Electrosensitive ‘Wi-Fi Refugees’ Move to Town Where Cell Phones Are Illegal
Wireless technology is so prevalent today that there’s hardly any place anybody can go without being exposed to electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, cell towers, wifi hotspots, and so on. For people who are sensitive to these electromagnetic frequencies, life has become miserable. And for some, relocating to a place where these technologies are minimal becomes the only option.
So is this electromagnetic hypersensitivity real? For those who suffer the condition, it is real enough. And removing themselves from the electromagnetic environment has provided the relief they needed. More on the story here…
A remote West Virginia town with no cell service, Wi-Fi hotspots, or TV has become a haven for people who say that wireless technology is making them sick.
Dozens of so-called “Wi-Fi refugees” suffering from a controversial malady called electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) have moved to Green Bank, West Virginia, where cell phone and Wi-Fi signals are banned. An estimated five percent of Americans claim to have EHS, a condition not recognized by the scientific community.
Green Bank is located in the US National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000-square mile area where electromagnetic radiation on the radio spectrum–such as radio and TV broadcasts, Wi-Fi networks, and signals from cell phones, Bluetooth and other high-tech electronic devices–are outlawed, to prevent transmissions from interfering with a local radio telescope and a nearby military radio installation.
EHS sufferers contend that exposure to electromagnetic radiation sparks a wide range of symptoms, including facial flushing, twitchy muscles, burning or itchy skin, chest pain, headaches, sleep problems, mentalf og, rapid heartbeat, ringing in the ears or hearing problems, nerve or muscle pain, nausea, and chronic fatigue.
More than 30 studies have been conducted to see if electromagnetic fields (EMF) can spark these symptoms or other health problems. So far, scientists remain skeptical. When the World Health Organization (WHO) reviewed the research in a 2004 workshop, it reported that:
“There are also some indications that these symptoms may be due to pre-existing psychiatric conditions as well as stress reactions as a result of worrying about believed EMF health effects, rather than the EMF exposure itself.”
Currently, Sweden is the only country that recognizes EHS as a legitimate impairing condition. In that country–where the government reports that about 3 percent of the population (some 250,000 people) are affected–those with EHS are entitled to the same legal rights and social services as those who are deaf or blind.
The government will even pay to have the homes of people with EHS electronically “sanitized” with metal shielding to block electromagnetic radiation, Popular Science Magazine reports.
Some researchers have reported that long-term exposure to power lines or cell phones might raise the risk for cancer. Most studies have focused on possible links between electromagnetic fields and childhood leukemia, but research has had conflicting results.
Studies have also examined whether these fields have any link with other cancers, depression, suicide, heart disease, reproductive problems, and other disease. The WHO Task Force Group finds evidence that electromagnetic radiation is associated with any of these problems is “weak” at best.
See full story on yahoo.net (Photo courtesy of yahoo.net)
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