We are so lucky to be living in a very affluent time and have ‘smart’ technology with instant access to information that makes things very convenient and comfortable in our lives and homes. However, this convenience comes in the form of ‘wireless’ radiation or WIFI, which is an electromagnetic frequency (EMFs) that is being shown to be detrimental to our long-term health and wellbeing.
The key is to become aware of the presence and different types of EMF’s in your everyday life and educate yourself to make more informed choices about the safe use of them for yourself and family.
Knowing which devices emit EMF’s is important and you can use my list of the Top 12x Simple Steps to instantly start reducing your exposure to some of the more common big items in your home and life.
What are EMFs?
Electromagnetic fields are waves that vary in length and frequency. They come in the form of: AC electric and AC magnetic fields (low EMFs), DC electric and DC magnetic fields (low EMFs), radiofrequencies (high EMFs) and dirty electricity. Some typical examples of each type are:
AC electric fields: building wiring and appliances plugged in (not turned on).
AC magnetic fields: high voltage transmission lines, power lines, meter panels, solar inverters, digital clocks and any other appliance plugged in and turned on.
DC electric fields: static electricity that is being discharged to a grounded object (like you!).
DC magnetic fields: building materials and furnishings containing magnetised steel.
Radiofrequency fields (RF): WIFI, Bluetooth, iPhone and wireless telecommunications devices.
Dirty Electricity: energy saving lights, solar inverters, computers, printers, photocopiers, light dimmer switches, induction cookers, plasma TVs and any device with an electrical transformer.
Why do I need to know about EMFs?
The long-term health issues and lack of adequate safety standards towards human health in Australia are a big concern in relation to the EMFs that we are exposed to daily. We didn’t grow up with WIFI and smart devices and they have not been tested long enough to be proved that they are safe on human health. It is being predicted that EMFs will become the next asbestos, lead paint and smoking issue for our modern society. Even if you’re not 100% sure that EMFs are really going to harm you, the precautionary principleshould be considered for safe use of any device with EMFs for you and your family.
We have never been properly educated about the safe use of EMFs. They’ve just become integrated into our lives and a normal and accepted part of our everyday life. Most people don’t question them as why would they? It’s confusing when different news articles report conflicting and contradictory information results in no action and indecision.
Why are the Australian Standards for EMFs are inadequate?
Unfortunately, the Australia standards are just not adequate to protect us from long-term exposure to EMFs and we need to be aware of this and take action in our own lives to reduce exposure. Globally, we actually have one of the lowest standards, which is surprising considering we have high regulations on so many other things.
The Australian safety regulations were actually set back in 1990 and have not been adjusted since, which includes the development and release of the iPhone, iPad and various smart devices. There is also no safety standard for the safe use of wireless technology for children. These types of frequencies are not found in nature and have not been around long enough to be proven to not be harmful to humans.
The standards also relate only to short-term thermal tissue heating. They do not take into account any other biological issues that result from long term exposure that have since been linked to affect the body and shown through research by various independent scientists around the world to be a serious health issue. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also lists radiofrequency fields (RF) as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ in 2011.
Many countries have exposure limits to these types of non-ionising radiation 100 to 10,000 times less than Australia including: China, Russia, Hungary, Israel, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Poland.
What are the health issues from EMFs?
It is through the indirect influence of EMFs on the body that can induce cancer by generating free radicals that damage DNA and interfere with the body’s antioxidant repair mechanisms. This process can result in damage to cause: irreversible cellular damage, permeability to the blood brain barrier, DNA strand breaks, inhibition of DNA repair in stem cells, apoptosis (cell death) and damage to proteins, membranes and genes, oxidative stress, increased histamine levels (leads to systemic inflammation), suppression of melatonin, that can lead to cancer and other serious health issues in the body.
Adverse health effects are shown to start out slow like reversible headaches, day time fatigue and poor concentration and memory. Over long-term exposure this increases to effects that are more severe and irreversible. Diseases related to EMF field exposure are linked to an increase in: brain tumours (glioma and acoustic neuroma), childhood leukemia, breast cancer, neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s disease), childhood behavioural disorders (ADHD & Autism), macular degeneration and EHS.
Awareness and using the precautionary principle is fundamental to protecting yourself and your family to a range of potential health issues in future years.
12x Simple Steps to reduce your EMF exposure.
- Create distance between yourself and the EMF- distance is key. Aim to do this first before using a device to reduce your exposure.
- Turn your iPhone/ smart device on ‘airplane’ mode if you use this next to your bed at night.Your alarm will still work but you won’t be exposed to the wireless radiation. Better yet, don’t have it in your bedroom and charge elsewhere!
- Turn your router off at night giving your family 8 hours break from high EMF exposure and check your router’s location. Ensure its not in or near a bedroom or living space that you spend a lot of time in and create distance from it.
- Check that you do not sleep near your meter box and relocate or create distance from it if you do.
- Use ‘airtubes’ for your iPhone/ smart device, which are an anti-radiation earphone and stop radiation going directly into your head. Reduce the length of time on a phone and text and/or use speakerphone instead of having the iPhone/ smart device directly next to your head.
- Use a wired ‘ethernet’ connection for your computer/ laptop and turn off your WIFI + Bluetooth connections on the device. This will make your computer EMF free and safe to use for extended periods of time.
- Children should learn to use any smart devices on ‘airplane’ mode at home and school and when they need to download information use a wired connection or turn WIFI on for a short period of time on the device. Always have a barrier between their body and the device to protect from battery radiation too. More info on EMFs for Kids here.
- Turn off any wireless ‘smart’ devices in your home when not using and/or every night like: Apple TVs, gaming consoles, TV’s, audio equipment, WIFI extenders, WIFI printers etc.
- Don’t have any cordless phones near you especially your bed or where you work for long periods of time. Research indicates that cordless phones are worse than a mobile phone as the base station continually emits signals 24/7.
- Do not carry an iPhone/ smart device on your body (especially near a baby) as the radiation goes directly into you (or them). Aim to turn the device on ‘airplane’ mode, create more distance by placing it in a bag instead and/or use an anti-radiation cover that blocks it from one side that is against your body (not full protection though).
- Reduce the use of your iPhone/ smart phone in your car, which creates a ‘faraday’ cage effect and bounces the radiation around the car and multiplies the amount of exposure to all occupants in the car.Turn it on ‘airplane’ mode where possible.
- Be aware and reduce the use of wireless radiation in baby and children products like: baby monitors, heart monitors in mattresses, children toys, smart watches, products placed near their bed etc.
Act, Share and Raise Awareness with your Community.
Aim to implement as many items on this list to reduce your family’s exposure to unnecessary EMFs instantly without getting lost in the research behind every single item. It is more important that you just start and learn more as you go.
You won’t be able to control all situations, but you can start with those that you do have influence over, like in your home.
Now that you have greater awareness, share this information with your family and friends that can also benefit so they can be more aware and better educated also.
For further assistance we offer Healthy Home Audits to help identify potential sources in your home.
Change starts in small steps, take yours.
Resources:
Bijlsma, N. 2018, Healthy Home Healthy Family, (3rd edition), Australian College of Environmental Studies, Victoria.
Bijlsma, N. 2016, Healthy Homes Manual, Australian College of Environmental Studies, Melbourne.
McLean, L. 2011, The Force: Living Safely in a World of Electromagnetic Pollution, Scribe, Victoria.
Philips, J. & A. (2006), The Powerwatch Handbook, Piatkus, Great Britain.
McLean, L. 2017, Wireless-Wise Families: What every parent needs to know about wireless technologies, Scribe, Victoria.