Although I can’t vouch for the truth of this, I’ve heard it said that when powerlines were first extended to homes in rural Canada, some of our backwoods citizens were so technologically naïve they nailed tin can lids over the wall sockets to prevent electricity from leaking onto the floor.

A tall tale perhaps, but the irony is that electricity does in fact “leak,” although not from sockets. Electric charges radiate electric fields and the movement of charges produces magnetic fields. Although science has long known this, only recently have we come to accept that this radiation poses a significant danger to human health. It’s called electric and magnetic field (EMF) disease.

The human body is, after all, an electrical mechanism, operating on extremely low voltage that flashes through the nervous system and brain at the speed of light. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that exposure to powerful EMF fields throws a wrench into the works. Cells die, cancerous ones multiply, nerves and muscles twang, the serotonin/melatonin balance is upset, bringing on depression, anger, even suicide.

The sources in our electrified world are endless – transmission lines, mobile and cordless phones, computer monitors, microwaves, radio and TV, and on and on. Any home today is one big EM field, though the overall radiation is thought to be low enough to pose little risk.

Although EMF disease has been suspected for decades, proof was slow in coming. There weren’t enough studies, and power producers and the wireless communications industry conspired to hide the truth in a manner reminiscent of the worst abuses by the tobacco lobby.

The breakthrough came from a lot of research in the 1990s. The Washington State health department released a study showing a four-fold worldwide increase in childhood leukemia between 1920 and 1960, perfectly mirroring the spread of electrification. Remote areas without electricity recorded no such trend. A parallel UK study found that children living within 100 meters of a powerline were twice as likely to develop leukemia.

At the same time, other research nailed down the link between brain tumours and powerlines in workers who spent too much time close to the wires. Meantime, the list of suspected EMF diseases was expanding to include cardiovascular, neurological, behavioral, hormonal and immune system changes. After some hesitation, the World Health Organization acknowledged a possible link to breast cancer.

The causal connection to cell phones was demonstrated by a number of studies, perhaps none more compelling than Swedish research showing that people using especially powerful phones designed to work in rural areas were three times more likely to develop brain tumours after three years. The stronger the signal the greater the risk.

Cell phones operate on microwaves, extremely short wave lengths that readily pass through buildings and other sources of interference. So it’s not hard to imagine the effect on your brain of gluing a phone to your ear for hours at a time.

EM fields are ubiquitous but many are easily avoided. Use an ear speaker for your cell and keep the phone a foot or so from your body. Radiation decreases rapidly with the square of the distance from the source. Make sure the gaskets on your microwave door are tight (the glass stops most of the radiation). Don’t let your kids sit with their noses against the TV screen. And don’t linger by the sides or back of your computer monitor, which emit much more radiation than the screen.

Finally, if you feel you have EMF disease symptoms, you might consider Qi Gong or acupuncture, both of which work on the energy paths of the body and are believed to harmonize alien electrical energy.

©Dr. Gordon, 2007.