Car EMF Safety
Recommendations for Selecting a Low EMF Car
Modern cars often have high magnetic fields, high intermediate radio-frequencies, or a combination of both. These can be measured with: a Gaussmeter and a handheld radio on the AM setting. An RF meter may also be useful to check for wireless radiation.
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How to Measure a Car for Magnetic Fields and Radio-Frequencies
The car pictured at left has fairly reasonable levels of EMF's as long as the front seat is moved as far back as possible.
The gaussmeter can be tested in multiple locations such as the steering wheel, ignition, front seats, backseats, head level, seat level, and foot area. The Trifield meter may not be the most accurate meter (see the next video for an example), but it's still useful for comparison.
The AM radio is oriented in different directions, and tried on different frequencies, starting with the lowest one possible frequency. It should also be checked in multiple locations. Various electronics in the car may emit their own frequencies, so it may be helpful to choose a base model with minimal electronics.
Hybrid Car
The hybrid car pictured at left has fairly high levels of magnetic fields, especially in the back seat (91 mG!).
The video demonstrates the magnetic field measurement at the steering wheel, ignition, floor area, seat area, head level, and backseat.
Note how the Trifield meter tends to have higher measurements than the Bell 4180 meter. Keep in mind that it is less accurate and that it is also frequency weighted such that higher frequencies are given higher readings. Still, this may actually be useful from a health perspective.
Observations
It has been reported that 6-cylinder petrol engines or diesel engines may be more tolerable to those with EMF sensitivity, in comparison to regular 4-cylinder petrol engines. However, with diesel cars, this pertained mostly to antique Mercedes Benz diesel engines, which may come with higher maintenance costs, and possibly less airbags if you go far back enough.
With modern cars, however, all EMF's should be checked together-- not just those from the engine, but those from other electronic features of the car as well, such as the dashboard, ignition, air conditioning, and stereo system. Modern cars may be required to have more electronics for tracking mileage per gallon, thus adding other sources of intermediate frequencies.
What to Do if You're Electrosensitive
Some people with electrosensitivity cannot tolerate the EMF's of certain cars. The following are some ideas that can help make a car more tolerable.
- Choose a low EMF car to begin with, if possible, measuring with a meter. The base model of the car you are looking at may have less electronics.
- Check for the location of electronic equipment such as the dashboard, battery, fuse box(es), electronic break, engine, alternator, etc. A google image search may reveal a photo of the engine.
In the car below, battery compartment (lower right) is located further from the dashboard, which provides a nice distance.
- A used car may have the advantage of being lower in VOC's which can take a few months to outgas. Opening windows to ventilate during the first few months may help to outgas a new car more quickly.
- Sit further from the dashboard and ignition. If you're driving, roll your seat as far back as possible, while still comfortably being able to reach the pedal and steering wheel. Otherwise, have someone who is not sensitive drive, and sit in the backseat, that is, assuming that radio-frequencies and magnetic fields are measured lower there
- The cruise control can be helpful at times when your foot starts to feel pain from the high magnetic fields near the front floor of the car.
- It may help to remove some fuses that are not critical to the operation of the car, such as the stereo system, but which add to intermediate frequencies. Use the car manual, but do this at your own risk. (Improperly removing a fuse may make it difficult to put it back, or worse, could potentially
disable certain safety features of the car.)
Note also that there may be more than one fuse box, e.g., one near the dashboard, and one under the front hood.
Other Ideas to Lower EMF
- Some people have used tinted metallized window film to block wireless radiation from external cell towers. For example, Gila has window film specifically for cars, the metallized thermal insulative ones of which may reflect some wireless radiation. While this may be helpful, caution should be used if cell phones and other radio-frequency or wireless radiation will be transmitting inside the car. Furthermore, check with your local regulations for tinting, as some areas do not allow tinting on the front windows, which might render the entire shielding relatively ineffective.
