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Michael R. Neuert, MA, BSME

www.EMFinfo.org
"Helping healthconscious people reduce EMFs
since 1992"
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WHAT DISTANCE IS SAFE?

What Level is Safe? FAQs abut EMFs Consult with Michael

FAQs about EMFs

PossibleSafetyDistancestoConsiderfor
EMFSources
How to Test for EMFs
ThefollowingtableofSafeDistancesfromEMFSourcesisofferedbelow
tohelpreduceyourexposuretoelectromagneticfields(EMFs).Buttheactual
EMF Safety Guide EMFsemittedfromdifferentsourcescanvarygreatly,andthedistancesneeded
toreachadesired"safetylevel"aredifficulttopredict.Formoreaccuratesafety
distances, onsite measurements with appropriate test meters are strongly
What Level is Safe? advised.

Theguidelinesbelowaretheminimumdistancesusuallyneededtoreduce
What Distance is Safe? theEMFsdowntotheGeneralPublicPrecautionaryLevels.Inmanycasesthe
distances needed will be less than is shown here but in a few cases, a
greaterdistancewillberequird.Therefore,itisalwaysbesttomeasurewiththe
What are EMFs?
properEMFtestequipmenttoverifydistancesforyoursituation.

What are the Health Effects?
Three Kinds of EMFs
Can EMFs Really Affect Us?
Individuals with a heightened sensitivity to electromagnetic fields or
otherserioushealthissuessuchaschronicfatigue,cancerorLymeDisease
may want to reduce their exposures even further, perhaps down to the much
stricter EMF Hypersensitivity Advisory levels. For these concerns, consider
doubling many of the distances shown in the table below. And perhaps most
important,pleaselistentoyourownbody,intuitionandexperienceasyourfinal
guide.

SafeDistancefromPowerLines...
Electromagnetic Sensitivity
Itisdifficulttopredictasafedistancefrompowerlines,becausetheEMFs
canvarygreatlydependinguponthesituation.Thebestadviceistomeasure
EMF Health Articles
with a gaussmeter to determine the actual levels of magnetic fields and the
distance required in your particular case. (Special note: magnetic fields are
EMF Videos by Michael particular EMF component most often linked to health effects in the studies.
Theyaremeasuredwithspecialinstrumentscalledgaussmeters.)

EMF Audio by Michael The strongest magnetic fields are usually emitted from high voltage
transmissionlinesthepowerlinesonthebig,tallmetaltowers.Tobesure
that you are reducing the exposure levels to 0.5 milligauss (mG) or less, a
Reviews: EMF Products safety distance of 700 feet may be needed. It could be much less, but
sometimesmore.Youmusttestwithagaussmetertobesure.
Reviews: EMF Test Meters It'sevenmoredifficulttopredictasafedistancefromneighborhoodpower
distribution lines the type typically found on wooden poles. For example,

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Instructions: Test Meters
Rent or Buy: Test Meters
DIY: Make a Body Volt Meter
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Michael R
homeswithanearbytransformerwillsometimeshavehigherEMFsbecausethe
transformer is a hub and the power lines carry more electricity for a group of
homes.Theissueiscomplicatedbythefactthattherecanbestrayelectricity
flowing in the metal water service pipes of the neighborhood, increasing the
magneticfieldsfromboththepowerlinesandfromtheburiedpipes!
Thus,thereisnoreliablesafetydistanceforneighborhoodpowerlines.In
general,amagneticfieldlevelof0.5mGwillbe reached somewhere between
10and200feetfromthewires.Butyoucannottellbysimplylookingupatthe
powerlines.Youhavetotestonsitewithagaussmetertobesure.
Iftheelectricalpowerlinesareinstalledunderground,themagneticfields
maybejustasstrong,orevenstronger.Thisisbecausethepowerlinescould
actuallybeclosertoyouwhenonlyburiedafewfeetdown,ratherthanup20or
30feetoverhead.Forneighborhoodswithburiedpowerlines,youmustalways
testwithagaussmeter.
Powerlinesalsoemitelectricfields.Theelectricfieldsfromhighvoltage
transmissionlines(metaltowers)canbeverystrongoutsidenearthewires,and
extend for over a thousand feet. However once inside the home, the building
structureusuallyprovidessomeshielding,andtheelectricfieldsfromelectrical
wiringandcordswillusuallybemuchstrongerthanthatfromthepowerlines.
SafeDistancefromCellTowers...
Itisalsodifficulttopredictasafedistancefromcelltowers.Forexample,
cell towers are designed to transmit most of their radio frequency (RF) energy
horizontally.Someareasbelowthetowermayhavelowerlevelsthanlocations
fartherawaythataremoreinlinewiththeverticalheightoftheantennas.
The exposure from a cell tower will depend on the type of antennas, the
numberofantennas,howmuchtheantennasareactuallybeingused,thetime
of day, etc. The distance needed to reduce exposures down to the General
PublicPrecautionaryLevelof0.010microwattpercentimetersquared(W/cm)
isoftenaroundaquarterofamile(1320feet)ormore.Duetotheuncertainty,
onsitetestingwithabroadbandRFtestmeterisstronglyrecommended.
AGermanstudyreportedthatpeople livingwithin400meters(1312feet)
of cell towers had over 3 times the normal rate for new cancers (City of Naila
2004).InanIsraelistudy,therelativeriskforcancerwasabout4timesgreater
within 350 meters (1148 feet) of the cell tower (Wolf et al. 1997). Based on
findingslikethese,aminimumsafetydistanceof1/4mile(1320feet)might be
consideredprudent.
And again, individuals with EMF hypersensitivity or other serious health
issues may want to consider a much greater safety distance, perhaps a half
mile,orevenmore.
TableofSafetyDistancesfromVariousEMFSources...
The safety distances below are based on Michael Neuert's actual EMF
measurements in the San Francisco Bay Area over a 20 year period. The
distancesshownhereareusuallyfarenoughawayforthemajorityofcases,but
maynotbeforall.Pleasealwaysmeasurewithatestmetertobesure.(See
notes14atbottomofthispage.)
SafetyDistances
fromVariousEMF
Sources: Radio
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PossibleEMF ELF ELF Frequency

SafetyDistances Magnetic Electric (RF)
ToConsider Fields Fields &
forCommonEMF Microwaves
Sources

Distance
Distanceto Distanceto
"GeneralPublic to
0.5 0.010
Precautionary 0.5AC
Milligauss
Voltson Microwatts/cm
Levels" (mG)orless (W/cm)
skin(VAC)
(SeeNote1) (SeeNotes2,3,
(SeeNotes2, (SeeNotes2,3,4)
4)
3,4)

PowerLines
Highvoltagepowerlines
700feet 1000feet
(onmetaltowers)
Neighborhooddistribution
10to60
powerlines(onwooden 10to200feet
feet
poles)
Electricutilitytransformer
10to20feet
(onpoleorground)


BroadcastTowers

Celltowers/antennas 1/4mile

RadioandTVbroadcast
1/2mile
towers


ElectricalPanels
Mainelectricmeter/service
10feet
panelUnshielded
Mainelectricmeter/service
panelShieldedwith 5feet
MuMetal
Otherelectricalpanelsand
subpanelsUnshielded 8feet

Otherelectricalpanelsand
subpanelsShieldedwith 4feet
MuMetal
SmartMeters(RFemitting
40feet
electricutilitymeters)


ElectricalWiring
Romexwiringfor15and20
2feet 6feet
ampcircuits
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Romexwiringfor30to60
4feet 6feet
ampcircuits
Romex(BX)wiringfor70
6feet 6feet
to200ampcircuits
MC(BX)wiringfor30to
2feet 0feet
60ampcircuits
MC(BX)wiringfor70to
4feet 0feet
200ampcircuits
MC(BX)wiringfor15and
6feet 0feet
20ampcircuits


Lighting
Fluorescentlightbulbsand 4to8feet
Note2
6feet
fixtures
Compactfluorescent(CFL) 2to4feet
Note2
6feet
lightbulbsandfixtures
2to6feet
LEDlightbulbsandfixtures Note2
6feet 2feet

Thetransformersand
2to6feet
fixturesforlowvoltage Note2 6feet
lighting
Incandescentlightbulbs
1foot 6feet
andfixtures
120volthalogenbulbsand
fixtures(notlowvolt 1foot 6feet
halogen)

Appliances

Microwaveovens 8feet 6feet 30feet

Refrigerators 6feet 6feet

Mostotherelectrical
4feet 6feet
appliances
Mostsmallplugin
4feet 6feet
transformers

Electricfans 6feet 6feet

Electricheaters 8feet 6feet

Spa&hottubsheaters
8feet 6feet
andpumps


Electronics
Mostcomputerhardware
4feet 6feet
(nonwireless)
LEDandLCDcomputer
2feet 6feet
monitors

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LED,LCD,Plasma
4feet 6feet
televisions
Stereoequipment,other
4feet 6feet
smallelectronics


WirelessTechnologies

Cellphones 40feet

Cordlessphones 40feet

Cordlessphonebase 4feet 40feet

Wirelessrouters,WiFi
4feet 6feet 40feet
routers
Wirelesskeyboardsand
10feet
mice

Babymonitors 40feet

Note 1 The General Public Precautionary Level is a precautionary

guideline that I sometimes offer to my concerned clients who wish to be
proactive with EMFs and protect their health. This guide is only a suggestion
based on my own understanding of the EMF research literature and
professional experience with clients for over 20 years. For example with
magneticfields,Isuggestasafetylevelof0.5mGtoprovideamarginofsafety
below the 1.0 milligauss (mG) linked to childhood cancer in the studies.
However, for sensitive individuals and those with serious health issues, even
lower safety levels and thus greater distances may be appropriate. Please
consult with your own health professional to help determine adequate safety
levels for your own particular situation. For more information, please refer to
ourEMFSafetyGuidepage.

Note2 The safety distance from an EMF source is simply the measured
distanceneededtoreducehumanexposuresdowntosomedesiredsafetylevel
for most cases. But safety distances are difficult to predict because many
factors can cause variations in the actual level of EMFs emitted, and thus
variationsintheactualsafetydistancesneeded.Thedistancesshownhereare
likelytoreducetheEMFexposurestothesafetylevelshownatthetop of the
chart,forthemajorityofsituations.Inmanycases,theactualdistancesneeded
will be less than shown in this chart but in some cases an even greater
distancemaybeneeded.ItisadvisabletomeasureonsitewithanEMFtest
metertodeterminetheactualsafetydistance.
Note 3 Individuals with heightened sensitivity to electromagnetic fields
orotherserioushealthissuesuchascancer,chronicfatigueorLymeDisease
maywishtoreducetheirEMFexposuresevenfurther,perhapsdowntothe
stricter EMF Hypersensitivity Advisory levels. For these kinds of health
concerns, you might consider doubling the safety distances shown here. And
most important, please listen to your own body, intuition and experience
regardingsafetylevelsanddistances.
Note 4 The suggestions for safety distances in this chart are generally
based on Michael Neuert's professional onsite testing of the various EMF
sourcesintheSanFranciscoBayAreasince1992.ActualEMFemissions,and
thus the corresponding safety distance, can vary greatly and are difficult to
predict. To better determine actual safety distances, it is always advisable to
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6/9/2016 Michael R
measurethe actual EMF levels with an appropriate EMF test meterwhenever
possible.

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Copyright2012MichaelRNeuert,MA,BSME
18006383781,or7075781645,SantaRosa,California,USA
NeuertElectromagneticServicesProvidingprofessionalEMFtestingandconsultingservicessince1992!

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