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Electric meters and subpanels are powerful EMF emitters. Place these on walls of spaces where occupants spend the least time. Both sides of the wall should be in low usage areas, as EMFs are not blocked by walls. An example of a suitable location would be an outside garage wall.
Keep heater/air conditioner blowers away from high usage areas of the house.
First floor fluorescent ceiling fixtures should not be located under second floor areas of high use at floor level such as children's playrooms.
Grounding by rods into the earth near the meter eliminates EMFs emanating from water pipes.
Locate the overhead secondary service wire or the underground secondary service trench in a little-used area of the yard.
Locate the wiring in the walls, floor, and ceiling away from high use areas of the home. If practical, run wires under the roof and drop them down through the walls to reach switches and outlets.
Because of the number of appliances in a kitchen, it is an area of high EMFs. However, it is also an area of short-term exposure in most cases. Locate kitchen appliances on a wall away from high use areas that may adjoin the kitchen such as bedrooms or living rooms.
Turn off Video Display Units (VDUs) when not in use.
Limit cell phone use, and use ground line when available.
Avoid using electric bedding
Do not sleep right next to small electric motors, such as older clocks and fans. Use lower field clocks such as LED, or switch to battery-powered or mechanical wind-up clocks.
Electric Fields
EMFs are measured in volts or kilovolts per meter for electric charges (V/m or kV/m).
Electric fields can be partly shielded by objects, particularly grounded objects.
Electric fields over 20 kV/m will cause a tingling sensation.
Magnetic Fields
Magnetic fields are measured in teslas, Gauss, and milliGauss (mG) (10,000 Gauss equals one tesla).
Magnetic fields are not affected by objects.
Magnetic fields are not felt.
Negative health effects are suspected even from very low fields .
Some studies indicate negative health risks at 3 milliGauss. Common electrical equipment such as computer display terminals and microwave ovens will emit this level of EMF at a distance of up to one foot.
The International Radiation Protection Association has issued draft exposure guidelines for power frequency electric and magnetic fields of 5 kV/m for continuous exposure to electric fields and 2 Gauss for magnetic fields .
Fields can be measured with special meters. See Resources section.
Fields decrease rapidly over distance (the inverse square of the distance). |