Electrical fields deemed potentially harmful to your health

We've already heard that electricity could cause all sorts of fatal side effects, and it's all but conclusive that stray WiFi can warp your brain, but how come magnetic signals are helping people get their lives back together? If you haven't already guessed, here we have yet another alarmist story which claims that "electrical fields generated by everyday electrical equipment may cause an increased risk of respiratory diseases and infection." The study, published by Imperial scientists, strongly suggests that these toxic fields (some created by computers, no less) can attract airborne particles thanks to stray electrostatic charges, and can then lead to excess amounts of potentially unwholesome deposits making their way into one's lungs. Of course, unless these masterminds wrote their research up via pencil and paper while dressed in ESD suits, we'd say they're just as exposed as the rest of us.

[Kame_boy @ Jul 21st 2007 5:57AM]

i guess it's not the electric fields that are harmful then.

[Dave @ Jul 21st 2007 7:03AM]

These kind of headlines are innaccurate and somewhat irresponsible. There are too many people believing any random new-age hippy mumbo-jumbo, and we don't need to promote it any further for a cheap headline. If its airbourne particles doing the damage then say so. You could rewite the article to just say "stuff gets dusty, get out more!"

There is NO (if only I had a 10foot high font), thats NO evidence that wifi damages health:
- http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/understand/radiation_topics/emf/wifi.htm

And while the picture is more complex for magnetic fields, its nothing to go shout about.
- http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/understand/information_sheets/magnetic_fields.htm

Anyone wanting to gain more background info in this area should read the excellent wikipedia entry:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation

[Goatee Man @ Jul 21st 2007 7:19AM]

For crying out loud, people, can we stop criticizing everything Engadget does? If you don't like how they work, don't read the frigging articles! Augh!

[Sma @ Jul 21st 2007 8:02AM]

exactly, I would venture to guess that going outside in the sun for long periods of time is alot more damaging than wifi or cell signals

[Le Master @ Jul 21st 2007 8:53AM]

Have you ever heard of constructive criticism? Jeez, not every comment has to be bloated with praise and agreement.

People like Dave are the ones that help give engadget more credibility.

[ssuk @ Jul 21st 2007 3:15PM]

These guys have a point. We're told that skin cancer can be caused by going out in the sun for SHORT PERIODS (bullshit) and we should all cover up with THICK DEMINMS (In fucking summer?) So we all stay in, but oh no! Your TV is slowly killing you. Oh deary fucking me, thank god I stoped caring about all this histerical bullshit a while back else I'd be in the corner with my tinfoil helmet shaking like a dell laptop...

[nikster @ Jul 21st 2007 11:55PM]

The problem with both people who believe all new age hippy mumbo jumbo _and_ those that don't is that people are not able to think rationally and make up their own mind. They'd rather follow some belief system that others thought of.

The situation is worst whenever our health is concerned - science doesn't understand nearly enough to make statements like electricity is harmful or WiFi is harmful, yet scientists are under immense pressure to publish and the media is under pressure to grab attention. This combination produces tons of pseudoscientific garbage. You really have to actively try to avoid it.

As for other hippy mumbo jumbo, there's a lot of it that actually works but is ignored by western science. I have seen Reiki work fantastically and quite frankly I don't need some ignorant western Doctor to tell me it can't (aka I don't understand it so it can't work). I have seen it work, I don't need further proof.

Eastern medicine will only be accepted in the west once big pharma figures out how to make the big bucks off of it. Which is too bad because it complements western medicine in an almost ideal way.

[SPOOOOCK! @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:26AM]

One word. Placebo.

[MarkG @ Jul 21st 2007 7:21AM]

"Imperial scientists"?

They work for Darth Vader??

[Xtopher Robin @ Jul 21st 2007 9:26AM]

My thoughts exactly. Apparently, these tests were conducted on the galaxies largest source of energy draw: the Death Star. lol

[mattclarkie @ Jul 21st 2007 7:35AM]

Now I know why I get chest infections. The only flaw with that is I got my first chest-infection ages before I got a computer.

Wait till the BBC gets this story, then it will be blown entirely out of proportion.

[jarofchris @ Jul 21st 2007 7:46AM]

The only flaw in your reasoning is that whether or not you got a "chest" infection before you got your computer has no relevance to the question of whether or not computer dust can increase your risk of lung infections.

[jarofchris @ Jul 21st 2007 7:58AM]

Because I have a brain. Think about it.

[mattclarkie @ Jul 21st 2007 7:49AM]

And you worked that out how?

[Sma @ Jul 21st 2007 8:02AM]

how about computers help lessen the chance of lung problems, instead of all the dust floating about the room, it gets sucked into the computer where it stays (atleast until you open it up to upgrade something. I had even once thought about making a computer air cleaner, by maybe taking an empty case, filling it with an old power supply, fans and a filter or two and just letting it run :)
I even thought about making some sorta water box that the dust would be collected in but figured the fans wouldn't be powerful enough to suck air through the water....oh well :)

[PhilJ @ Jul 21st 2007 8:31AM]

It just goes to show that if you want to live forever, sit on a mountaintop (hint: bring food), or live underground. If, on the other hand, you want to hang out with us surface-dwellers, you need to accept the fact that everything is gonna die, and some of the things you do may accelerate that process.

Next news item? "Scientists from the Institute of D.U.H. show that the elapsing of time may cause health-related risks. Research suggests that the only way to stop time from elapsing, at least on an individual level, is via death. However, that result did not establish a high success rate for prolonging life."

[siriusfox @ Jul 21st 2007 11:02AM]

"Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." -Redd Foxx

[hypereric @ Jul 21st 2007 8:56AM]

HA! And people laugh when they see my tin-foil beanie on my head (if only they knew about the tin-foil undies I have on)! And just because I have my bed surrounded by a faraday cage...

I *will* have the last laugh. I plan on living forever, and so far, so good!

[Chrisboff @ Jul 21st 2007 10:37AM]

I would have thought that a tin foil hat would only serve to amplify and concentrate background electric fields into your head.

[hypereric @ Jul 21st 2007 3:47PM]

thats not funny.... lead, maybe?

[dj-kenpo @ Jul 21st 2007 10:06AM]

why is it whenever anyone says technology might not be 100% safe everyone goes overboard to laugh and point fingers. go wear your tinfoil hat you crazy!

I'm not sure either way, so while my oppinion isn't set I highly doubt cellphone signals carefully ben -around- my head, or magically transport through a wormhole directly to the tower thus avoiding me and everyone else.

"invisdibles stuffs can't hurt you stupidz! it's not theres! LULZ stupidz hippies".

while I won't go wear that tinfoil hat I won't be naive enough to beleive there's zero effect from computers/cellphones/wifi/cars and smoking.

[Sman @ Jul 21st 2007 10:09AM]

There always something under the sun thats bad for us. I'm not too concerned about it ironically, I have to say though that is the lamest yet funniest picture for any article I have seen. Well done gents and ladies.

[chris @ Jul 21st 2007 10:10AM]

last I checked light was a form of electromagnetic radiation. Does this mean that light is harmful to our health? Run for the caves!

[dhughes @ Jul 21st 2007 12:43PM]

I like when you see people complain about cell towers, power lines etc. yet they have a dozen magnets strapped to their body.

[Christian @ Jul 21st 2007 2:37PM]

Here at MIT, one of the freshman physics problems is to prove that electromagnetic fields are not harmful to your health.
Desktop computer from 1m away: 4E-7 A m^-1
Whole-house distribution power line from 1m away: 2E-6 A m^-1
1000A power line from 20m away: 1E-5 A m^-1
*Earth's natural field*: 5E-5 A m^-1

Quote: "Despite the media coverage, we don't have much to worry about."

[dj-kenpo @ Jul 21st 2007 6:41PM]

well if a first year MIT student says so than A_OK! lulz. I'm sure alot of the people that say global warming is a myth are MIT grads as well. point?

[Gvarsub @ Jul 22nd 2007 5:37PM]

Might trust those MIT people more if they could get their units right: it's V/m, not A/m.

[HyperHacker @ Jul 21st 2007 2:56PM]

Pfft. If wifi could kill you, radio would have killed us all by now. And if being near electronics could kill you, I'd be dead by now.

[dj-kenpo @ Jul 21st 2007 6:42PM]

good thing there's been less and less cases of cancer over the years..... oh wait.

[sockatume @ Jul 21st 2007 8:58PM]

This isn't all that mad- if you've ever used an air ioniser, you'll notice it works by sticking every available bit of dust to itself and the walls, leading to a greater local particulate concentration. That other electrical fields could be doing the same thing on a smaller scale, and with less organisation, shouldn't be surprising.

We're talking a hypothetical environmental change here, though. Whether this translates into a practical environmental change, and from that into a genuine health risk, is anyone's guess right now, and I imagine that the good folks at ICL are now scrounging up research funding and phoning up epidemiologists to do a practical study.

[sockatume @ Jul 21st 2007 8:59PM]

Oh, if anyone's wondering (and I imagine the Engadget editors are curious as they don't know either) "Imperial" generally means "Imperial College London", and sure enough there's ICL's initials right there at the bottom.

[RedBull Runner @ Jul 21st 2007 11:31PM]

Uh oh... I guess these three monitors, and 2 computers I sit in front of 10+ hours a day is giving me cancer and herpes then, huh.


I hope I don't get hearing AIDS from the phone. :(

[jgaudino @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:43PM]

I think the problem is so many want to see this as black and white. Staking out positions as ideologues on either side.

Look - I'm a physician and the science may not all be there but I think given what we know about HOW cells communicate or should I say how little we know - it is NOT unreasonable to perhaps exercise some caution as regards electromagnetic fields. No resorting to new age mumbo jumbo here. Basic biology will plant the notion that although its true you can't avoid these things all together that a prudent person would not simply dismiss the concerns. Particularly in relation to children whose central nervous systems are developing at a rapid rate and are more vulnerable to damage.

IN addition I believe a prudent cautions person would also consider that although any ONE of these many toxins - be they endocrine disrupters from common plastics we all use, acrylamides from french fries etc or pesticides and heavy metals in seafood... that ALL taken TOGETHER they certainly should make us ALL take a breath and consider what we expose ourselves to and ingest. Evolution does take time and as you can clearly see in the microbial world with its ever increasing resistance rates the notion that we can win the race against nature is a dangerous one. At some point we need to exercise some caution. Perhaps some day our bodies will have found a way to ameliorate the impact of these things. Lets hope so.

Ultrasounds are another good example... useful under proper circumstances as they may be - that they DO impact a developing brain causing dramatic increases in left handedness in proportion to the exposure - this must be reckoned with the long known fact that lefties have a statistically higher accident and death rate etc...

Look its not rocket science here - sound or magnetic - its ENERGY. You can't direct or expose energy at human tissue and expect it to do nothing. It may well be the benefit to risk is worthwhile as in a CT scan for a head injury but it is still energy. And not just high intensity energy - in some ways the subtler intensity in the barely perceptible ranges that are similar to cellular communication may actually prove to be worse than the higher levels. The years ahead will tell but its not the things we dont know that worry me its always the things we seem to be so darned sure we DO know or at least think we know for sure... and then later have to recant.

An open mind will do well for all of us and some rational use of caution as regards all of this.

[CarL @ Jul 27th 2007 3:27AM]

first thing, i totaly agree with nikster and his post :

"Eastern medicine will only be accepted in the west once big pharma figures out how to make the big bucks off of it." thanks

and another thing,well i do belive it cause if the earth is emiting its own 6hz wave , we have survived that for i dont know how long, but now we have 60hz.. has anyone heard of those kids with like brain damage who have a school somewhere in the middle of the united states under those big electric cross country wires? email me. reading this makes me remember that.

and yes nikster, reiki does work