Asthma Linked to Electromagnetic Fields
A new study has found a connection between electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and asthma – and could reignite the controversy about the safety of electronics and power lines. Lead study author Dr. De-Kun Li followed pregnant women and their children for up to 13 years to assess the possible effects of magnetic fields on health. The women wore a meter during pregnancy to measure their exposure to magnetic fields, which are emitted by everything from microwaves and vacuums to power lines. About 20 percent of the 626 children born were eventually diagnosed with asthma. Li found that women exposed to the highest levels of exposure to EMFs had a 3.5-fold increased risk of having a child who would later be diagnosed with asthma, compared to women with lower exposure levels. Read more here.
CalgaryNancy
We moved away from our dream home last January because of the health effects we were feeling from building almost directly under some high voltage power lines. We have no family history of asthma and food allergies, yet my son has both including peanut anaphylaxis. He was severely developmentally delayed as well, and now that we have been away from that strong magnetic field for 17 months he has almost caught up completely with kids his own age (4.5 years old). This story makes me mad because I learned yesterday that AltaLink has turned off the power line nearest to the house we had built due to health concerns. We sold the house for $40 000 less than what it would have been worth across the street, but we had no choice but to sell it. My husband and daughter had insomnia and I had short term memory loss, all which began after we moved there in 2005. Why is it that every other country seems to have a much larger distance required from the lines before you can build a house, but Canada doesn’t? I had neighbours on both sides with multiple children and multiple food allergies/asthma. I am not a scientist, but there seemed to be a lot more of the immune system related issues on my side of the street. There is definitely something going on when living inside a magnetic field and it is about time it was recognized in Canada!