This is part two of our feature of a segment produced by “16:9 – The Bigger Picture,” in which experts confirm the dangers of compact fluorescent lamps. We covered Part One in a separate Blog Post. Part one features experts confirming that some CFL lamps are giving off unusual amounts of UV rays and interviews with people who have had headaches, rashes, and other symptoms from the lamps.
Part two of the segment is entitled “Dirty Energy.” The segment begins with a woman who is measuring dirty electricity of the lamps, saying the lamps should read less than 50 while most of the lamps on camera were reading in the hundreds. What is dirty electricity, you may ask. Dirty electricity comes from televisions, dimmer switches, stereo equipment, computers, fluorescent and halogen lighting, and other energy-efficient products. These devices use power supplies and transformers to covert the common 60 Hz AC to a lower voltage to save energy. Instead of having a steady energy current to these devices, the transformers send power to the devices in short bursts. This “stop-and-start” of power causes electrical feedback and contaminates homes and buildings, which exposes people to “dirty electricity.”
Electromagnetic hypersensitivity is said to be caused from exposure to the magnetic fields caused by dirty electricity. Symptoms of exposure to the magnetic fields include headache, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, emotional issues, nausea, rash, swelling, and more. A neurologist in the video said that although there is no scientific evidence the symptoms people are having are from the magnetic fields, he has had similar complaints from many patients about CFLs causing them to feel sick. If you think you have had any of the symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitivity, the experts in the segment advise you turn the lamps off for a few days and see if the problems go away.
The video closes saying that LEDs may be the best for the future! We hope the expert opinions and interviews with people having health issues with these lamps will convince CFL users to toss out their lamps and choose LEDs.
For more on dirty electricity, click here or here.