The standard electrical frequency throughout North America is 60 hertz. However, there is an increasing number of different frequencies that are also being run through wiring. These "high frequency voltage transients" are linked to various health issues. They are often referred to as "dirty electricity."
Most of the dirty electricity in a building comes from electronic devices. These modern appliances often add high frequency transients to the electrical wiring. Other sources of dirty electricity comes from arcing on power lines and unfiltered frequencies emitted by nearby antennas.
Experts warn that increasing exposure to both dirty electricity and wireless technology can lead to a looming epidemic of disease and death. This is due to dirty electricity in electrical wiring being linked to diseases and health problems like cancer, infertility and miscarriage, multiple sclerosis, and depression that can end in suicide. (Related: Dirty electricity - Myth or reality?)
Common sources of dangerous dirty electricity
Dirty electricity is produced when the alternating current (AC) from the wall outlets is turned into direct current (DC) by the switch-mode power supply (SMPS) converters found in most modern electronic devices. The SMPS converters are either found inside the boxes in surge protector strips, on bigger electronic devices, or built into the devices themselves.
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are considered to be the worst offenders when it comes to generating dirty electricity. They use pulsed electronic technology that switch on and off 20,000 times per second.
Pulsed electronics break up the normal frequency of the 60 hertz electrical current. It also sends unused electrical fragments back into the electrical system. A single CFL bulb can turn the electrical system of an entire house into a source of dirty electricity.
Trent University researcher Magda Havas warns that most research on the potential effects of non-ionizing radiation focus on either the extremely low frequencies connected with electricity and the much higher radio frequencies used by wireless telecommunication devices. The problem is that dirty electricity is a different, intermediate frequency range at the low end of the radiofrequency spectrum.
Dirty electricity possesses the bad effects of both types of electromagnetic pollution. It is also not in the frequencies that most researchers look at.
How can you protect yourself against dirty electricity?
Despite its increasing prevalence, dirty electricity can be minimized or even eliminated from a building. The presence of such electromagnetic pollution can be detected using a Graham micro-surge meter. If the readings show at least 50 GS units, you will need to take action.
Get rid of modern electronic devices in the home or office. If they need to be used, use them only when necessary. Likewise, if a device has an SMPS converter that produces dirty electricity, either eliminate it or minimize its use.
In addition, replace automated dimmer lights with older switches, CFLs with old-fashioned light bulbs, and smart meters with an analog equivalent. Last but not least, install dirty electricity filters to all but eliminate the amount of electromagnetic pollution from what few devices you need to operate on occasion.
Dirty electricity is not the only electrical threat to human health. Before 1992, electric utility companies used a neutral wire to return unused electricity to the substations. After that year, they began using the ground as an electrical conductor by running power lines down the side of electrical poles. Ground current is now everywhere in North America, and it can be contaminated by sources of dirty electricity from inside the house or office.
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