Dirty Electricity

Since the introduction of electricity and the rapid growth in our use of electronic devices the quality of electrical power flowing along conductors (wires) within the home and workplace has been deteriorating. The public became aware of poor power quality, also known as dirty electricity, when home computers became popular. These computers would periodically "malfunction" and these malfunctions were associated with power surges on the electrical wiring. Surge suppressors are now commonly used as a consequence of poor power qualityto protect sensitive electronic equipment.

In most homes today the 50 or 60 Hz sine wave, when viewed with an oscilloscope, is often distorted by microsurges or high frequency harmonics and transients (Figure 1). Computers, television, dimmer switches, and energy efficient lighting and appliances within the home and arcing on distribution lines, caused by contact with tree branches, as well as non-linear loads on power lines contribute to dirty electricity. Even the 25 MHz burst of energy every 1.5 seconds from strobe lights (without an RF choke) on cell phone towers has been measured on the ground and on wires more than 5 km away.

We have learned to protect sensitive electronic equipment with surge suppressors and have assumed, until recently, that this form of energy is not biologically active. Evidence suggests otherwise.

Capacitors smooth out high frequency noise on electrical wires. Graham/Stetzer filters1 were designed to reduce microsurges on indoor wiring and they work most effectively within the frequency range of 4 to 100 kHz.

Various models have been designed to predict the flow of electromagnetic energy around and through living organisms. According to the Cornell Cow Model (Reines et al. 2000), at frequencies below 1 kHz 80% of the energy is dissipated on the skin and 20% is dissipated internally; and at frequencies above 2 kHz all the energy is dissipated internally. A similar human electrical model (Reilly 1992) predicts that 75% of the energy is dissipated internally

at lower frequencies and all is dissipated internally at higher frequencies. The frequency transition points tend to vary based on the path of the current, the wetness of the skin etc. The G/S filters, therefore, remove frequencies that are most likely to be internalized. The Republic of Kazakhstan has Sanitary Norms that state that a person should not be exposed to more than 25 V/m under 2 kHz and no more than 2.5 V/m between 2-400 kHz. The same is true for the magnetic component, which goes from 250 nT to 25 nT for the same frequencies

(HSSP 2003)

It should be noted that high frequency currents tend to become ground currents (Hughes 2004) and an object that is in contact with the ground becomes part of the circuit, as shown in Figure 2 for a man standing in his kitchen with EKG patches on his ankles. The 60-Hz sine wave is distorted with high frequency microsurges that travel up one leg and down the other.

In summary, high frequency microsurges (dirty electricity), generated by, among other things, electronic devices, travel along the electrical distribution grid (wires inside buildings

and between buildings) and along the ground. Conducting objects, including living organisms, in contact with the ground become part of the circuit. Frequencies above 2 kHz

are likely to penetrate living organisms, while those below 1 kHz dissipate externally (heating the skin). Graham/Stetzer filters reduce the amplitude of microsurges on indoor wiring and thus reduce the frequencies most likely to be biologically active.

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