These invisible electromagnetic fields are known as EMFs. They are generated by currents running through electric wires. Since they are not powerful and destructive like nuclear or X-ray radiation, they were once thought to be harmless. However, studies have suggested that people exposed to them chronically run a higher risk of certain health problems, including miscarriages, learning disabilities, and cancer.
No clear cause-and-effect relationship has been established between EMFs and illnesses, but the mounting evidence makes EMFs appear to be extremely suspicious. And because EMFs are generated by many sources — including microwave ovens, televisions and radios, military radar systems, and, ironically, some treatments for cancerous tumors — many of us could be at risk.
In their attempts to establish a cause-and-effect connection between EMF exposure and health problems, scientists have been trying to uncover just what effect EMFs have on the body. One theory is that EMFs of certain frequencies disrupt the normal role of calcium in the brain. Another theory says that EMFs affect how cells grow and reproduce. A third belief holds that EMFs make cells manufacture proteins they normally would not reproduce.
the potential effects of transmission lines and the EMFs they create on home owners trying to sell their homes. EMFs are not like other harmful agents. They have not been proven dangerous, as has the outlawed, cancer-causing food coloring Red Dye #2, for example. In addition, unlike Red Dye #2 and other proven carcinogens, EMFs are almost unavoidable. The magnetic fields easily, penetrate walls and bodies, and as of now, no protective shield is available.
- By Vikas Rathi
