In 1990, Electro Magnetic Fields, better known as EMFs, were all set to be classified as a B-level Carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency, better known as the EPA. The chemical formaldehyde, who has since graduated and gone off to join the big leagues, was to be one of EMFs’ classmates that year, had EMFs been accepted.
Unfortunately, it was not to be: the report—which drew quite the visible arrow from the photo EMFs’ portfolio provided to images of chemo-laden patients, some of which were children, trying desperately to recover in hospital beds—that was to serve as a recommendation, was suddenly deemed “inappropriate,” due to the agency incredibly losing both its ability to qualify AND quantify EMFs’ danger.
Perhaps those who cared for her lobbied against a rank they believed to be unfavorable, or perhaps not. What is undeniably true, though, is that many still believe EMFs poses a risk to human (and non-human, presumably) health, and rightfully earned the ranking nearly stowed upon it over two decades ago.
Until EMFs earn their rightful status, and measures to protect our safety are taken by the industries that create them, all we can do is minimize our own exposure to them.
Do we need that electric blanket? Do we need to sit that close to our computers and televisions all the time? Do we need to use your microwaves regularly? Do we need a microwave at all?
As Terry Hall once said, “It’s up to you!”
For most of us, ‘going off the grid’ isn’t a practical option, and more likely, it’s not even a consideration, but we could all probably stand to benefit from a little less technology in our lives, and not just because of the ill-effects electro magnetic fields are likely to have on our health.
You can read the article, which provides further information and tips, here.
