CFL and energy saver lights

I changed all the lights for energy savers - CFL's. May have helped the electricity bill, but the health cost was not worth it. My husband got all sorts of strange symptoms and became quite sick. We could find no reason for it and he felt it was worse when he was near these new lights. Took them out and symptoms abated. Researched them and found that they give out an electromagnetic field, an electrical field and create what is known as 'dirty electricity' and these are well known scientific facts - just 'hidden' as the push is for us all to install them. There is a lot of research on the bad effects they have on people and animals because of these fields. We realised this is the same problem my husband has that effects him when he goes into supermarkets, Malls and department stores - No not just the fear I might spend money! - From my research it seems that LED lights will be better for the environment, cheaper to run, and not give out negative energy fields, so if anyone knows of LED's that can be used for ordinary lighting I would love to know.
At the moment I have a box of curly wurly's that are heading for the recycle bins.

Here is one of the items on CFL's I found and a link to look further. It also says that "not all energy efficient lights have this problem." Well, I have bought a meter to test them, and have not found one that doesn't yet. The most expensive ones were the worst. When I can get energy efficient bulbs that are actually healthy I will do so.

"Some of these bulbs emit radio frequency radiation. This radiation flows through the air and along electrical wires contributing to dirty electricity. Some packages even have a warning about the radio frequency saying this light may interfere with radio reception. Indeed this is something that most people can test with a portable radio on AM. As you bring the radio close to an energy efficient bulb that produces radio frequencies the radio will begin to buzz. This is known as electromagnetic interference (EMI) and is a concern for anyone using wireless technology such as mobile phones or wireless computers.

But the real problem is that these frequencies are making people sick. Three independent groups in the UK, including the British Association of Dermatologists, the Migraine Action Association, and Epilepsy Action, have reported illness among their members who have tried energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFL). The most common symptoms are headaches-including migraines, fatigue, confusion, dizziness, ringing in the ears, eyestrain, nausea and skin irritations.

Not all energy efficient bulbs are the same. Some do not contribute to dirty electricity and do not produce radio frequencies and this includes a few compact fluorescent lights, some LEDs (light emitting diodes) and some halogen bulbs. Unfortunately most of the bulbs on the market will make people sick. Reducing green house gases is important but doing it with flawed technology that will make the user ill is not the right course of action. If governments are going to ban the energy-inefficient but electromagnetically clean incandescent bulb, then they should also ban bulbs that produce radio frequency pollution.

I would encourage anyone who has recently purchased energy efficient bulbs and has since developed any of the symptoms mentioned above to test the bulb for radiation with a portable radio and if the radio buzzes to return the bulb to the retail store for a full refund. Even if our government hasn't done its homework, individual consumers can still make a difference.

Dr. Magda Havas, B.Sc. Ph.D.
Environmental & Resource Studies,
Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, K9J 7B8
mhavas@trentu.ca

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Here is a link to a report to the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) made on June 5, 2008 by Dr. Magda Havas. The report is titled "Health Concerns associated with Energy Efficient Lighting and their Electromagnetic Emissions."