequencies are affecting you and your environment. Gone are the days and nights of true peace and quiet. Today's children will grow up to accept that the buzzing and humming electrical noises as a result of technology are "normal" and acceptable. They will be the first generation to suffer a lifetime of ill effects, since there are no radio frequency limits to protect them.

 

State and Federal Regulations are either outdated or mis-interpreted to benefit the utility companies. This is further complicated by the manner in which electricians, acoustic experts, and scientists are now arguing over how to conduct appropriate studies, and the fact that many noise technicians and electricians do not understand what a pure tone is or how to evaluate for one properly. Regulatory agencies including the FCC are trying to label the noise as due to Tinnitus. We do not have tinnitus. However, tinnitus may be caused by hearing loss associated with electrical noise.

 

We all deserve proper regulations, limits and oversight. Our elected officials should be fighting for our safety, our children's safety and the preservation of our wildlife. We are forming a volunteer alliance across the country to demand protection from health hazards from local and State officials. We are not being foooled into submission and demand that impact studies be done before attaching wireless to the electric grid. We also want the proper testing conducted in our communities to determine the potential risks and offer solutions to mitigate these risks, at the expense of the utility companies.

 
Robert O. Becker, M.D. twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for his research.
Quoted, "I have no doubt in my mind that at the present time, the greatest polluting element in the earth's environment is the proliferation of electromagnetic fields.

I consider that to be far greater on a global scale, than warming, and the increase in the chemical elements in the environment."

 

It is true that electrical science and the physics of noise and magnetic fields are complicated and not particularly easy to comprehend. However, science has begun to uncover the truth for our benefit. There are now many credible and replicable studies, from all areas of the world, describing the relationship between electricity, radiation, and illness:

 (i.e. Akerstedt, T., et al. 1999. A 50 Hz electromagnetic field impairs sleep. J. Sleep Res 8:77-81; Beale, Ivan L., et al. 2001. Association of health problems with 50 Hz magnetic fields in human adults living near power transmission lines. J. Aust. Col. Of Nutr. & Env. Med. 20(2):9-30; Havas, Magda, and Dave Stetzer. 2004. G/S filters improve power quality in homes and schools, reduce blood sugar levels among diabetics. Int. Conf. Childhood Leukaemia, London, Uk, September; Havas, Magda, and David Stetzer., 2004. Dirty electricity and electrical sensitivity: five case studies. WHO Workshop on Electrical Hypersensitivity. October, Czech Republic, Prague; Burch, James B., et al. 2000. Melatonin metabolite levels in workers exposed to 60 Hz magnetic fields: work in substations and with 3-phase conductors. J Occup Envir Med 42:136-142; Ahlbom, N. D, et al. 2000. A pooled analysis of magnetic fields and childhood cancer. British Journal of Cancer 83(5);692-69;  Havas, Magda, and David Stetzer., 2004. Dirty electricity and electrical sensitivity: five case studies. WHO Workshop on Electrical  Hypersensitivity. October, Czech Republic, Prague; Kaune, W. T., et al. 2002. Study of high- and low current-configuration homes from the 1988  Denver childhood cancer study. Bioelectromanetics23:177-188; Lyskov, E., et al. 1993. Effects of 45 Hz magnetic fields on functional state of the human brain. Bioelectromagnetics 14:87-95; Sakurai, T., et al. 2004. An extremely low frequency magnetic field attenuates insulin secretion from the insulinoma cell line, RIN-m. Bioelectromagnetics 25:160-166.)

There are significant scientific peer-reviewed studies indicating that noise pollution contributes to cardiovascular illness (i.e. Huber, Rito, et al. 2003. Radio frequency electromagnetic field exposure in humans: estimation of SAR distribution in the brain, effects on sleep, and heart rate. Bioelectromagnetics 24:262-276; Neutra, R., et al. 2001. An evaluation of the possible risks from electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) from power lines, internal wiring, electrical occupations and appliances, California Department of Health Services EMF Program, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612; Hillman,Donald, Ph.D Exposure to Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) Linked to Neuro-Endocrine Stress Syndrome: Increased Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, & Cancer , Shocking News #8, November 2005, Michigan State University; Szmigielski, S., A. Bortkiewicz, E.Gadzicka, M. Zmyslony, R. Kubacki. 1998. Alteration of diurnal rhythyms of blood pressure and heart rate to workers exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. Blood Press Monit 3(6):323-330; Tikhonova, G. I. 2003. Heart Disease of personnel of the civil aircraft radio-tracking system in Russia. Radiatsionnaia biologiia, radiocologiia/Rossiiskaia akademia nauk. Sept-Oct., 433(5):559-64. Research Instituteof Occupational Health, Moscow, 105275 Russia; Sait, M. L., et al. 1999. A study of heart rate and heart rate variability in human subjects exposed to occupational levels of 50 Hz circular polarized magnetic fields. Med Eng Phys 21(5):361-369. Sakurai, Tomonori, Akira Sataka, Shoichiro Sumi, Kazutomo Inoue.)

Dirty power and electrical leakage has been shown to cause illness in animals as well as people (i.e. Burchard, Javier, et al. 2003. Effect of 10 kV/m and 30 μT, 60 Hz, electric and magnetic fields on milk production and feed intake in nonpregnant dairy cattle. Bioelectromagnetics 24:557-562; Calogero, S., et al, 2004. Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields exposition on circadian rythms and distribution of
some leucocyte differentiation antigens in cows. Clinica di Oncoematologia Pediatrica, University di Padova, Italy. International Conference of Veterinary Clinicians, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, July 2004; Gorewit, et al. 1984. Physiological Effects of Electrical Current on Dairy Cows. Proceedings of the Nat. Stray Voltage Symposium. ASAE, St. Joseph, MI; Hillman, D., D. Stetzer, M. Graham, C. Goeke, K. Mathson, H. VanHorn, C.
Wilcox. 2003. Relationship of electric power quality to milk production and behavior of dairy cattle. Paper No. 033116, Amer. Soc. Agr. Engineers, St. Joseph, MI (Video available);  Hillman, D., Charles Goeke, and Richard Moser. 2004. Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) affect on milk production and behavior of cows: results using shielded-neutral isolation transformer. 12th Int. Conf. On Production Diseases in Farm Animals, Mich. State Univ., Vet Col., July 2004, Video available.)