Why do you think electromagnetic fields matter?

When I was in university, I lived in an old apartment building where you could get shocked if you touched the walls. We thought this was funny, but it’s dangerous. Besides the fire and electrical hazards, frayed wires can create high magnetic fields, and damp walls can support mold growth. This combination of high magnetic fields and mold is very bad for your health. My health quickly got worse. I had to move out.

When I started using a computer with a CRT monitor, it gave me stomach cramps. Many Swedish office workers had similar experiences, developing skin rashes and headaches. The Swedes created the first certification for low-EMF computer monitors (MPR/TCO). Why build high-emission monitors when you can build low-emission ones? I was glad to find a laptop with an LCD screen that my stomach could handle.

Then there was my son, who was only two years old. No matter how nutritious the food, how nice the day, or how comfortable the bed was, he would not sleep through the night. I always found him pressed against the opposite corner of the bed with his forehead, as if he had tried to crawl away from something. I thought that people come to believe in haunted places in situations like this. Though my options were limited, I followed my instincts and placed the bed literally in the middle of the room. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had moved him out of the magnetic field created by the refrigerator on the other side of the wall. After that, he always slept through the night. A low-EMF sleep environment can work wonders.

Researchers measure the electrical activity inside the brain to diagnose sleep and mental disorders. I started to wonder how much the ever-increasing levels of electromagnetic fields from the outside affect the inner workings of our mind and body.

What kind of training do you have?

I couldn’t find an EMF consultant on the West Coast of Canada, so I looked in Germany. There, a German group of environmental experts had already issued the first comprehensive precautionary guidelines on electromagnetic fields for sleeping areas in 1992. So, I went back to Germany to take courses with Wolfgang Maes and the Institute of Building Biology and Sustainability (IBN), the initiators of the Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas. This was an eye-opening learning experience. They moved testing equipment into bedrooms to see which exposure ranges are best for healthy sleep. In addition to well-known indoor air pollutants such as radon, formaldehyde, and mold, the holistic approach of building biology also addresses a broad range of electromagnetic fields.

Later I translated the original Building Biology Course IBN into English, which has been available online since 2016. As a professional translator, I specialize in EMF research, environmental and occupational health, as well as medical sciences and nutrition. Translating the book Building Biology – Criteria and Architectural Design (2018) took me on a journey through Europe to explore unique building projects with both aesthetic appeal and exceptionally high indoor environmental quality. I also translated the 2016 EUROPAEM EMF Guideline for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of EMF-related Health Problems and Illnesses, which includes a major section on EMF testing and precautionary levels. This guideline of the European Academy for Environmental Medicine (EUROPAEM) is based on the understanding that exposure to electromagnetic fields can trigger health symptoms – even at low exposure levels. The environmental physicians and scientists recommend that you try to reduce your exposure to electromagnetic fields.

During my studies in Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Victoria, deeply knowledgeable and inspiring instructors taught me a lot about how complicated environmental health hazards can be. While there are stories of horrible accidents, it’s good to know that cleaning up the environment and making workplaces safer can improve people’s health.

I also studied the non-ionizing portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is a topic that scientists have very different opinions about. In my final paper on low-EMF office environments, I show that people who use smartphones, computers, and other office equipment are commonly exposed to many different types of electromagnetic fields, not just the ones most extensively studied like ELF magnetic fields or microwave radiation. Even low-level exposure can cause health problems, especially if it happens often and for a long time. As I explain in my paper, many of these types of exposure are unnecessary and avoidable.