I have gotten mixed feedback on ozonators. Some people have said they help remove odors, including from mold; others have said that new odors were formed that were very hard to get rid of. One client used an ozonator to get rid of "new car smell," but it didn't work.
I have done a couple of experiments with ozonators on mold, taking samples before and after ozonation. From these informal tests, no reduction in mold spores was noted. One client said she used an ozonator to control the smell of mold, but she had to keep using it as it didn't kill the mold.
The EPA has a free packet of information on ozonators available: There is concern that advertising claims are not being met. For the packet, call the EPA's Indoor Air Quality Clearinghouse at 800-438-4318 and ask for the ozonator information packet, #108345. Request a list of their publications at the same time.
Ozone is irritating and drying to lung tissue. If using an ozonator, people, plants and pets should not be in the building. There could be damage to leather or oil paintings as well. Air the building out prior to returning.
Research published in Environmental Science Technology, Vo. 28, No. 1, 1994, pp. 146-149, revealed that "indoor ozone chemistry can play a role in generating indoor aldehydes." This would include the carcinogen, formaldehyde.
Robert O. Becker, M.D., did pioneering work in the healing of difficult bone fractures through magnetic therapy. The therapy was effective, and bone grew. Dr. Becker advised caution in using magnetic therapy, however. At what point does desirable bone growth continue and become a tumor?
"The association seen between exposure to magnetic fields and osteosarcoma is particularly interesting in light of the therapeutic use of magnetic fields in bone healing," Drs. Tore Tynes and Tor Haldorsen of the Institute of Epidemiological Cancer Research at the Cancer Registry of Norway in Oslo, quoted in the February 1 American Journal of Epidemiology (145, pp. 219-116, 1997).
Fields from magnets are huge compared to the subtle energy fields of our bodies. What is the criterion for whether a magnet works? Is it that you sleep better or pain is relieved or you feel more energy? Perhaps the magnet will give you cancer ten or twenty years down the road.
Enviro Health is a cautious company, going back to the bottom line of Nature. We do not - and never will - sell magnets.
Part of this is due to my own costly experience in sleeping one night on a magnetic mattress pad a few years ago. I woke up in a severe brain fog that lasted four months. I had trouble speaking and couldn't understand people if they spoke too fast. A whole summer was lost from work.
During these months of brain fog, I called some of the magnet companies for help and was told my body was
"detoxing." My doctor said that was ridiculous, that this was no detox reaction. He reiterated that there is so much we don't know about the brain and how the magnetic fields from the magnets are enormous compared to the subtle energy fields of the body.
It was interesting to me that none of the magnet companies was interested in my experience. They just kept repeating that magnets don't hurt anyone and that I should get out in the fresh air and sun.
Some time after this experience, I tried Hilda Clarke's "zapper," where the current from a 9V battery flows through your body in an effort to kill parasites. From a 10 minute trial, I had a smaller version of the same reaction. It lasted only a day this time, and I didn't go back to the Zapper.
Through these experiences, I learned that I am sensitive to DC magnetic fields (and other types of radiation, too) and thought of all the years I slept on an innerspring mattress which gives off chaotic magnetic fields from magnetized springs. This was a form of electrostress I didn't need. I have radiation-sensitive clients who cannot sleep on innerspring mattresses.
The question is whether I am a canary (a warning to others) or an anomaly, i.e., different from the average person. If I am a canary, then take an early warning from my experience.
In conclusion, magnets are biologically active. They can do good; they can do harm. More research is needed to ensure safety and reduce risk.
Any motor gives off high magnetic fields and should be kept as far from your body as possible. Last year, the NCI (National Cancer Institute) released findings on a childhood leukemia study. A positive correlation was found between leukemia and use of an electric hairdryer.
If you must use a hairdryer, here are three suggestions:
Get a bonnet type, take the bonnet off and just hold the end of the hose at your hair. Keep the motor as far away as possible from your body and hand.
Get one where the motor is mounted on the wall.
Avoid so-called "shielded" hairdryers. None that I have measured are effectively shielded. Indeed, I don't believe it is possible to adequately shield a hair dryer, because you will always need the hole for air being blown out. Magnetic fields where the hand holds the dryer are not shielded in the so-called "shielded" hair dryers I have measured.
These are estrogen-mimicking chemicals that are associated with breast cancer. Plastics give off xenoestrogens, which is a good reason not to buy, store, or cook foods or water in plastic wrap or plastic containers.
The softer the plastic, the more plasticizers and the more potential extrusion (leakage into the food) of xenoestrogens. To find out how soft or hard a plastic is, look at the number in the recycling triangle at the bottom. "1" is the softest; "7" is the hardest and would have the least amount of extrusion.
"7" containers are the ones that many 5-gallon jugs of water are delivered in. A reader sent me articles showing that "7" plastic contains BPA, which is carcinogenic. Glass is preferred.
BPA was fairly recently listed by the American Dental Association as undesirable in dental materials. It is my understanding that a lot of the alternative composite materials to dental amalgams contain BPA, so double-check if you are having your silver amalgams replaced.
On the other hand, you will not find an under-the-counter reverse osmosis storage container that is not made of #7 polycarbonate plastic, which is the hardest of the plastics and contains the least amount of plasticizers. Glass would not withstand the pressure.
Of course, with a portable reverse osmosis unit, you could provide your own glass gallon jugs for storage. Glass is better than the hardest polycarbonate.
Note that beer is not sold in plastic containers.
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"Silver" amalgams are over 50% mercury, and mercury is a heavy metal similar in characteristics to lead. A growing group of doctors believes that mercury toxicity may be at the bottom of many of the chronic health ills in this country.
Several European countries have outlawed silver amalgam fillings. In California, dentists using mercury-containing materials must post signs notifying the public.
Mercury's health effects have been known since the early 1900s in England, when hatters went "mad" from mercury exposure and became known as "mad hatters."
It seems odd that so much attention is paid to the health effects of lead, whereas mercury is hardly ever mentioned. We worry about the paint on our walls, yet mercury is put in our teeth. Go figure.
In some studies, the levels of mercury vapor in a person's mouth were higher than OSHA standards after ten minutes of gum chewing.
Hair analysis often reveals elevated levels of mercury in a person - though I have been told by a physician that some people are "retainers" of toxins. In his experience, a hair analysis is not adequate to rule out the presence of mercury.
Mercury is not the only toxic metal in silver amalgams. Silver and nickel are two others.
It can be a very expensive process to have your fillings replaced if you have a lot of silver amalgams. If anyone knows of a dentist who has a sliding scale or perhaps an out-of-the-country dental clinic where fees are less, please let me know. Careful removal procedures should be followed, such as the use of an oxygen mask and tooth dams.
This FAQ is just intended to raise questions for you to discuss with your dentist. I have no medical or dental training and am not providing professional advice to you. (When I raised these issues with my former dentist, he told me I read too much and should throw my books in the trash.)
Discuss alternative materials with your dentist. Be advised that porcelain may be the least reactive, but many dentists put a layer of gold underneath, which I have been told is not necessary or desirable.
Also be aware that most of the alternative dental materials contain BPA (see xenoestrogens in the FAQ above this one). Diamond Crown is a composite without BPA - but some people are sensitive to Diamond Crown.
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I measured my microwave oven with an inexpensive radiation detector, and it tested fine. So I have no worries, right?
Here are some facts to consider:
All microwave ovens leak microwave radiation into the room. It is not possible to design a door that completely seals, so the government allows a generous amount of leakage. Most inexpensive radiation detectors are calibrated to allow for that leakage. In other words, what you tested was whether or not your oven meets government standards, not whether it was leaking.
In addition to microwaves, these ovens also give off high magnetic fields, especially as they are started. You would have to stand back about ten feet to avoid these fields.
Mothers' milk reheated in microwave ovens lost much of its ability to counteract bacteria. In other words, the microwave radiation diminished the infection-fighting properties in breast milk. This research was conducted at Stanford University School of Medicine, as reported in Microwave News, Vol. XII No. 3, May/June 1992, p. 14.
In a 1992 study by Drs. Hans Hertel and Bernard H. Blanc of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University Institute for Biochemistry, a carefully controlled study was carried out on eight macrobiotic diet participants. They were housed in the same hotel environment for eight weeks. Some were fed microwaved food and others non-microwaved foods.
Blood samples were studied. Significant changes in the blood of those eating microwaved foods were noted:
There was a decrease in all hemoglobin values and cholesterol values, especially the ratio of HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol) values.
Lymphocytes (white blood cells) showed a more distinct short term decrease following the intake of microwaved food than after the intake of all the other variants.
By studying luminescent bacteria, researchers concluded that there is a potential for microwave energy to be passed along to humans who eat microwaved foods.
This information was printed in Search for Health. A photocopy of the 21 page article (missing one page) came to me so long ago that it is impossible to trace the link. If anyone knows of this journal or newsletter, please let me know.
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This is a dangerous half-truth - maybe a dangerous 1/10th of a truth. Here are some reasons:
Research has pointed to horizontal fields at homes being more associated with cancer than vertical fields. This suggests that grounding issues may have more significance in the average house than power lines. You didn't resolve grounding issues with your gaussmeter.
One epidemiological study indicated that exposure to AC electric fields may result in eleven times the risk of cancer than exposure to AC magnetic fields. A gaussmeter doesn't measure electric fields. (Source: A University of Toronto study on Ontario Hydro employees, as reported in Microwave News, Vol. XVI No. 4, July/August 1996, pp. 1+.)
Another large study pointed to exposure to transients (sudden surges of electricity) as having ten times the risk of cancer as magnetic fields. A gaussmeter doesn't measure transients.
Magnetic fields are studied so much because they are easy to work with and measure. This fact doesn't automatically mean that magnetic fields are the most biologically active component of EMFs.
After learning the results of a study cited above, one scientist asked, "Have we been measuring the wrong thing?" And Dr. Gary Boorman, the head of the now-defunct Department of Energy Rapid EMF research program said, "I think we made a mistake not studying the relation of transients and breast cancer."
The Enviro Health EMF evaluation looks at the known biologically active parameters and shows you how to reduce or avoid them as a precaution.
I heard you should change your fluorescent light ballasts from magnetic to electronic. Is that right?
Sometimes this is useful. I am working with a family now in an apartment building. They had elevated magnetic fields from the neighbors' fluorescent kitchen light below them. Changing to an electronic ballast seemed the best option in this situation, since the neighbors weren't interested in health effects of electromagnetic fields.
However, many kinds of radiation come from fluorescent lights. My recommendation is to avoid them totally if you have that option:
Fluorescent lights were associated with elevated levels of melanoma among men exposed at work and at home. In an Australian study, both men and women exposed to fluorescent lights had elevated rates of melanoma. Microwave News, Vol. XII No. 4, July/August 1992, p. 10.
Radiation-sensitive individuals had changes in their brain waves (on an EEG) when exposed to fluorescent lights.
Mercury is present in almost all fluorescent light bulbs. Even though the material itself wouldn't pass through the glass, the vibration rate of mercury may affect individuals under the light. This caution comes from one physician specializing in homeopathic treatment of mercury toxicity. His concern was that exposure to the mercury frequency may be conducive to increased absorption of mercury from other sources. He turned off the fluorescent lights in his office and brought in incandescent lights.
Most of the shielded fluorescent lights available from environmentally-concerned companies usually are only shielded for one or two types of radiation, not for all the types that could come from fluorescent lights. Who knows what are the most biologically active components? The components that are shielded or the ones that aren't?
Fluorescent lights emit the third harmonic (or 180 Hz, a multiple of 60 Hz powerline frequency). It is not known whether harmonics are more biologically active than standard power frequency. Many youngsters are exposed to fluorescent lights at school. Microwave News, Vol. XVIII No. 3, May/June 1998, p. 4.
To control ants, the queen must be killed. Since you might not know where the
nest is, employ the ants to carry the ant killer to the queen. A "bait
trap" contains "food" that worker ants will carry back to the
nest, killing individuals who ingest it.
Even if a bait trap is toxic - such as one you might buy in a supermarket -
the poison is not spread around, because the ants carry it from the trap to the
nest. Thus, this type of trap is preferred to spraying toxins about. If a pest
control operator sprays for ants, the spraying won't be a solution unless the
nest is knocked out.
Don't place a toxic bait trap where children or pets may access it.
A better plan is to get a non-toxic bait trap. Some hardware stores carry
borax-based bait traps. This is less toxic than conventional bait traps.
Bait traps are effective with sweet-eating ants. Carpenter ants (large black
ants) may not be killed by them (though they worked on my carpenter ants).
Carpenter ants need to be eliminated in and around your house because they eat
through wood to make their nests. In large numbers, they can do a lot of damage
- even eating insulation off electric wiring in the wall cavities.
Ants eat three types of food: fat, protein, sweet substances. You might try
making your own bait traps with the three types of food - such as oil, peanut
butter, and honey. Mix in some boric acid (Borax) and, if needed, a little
water. Place a small amount of the mixtures on small pieces of cardboard and
leave the pieces in the path of the ants. Replenish the mixture every day or
two. It may take a week to 10 days to clear up the ants.
