Earthing/Grounding - Is it safe?

A while back Jackie and I had a discussion about the safety of grounding yourself (earthing) in an area with a high level of electro pollution – as found in most cities today. Here are the relevant postings:

==============================================
Here's a link to a great article by Integrative Cardiologist Stephen Sinatra on sticky blood with before and after photos showing the benefit of grounding on blood viscosity.
Easy to do; easily accessible [www.heartmdinstitute.com]

Jackie,

==============================================

Jackie,
Thank you for reminding us of the benefits of grounding/earthing. I used the grounded bed sheet for a while, but can't say I noticed any difference as far as sleeping is concerned. Anyway, I stopped using it because of my concern that it may be more harmful than beneficial if you, like I do, live in a city with a high level of electro pollution. The recent addition of smart-meters do not help the situation. I wonder if you know if Dr. Sinatra has ever discussed this potential problem with the grounding/earthing approach?

Hans

==============================================

Hans - I'll look in my notes from those teleconferences to see if I can get a direct quote so it is technically correct.

Jackie

==============================================

Hans - As long as a person living in the city where cell towers, antennas and smart meters pollute the area uses either the grounding rod or their outlets are all grounded, they are safe and the grounding effect does occur. You may be 'overpowered' by the abundance of of electropollution in yur area. Dr. Sinatra and Oram Miller both address the sleeping problem in these locations... and indicate high levels of electropollution is a major cause of insomnia. Therefore, shielding the sleeping room seems to be the only solution. Garry Gordon addresses the loss of electrons and the subsequent symptoms of what he calls 'electron deficiency' by adding them back with the PEMF treatments.... along the same lines as Dr. Tennant using his Biomodulator.

There are various cautionary comments in the literature about people who use anticoagulants and grounding to be sure they don't thin too much. Conversely, a person not on coagulants but with high electropollution exposure may have overly thick, sticky blood and the risk of stroke and MI. This electropollution concern is not a well-known concern unless one is involved in the 'new awareness movement' to limit exposure when possible and take remedial steps every day to de-fuse the potential problems. When commenting about that gounding experiment Dr. Sinatra did with his colleagues, he said all but one of them had various degrees of overly thick, 'ketchupy's blood...before grounding.

Since EMFs are everywhere and unavoidable, it makes sense to do grounding while sleeping. I've been grounding while sleeping for well over a year and while I didn't previously have any sleep problems, my sleep is deep and uninterrupted.

Jackie

===============================================

Hello Jackie,

I asked Sam Milham [www.sammilham.com] for his opinion on the grounding/earthing approach. Here is our correspondence:

Hello Sam,

I have one short question on which I would very much appreciate your opinion:

Is grounding/earthing with a bed sheet safe in an area with a high level of electropollution from overhead wires, WIFI, Smart meters, etc?

Hans

================================================

Hans,
No, using the ground in the outlet or using a ground rod is the same as hooking your body up to the utility neutral.
Best, Sam

================================================

So, obviously there are conflicting opinions on this subject. I believe earthing/grounding is, in theory, a great idea, but unfortunately most electricity suppliers now use the ground for return of the neutral current in order to save money. So there is no longer such a thing as an "unpolluted" ground. I think I'll play it safe and leave the bed sheet in the cupboard!

Hans
= ================================================
Hans - Thanks. I'm going to pursue this a bit further. Certainly, if you don't use yours, it can't be harmful, but what are you doing to block out the electropollution that comes through the walls if your area is so polluted? Scary stuff.
Jackie


Today I did an experiment. I drove two ground rods into the soil of our back garden 6 feet apart. I measured the AC potential between them and found it to be 13 millivolt. This is surprising as one would not expect to find a potential between two rods in the garden. The potential remained at 13 mV whether the soil was wet or dry.

I then went down to the beach (about 200 meters from the nearest power lines) and repeated my experiment. The potential was 0.3 mV whether in wet or dry sand. So, it would appear that the now common practice of using the ground as the neutral in the power grid is indeed polluting the earth.

I would suggest that anyone considering grounding measures the potential around their house before “plugging in”.

Hans

Hans - I’ve corresponded with Oram Miller, BBEC, on this grounding topic.

In addition to referring me to several links on his website, he offered the following comments. He also references Dr. Milham’s website on Dirty Electricity for information.

He recommends Earthing pads, but only after reducing the electric field levels first where people sleep and sit during the day, including at computers, for the reasons discussed in the article on his website at this link. [www.createhealthyhomes.com]

Further, he concurs about neighborhoods polluted by cell towers, antennas and smart meters… He says…..” These so-called transient voltages, which I discuss towards the end of my article, are indeed present on grounding systems in people's houses caused by many sources.”

Regarding your experiment, he comments:
“Actually, 13 milliVolts is very low. See Articles on EMFs, then click on Articles Parts 3 and 4 to read about electric fields in bedrooms. Anything below 100 mV is considered only a slight biological concern in people's bedrooms, according to our profession. I have noticed that most healthy people start becoming symptomatic (insomnia, restless sleep, etc.) starting at about 200-300 mV and up. Most bedrooms in the US with plastic-jacketed Romex wiring have 1,000-1,500 mV and up. See the articles.”

On the issue you mention, Hans… he says: “This is what is referred to as the multi-grounded neutral distribution system used throughout most of the US and world. The utilities tie the neutral, which carries return current back to the transformer and from there back to the sub-station and power generating station, to the ground at each building's electric meter. Hence, return current can and does travel on the grounding system as well as overhead (or underground) on the utility's service neutral conductor.

Because each utility pole is grounded to the earth for lightening protection, that means that current can and does travel on the surface of the ground, especially if it is moist, underneath and parallel to the overhead wires. This is the origin of so-called stray voltage (which is really stray current) of electricity traveling on the earth around dairy barns and on farms. It happens all over the country, in urban and rural areas alike.

Efforts to replace combined neutral and ground wires with separated wires on utility poles are met with resistance by utilities, even if it would ultimately help people and dairy cows, because the utilities have to say there is no problem. If they change the wiring, the issue of why they are doing it comes up. You see the dilemma?

When I measure the difference between a house's ground and the earth outside, I actually get a common reading of 75-100 mV or more. Most healthy people can handle this, even when they ground an Earthing sheet to the electrical outlet. People who are electrically sensitive cannot. They feel buzzed, as I discuss in my article.

For that reason, we advocate that people connect an Earthing pad directly to the ground, especially if they are electrically sensitive or health challenged in any way. However, if you live in a condo or apartment building or sleep in an upstairs bedroom, that is not so easy. Efforts should be made to see if they can run a wire down a downspout to a stake in the earth. If not, they can plug into the ground of the wall outlet and see how they feel.

In any case, people should take steps to reduce their electric field levels in the first place where they sleep. It is best to hire a building biologist to come to the house to determine how to do this (http://hbelc.org/findexpert/enviroconsult.html ). If not, they can call one over the phone and take readings for him/her using an inexpensive electric field meter. I describe what to purchase and how to use it on my website at [www.createhealthyhomes.com] “
Oram Miller, BBEC
Oram received his certification as a Building BiologyTM Environmental Consultant (BBEC) from the International Institute for Bau-biologieTM and Ecology in December 2003. Oram's training included assessment and mitigation of unhealthy electric and magnetic field exposure, indoor air quality, mold, and chemical outgassing.

My comment:
These links are very enlightening and thoroughly discuss the dilemmas presenting to most all of us.
Worth reading for everyone. Required reading for afibbers or anyone suffering from insomnia.
I thought this link [www.createhealthyhomes.com] was highly informative.

Jackie

Also:

The primary position paper presented by Mr. Miller on Earthing and Grounding Pads starts out:

Position Paper on the Proper Use of Earthing and Grounding Pads to Combat Elevated Electric Fields
Note: This position paper is the opinion of Oram Miller, BBEI and is not intended to represent the official position of the International Institute for Bau-biologieTM and Ecology, which trained and certified him. The opinions expressed in this paper are, however, based in large part upon conversations Oram has had with colleagues within his profession as well as his own experience working with electromagnetically-sensitive clients throughout the country.

Comments dated October 6, 2011.
Building biologists and health experts agree that there is a problem with exposure to unhealthy electric fields at 60 Hz and at higher frequencies ("dirty electricity") from laptops and other electrical devices. We also know that nighttime exposure to high electric fields can significantly impair the depth and quality of sleep for all individuals (see here and here for articles on this website on the health effects of electric fields and how we manage them as building biologists).

Evaluating and correcting electric fields is a large part of our practice and we diagnose this type of problem for clients every day. Many people experience an uncomfortable "jumpy" feeling of agitation in the presence of these fields, and so-called "body voltage" readings using a volt meter set to milliVolts AC (the most reliable method of diagnosing these little-known and elusive fields) show readings of hundreds or thousands of milliVolts. These levels are considered by our profession to be of "Severe" or "Extreme Concern." Healthy readings are below 100 milliVolts, and preferably 50 or less, in sleeping areas and in the low hundreds in the daytime.

Electric fields are especially a problem when you are in the vicinity of laptops and other devices when they are plugged in but ungrounded, as most laptops are (there is no problem when every cord is pulled out and you are just on the battery). Readings in excess of four to five thousand milliVolts are not uncommon when plugged in, especially when you touch the keyboard. I have several clients who feel utterly drained after sitting at such computers all day (desktop computers are always grounded, on the other hand -- provided they are plugged into a properly working grounded outlet. NO cheater plugs allowed! Get that ungrounded outlet grounded if you plug a computer into it!)

Continue this article and explore the many highly informative links on this topic. [www.createhealthyhomes.com]

Thank you Jackie. This is fantastic information which I am still in the process of digesting.

Hans