Concerned about potential health risks with your Leaf?

[cwerdna]

This is certainly not going to be the last thread on this subject. Over the years, we've had numerous people start threads (usually w/low post counts or as their only post) about EMF on Priuschat.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-technical-discussion/89891-electro-magnetic-radiation-prius-gen-ii.html#post1263223" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has links to a few of them.

 

[JimSouCal]

Personally, I take the next step and ground myself by electrically connecting to the earth every night; either through a copper rod in the dirt or the ground socket on the wall.

Wow, hope lightening doesn't strike anywhere near your house. Incredibly dumb from a safety standpoint. You are worried about EMF and you are basically connecting yourself to giant network of wires that are inductively picking up EMF noise from all over *and giving it a direct connection to you*. What conducts EMF better? Air or copper?

As turbo points out, if anyone is really concerned about EMF, grounding themselves is a really bad move. Grounding your body would probably amplify exposure. What you would need is a Faraday cage (not your average tin foil hat).

 

[Smidge204]

Not completely unrelated: Fake acupuncture is more effective than real acupuncture.

Behold the placebo effect - the true power of the mind.
=Smidge=

 

[derkraut]

Not completely unrelated: Fake acupuncture is more effective than real acupuncture.

Behold the placebo effect - the true power of the mind.
=Smidge=

+1....Smidge hit the nail on the head, imho.

 

[astralfish]

A few things...
#1: Enjoy putting all of your eggs into the technology basket. Keep buying those ipads without question. Remember, the earth was flat at one point. I'm sticking with God, nature and intuition.

#2: It's very amusing that I pushed so many buttons. Whenever you're trying to convince anyone of anything it means you don't believe it fully yourself. Because if you did, it would be the truth and you wouldn't have to say a word. All i'm doing is asking questions that no one asks. Getting attacked for asking unpopular questions is sure a sign of the stangant times we live in. I'm really glad i'm 24 with an open mind - not old and stubborn. It's the crab in a bucket effect. Each time a crab makes his way closer to the top rim, a crab from below reaches up and pulls him back down.

I created this topic because i'm an esotericist. I look at things behind the veil. The fact that 9/11 was performed by our own government, for example.

Also, because turbos response was the most ridiculous:

So what is this little sorta-grounded anti-static pad going to do that the two sheet of "grounded" metal between you and the battery doesn't? yeah. nothing.

Play with a multimeter and attach it to your body. This is not a conventional anti-static pad.

Did you scrape the paint off the rails? If not you aren't doing anything. Did you know static pads have a dissipating resistor in the cable? Meaning your pad is grounded through a very high resistance, degrading it's usefulness even more.

There is no paint under the rail because no one ever sees it. Stop making assumptions. Also, the cable is specially made without the dissipating resistor because it is not a regular static pad.

Wow, hope lightening doesn't strike anywhere near your house. Incredibly dumb from a safety standpoint. You are worried about EMF and you are basically connecting yourself to giant network of wires that are inductively picking up EMF noise from all over *and giving it a direct connection to you*. What conducts EMF better? Air or copper?

This proves that you know nothing about electromagnetism and its effects on the body. The earth is a giant battery being charged thousands of times a day by lightning. We are electrically insignificant when we are insulated from it. Again, play with a multimeter connected to your body because i'm not going to convince you.

Hmm, no. I've heard of people getting brain tumors. 3/4 of the population happen to live under telephone lines (which have very little radiation anyway) so some of them are bound to get tumors.. and I suppose 20 years isn't long enough to see the "explosion" of brain tumors from cell phones, huh?

Our brain and heart produce their own magnetic field that is much lower than 60hz from modern electrical appliances. It's like you're constantly subjecting your fields to a heavy metal concert when you think these fields don't have an impact on the body. Think about it, you're putting a microwave transmitter up to your brain.

"Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same 'carcinogenic hazard' category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform." http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/31/who.cell.phones/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Again, enjoy your strong opinions. I respect you as a human being although we're polar opposites in every other sense.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...#2: It's very amusing that I pushed so many buttons. Whenever you're trying to convince anyone of anything it means you don't believe it fully yourself. Because if you did, it would be the truth and you wouldn't have to say a word. All i'm doing is asking questions that no one asks.

It is fascinating that you say this since it was you who brought up the subject.

In fact, the sort of misinformation that you are peddling does have consequences. In my community, an organization of which I am a trustee had to spend considerable time, effort, and money defending the use of WiFi against charlatans claiming to have a phony condition called "EHS" ("Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome"). Now the same group is attacking the local power co-op over a proposal to use smart meters. Utterly phony claims about EMFs can have real, negative, consequences. So, it isn't surprising that such claims draw a reaction from those of us who have had to deal with people spouting such pseudoscientific nonsense.

I created this topic because i'm an esotericist. I look at things behind the veil. The fact that 9/11 was performed by our own government, for example.

If you believe such hokum, you have labeled yourself as someone not worthy of serious consideration.

 

[tps]

1 Kilovolt/m of AC electric field

And I thought 5 volt/m was high, measured with a Potomac field strength meter in the control room when I worked at the WBAA-AM transmitter site...

 

[Smidge204]

The earth is a giant battery being charged thousands of times a day by lightning.

Actually, lightning is the result of a charge imbalance between the ground and the upper atmosphere. Every time lightning strikes, the net electrical charge is REDUCED, not increased. Lightning doesn't "charge" anything, it's a discharge. Just sayin'

All i'm doing is asking questions that no one asks.

What questions are you asking, exactly? I'm willing to bet that not only have they probably been asked before, but they also have answers with practical applications. Either that or the questions are based on unfounded premises.

I'm really glad i'm 24 with an open mind

And it's a shame you let someone come along and fill it with garbage. Choice words on "open mindedness" which I'm sure you'll find a way to tune out... because you're so open minded.

In my community, an organization of which I am a trustee had to spend considerable time, effort, and money defending the use of WiFi against charlatans claiming to have a phony condition called "EHS" ("Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome").

Oh, I can assure you that EHS is a very real ailment. Purely psychological and not in any way the result of actual electromagnetic fields, but real nonetheless.
=Smidge=

 

[turbo2ltr]

This proves that you know nothing about electromagnetism and its effects on the body.

And I suppose you have a PhD in electrical engineering and biology and did your thesis on the effects of EMF on human tissue? No? Oh, you got all your info reading stuff on the internet? Oh, ok, in that case I believe you. </sarcasm>

The fact that 9/11 was performed by our own government, for example.

Ahh, see that? That was the last shred of credibility you had flying out the door. Now you are just trolling.

It's clear you don't understand the basics of electricity, nevermind what effects it can have on the body. Believe whatever you want to believe. You want to connect yourself to your house's ground, then go ahead. But you might want to watch the Mythbusters episode on what happens when a house gets hit by lightening and see all the places lightening will jump. You are worried about tiny little signals in the air, but willing to be jolted with millions of volts. Makes perfect sense. :roll: Because I assure you that the effect of lightening on the human body have been clearly documented. But maybe they are all wrong, and people don't really die from lightening.

Ok, I'm done feeding the troll.

 

[LEAFfan]

The fact that 9/11 was performed by our own government, for example.

My feeling is that most of the American people are just 'sheep' believing and following whatever our government says and tells them. If our govt. tells the people that two jets brought down the twin towers, people say, "Why yes, would our govt. lie?" "And now, we (the govt.) must take away your freedoms to make it more secure." "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" ~Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759. Some day, hopefully, people will wake up and see the BIG picture instead of having their heads in the sand. These are the same people who believe John and Robert Kennedy/MLK were killed by a lone assassin, that THEY are the center of the universe, spaceships from other planets don't exist (again, would our govt. lie?), and there is no other kind of 'human-like' existence anywhere else in the universe.
Similar to 9-11, it is a fact that our U.S. govt. previously knew about and could have prevented the 'Pearl Harbor' attack. But most people just don't want to believe that our precious govt. would sacrifice people's lives to achieve what they want. The fact is, they wouldn't hesitate to eliminate YOU if it would help them get what they want. They really don't care about human lives.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Oh, I can assure you that EHS is a very real ailment. Purely psychological and not in any way the result of actual electromagnetic fields, but real nonetheless.
=Smidge=

Yup. And some of the same hypochondriacs who claim EHS here also are "chemically sensitive". Coincidence?

How does one deal with such people? Reason doesn't work. In our case they were weak-minded individuals being manipulated by an extortionist. But that doesn't mean they can't do a lot of damage to community institutions.

 

[turbo2ltr]

The fact that 9/11 was performed by our own government, for example.

My feeling is that most of the American people are just 'sheep' believing and following whatever our government says and tells them.

But there is a difference between "believing" and claiming as "fact". Anything is possible, and it's our duty as American citizens to question our government. But "facts" to people on both sides are typically only assumptions based on limited evidence and opinions.

It works both ways. People that claim that it's "a fact" that 9/11 was a government job are simply "sheep" on the other side of the argument believing whatever "those" people tell them. Because unless you rebuilt the towers and crashed planes into them in a controlled environment, you aren't qualified to state facts. You are free to *believe* whatever you wish just as I can believe whatever I wish, as we'll most likely never know the real answer.

 

[evnow]

I created this topic because i'm an esotericist. I look at things behind the veil. The fact that 9/11 was performed by our own government, for example.

I don't know what an esotericist is - but I'm sure you easily believe in conspiracies.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-people-believe-in-conspiracies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But as former Nixon aide G. Gordon Liddy once told me (and he should know!), the problem with government conspiracies is that bureaucrats are incompetent and people can’t keep their mouths shut.

 

[Stoaty]

I don't know what an esotericist is - but I'm sure you easily believe in conspiracies.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-people-believe-in-conspiracies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice article... but was it planted to lull us into a false sense of security? Perhaps the CIA had a hand in getting the article published.

 

[davewill]

I personally recommend tinfoil...but I guess in the LEAF you want to put it on your feet instead of your head? :lol:

 

[DeaneG]

Try to keep things in perspective: you are going to drive your leaf on public roads, with drunk drivers, texting teenagers, and mentally unbalanced individuals. There's much more proven risk backing out of your garage than present in any consumer-level electromagnetic field.

 

[johnr]

I am someone who aims to limit my EMF exposure as I understand high exposure to EMF over long period of time can cause health problems. I think this is a valid concern. So, when I opened this thread I was hoping to see some good scientific tests at the points of exposure conducted with the car in various modes of operation. Instead, I find tests at irrelevant locations (I'm not resting my head against the nav screen so why measure it right against the screen) and apparently only with the car at "idle". Since the majority of EMF is likely to be generated by the inverter, I want tests when the car is running at various speeds. I would also like to know what efforts Nissan has undertaken to shield occupants from EMF exposure. Unfortunately I came here hoping for some good scientific observations and am leaving disappointed. At least this shows one thing: electric cars are for "esotericists" too! Anyway, to the OP: I really do appreciate your efforts - can you please test further as I suggest above?

 

[mbutter]

I personally recommend tinfoil...but I guess in the LEAF you want to put it on your feet instead of your head? :lol:

I considered tin foil caps until this MIT research article pointed out they actually acted as antennas :lol:
http://berkeley.intel-research.net/arahimi/helmet/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Herm]

I am someone who aims to limit my EMF exposure as I understand high exposure to EMF over long period of time can cause health problems.

look just give it up, the science has been settled..or perhaps one day we will find out all these un-natural EMF interfered with our souls, and we all will reincarnate as insects with all our hard won good karma obliterated by the ever present 60hz hum.. at least is better than what 50hz does.

 

[smkettner]

I thought the EMF was to power the seat warmers :lol: