EMF Radiation: Is there something there?

This is a weird topic for DPC News, I know. EMF (electromagnetic field radiation) has always tweaked my interest. Recently, HHS put out this statement:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today issued a Request for Information (RFI) calling on Americans, scientists, physicians, industry, and public health experts to submit evidence and information on the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), radiofrequency (RF) radiation, and wireless radiation exposure.

There are tons of ways we get exposed to electrical fields (and the corresponding magnetic field) nowadays. There are power lines, smart meters, microwave ovens, wireless medical devices, wearable technologies, and on and on. We also have WiFI everywhere and 5G phones. We live in a soup of it.

But is there an issue with all of this?

Well, there are a bazillion articles on PubMed showing there are and showing there aren’t. This is a big debate and a lot of money behind tech and cell phone companies that push back. There are also many variables: proximity of the EMF, intensity of the EMF, chronicity of the EMF, causation vs. correlation, etc.

I do think it needs to be figured out and soon.

Now for a couple of personal stories. When I was in my early fifties, I received a knee replacement. I had seven knee surgeries from a college wrestling injury, including two ACL reconstructions. It was time because I had trouble walking. The knee is great now, but after it happened, it wouldn’t heal. It took well over a year to get better, including the need for a second surgery to clean out scar tissue formation throughout the fake joint. Around that time, I was playing around with an EMF meter and noticed that the desk in my office was reading almost as high as when you put it up to a microwave oven. It blew my mind. Nowhere else in the office did it read as high as it did right under my chair. WTF! Finally, I had my landlord and builder come in, and he confessed that the power lines for the whole structure ran underground and under my chair. I moved my personal office up front to another area. Did the EMF impede my healing? I don’t know. I did get better quicker after that. A PubMed search isn’t clear on this.

The EMF debate will continue, but there are some common-sense ideas we have, right? You wouldn’t sleep up in a cell tower every night. It just feels inherently dangerous. You wouldn’t sit on one of those large electrical boxes outside your house all day. You also wouldn’t put your head right next to the microwave oven while it is on, right?

Let’s look at that last sentence. My son has the Apple Vision Pro. It is a really great technology for VR experiences. Amazing, actually. My son uses his Apple earbuds with it, but the unit has its own speakers. You can be on this thing all day doing work or watching a movie. I did an EMF reading while it was on using its own speakers:

The milligauss reading for the magnetic field is high right next to his brain. Some building-biology and consumer-oriented groups recommend much lower targets at around ~2 mG / 0.2 µT. That number is 22 and making the unit go red for very dangerous. I then compared this to a microwave by putting it next to it while on. Here are the readings:

So, the radiation is much higher, but the magnetic field is even higher in the Apple Vision Pro while the speakers are on. What does this mean? I don’t know, but shouldn’t we find out? My son now keeps the speakers off, but others have it buzzing their heads with a magnetic field that high for hours at a time, and that could be a problem.

What about medical workers who are next to massive devices all day in the hospital? Are they at risk? Should you check your office? My dentist did, and she checked her office and adjusted a bunch of stuff.

Maybe I am being paranoid. I still believe my knee replacement was affected by this. I shut off my WiFi at night. I have not, however, put a Faraday cage around my bed as of yet. That was a joke.

Maybe.

I would love your thoughts because patients may be asking you about it due to the HHS announcement.