Dangers of grounding

The following letter came to my attention which I think is important to read regarding the dangers of grounding.

Dear ****

The ground wire in the outlet is physically bonded to the utility neutral in the electrical service box, so induction is not a consideration. There is nothing "tricky" about measuring voltage in the earth. All it takes is two ground rods (I use screwdrivers), 50 feet of wire and an oscilloscope. Ive made hundreds of ground voltage measurements in the western US and British Columbia, and every one shows a voltage between 3 and 26 volts peak to peak, with lots of high frequencies on examination of the spectra.

The utility pole-mounted transformers have a wire running from the center tap (neutral) into the ground. Most of the electricity delivered in North America now returns to the substations via the ground. The utility neutral wire, the ground in the house outlet and the earth are therefore electrically interconnected. Anyone using an earthing mat as directed is therefore being connected to the utility's primary neutral return current. The oscilloscope tracings taken at my Olympia Washington house by Dave Stetzer and me show that the in-line resistor does not change the voltage delivered to the mat. The tracing using the ground rod was similar to the tracing using the outlet ground. With an electrically clean ground, I'd be happy to use a mat, but am very reluctant to connect my body to the utility's neutral return current.

If you like, I'll forward messages from people made ill by using the mats.

Best,
Sam Milham [www.microwavenews.com]

It is indeed unfortunate that the "axis of evil" (expediency, incompetence and greed) has now managed to pollute even the very earth we walk on!

I would certainly be very hesitant to connect myself to the ground unless I had first ascertained that it did not carry any stray currents whatsoever.

Hans

Hans,

There are a number of technical errors in this post about earthing. I have no position for or against earthing as a health aid.
1. Modern oscilloscopes have a very high input impedance. This means they can measure a voltage that can not support any current flow. If I touch my scope probe to my finger, I can get many AC volts displaying on the scope.
This seems to suggest that this voltage is coming from me when in fact the scope is simply acting as if I was an antenna.
2. 50ft of wire is an antenna and will pick up all kinds of frequencies when connected to a modern scope. There is a ton of electro-magnetic radiation everywhere nowadays. In industry, when precision electrical measurements are to be made, they must be done in a electrically shielded room. Because of the prevalence of EMF everywhere, effective shielded rooms are expensive.
3.Very little if any of the power returns to the utility companies via the earth grounds. This would be very inefficient compared to the copper or aluminum wiring that is used. Also the ability of a current to flow between 2 ground rods is subject to many factors including the depth of the rods and the moisture of the ground just to name a few.
4. Ground Fault Interrupters (GFI) are typically installed in bathroom outlets. If they sense any current flowing in the ground wire as opposed to the return neutral wire, they immediately break the circuit. These would be useless if the ground was used for current return.

Earthing originally referred to walking barefoot on the ground that allows us to pick up electrons that help reduce oxidative stress in the body. Later, the gounding pads became available and are useful when sitting at the computer for long hours as well as while sleeping. Many energy healers say to sit with bare feet on the ground or lie on the ground every day for this grounding effect.

Cardiologist, Stephen Sinatra says:
“I regard Earthing as the greatest health breakthrough in all my years in medical practice. Regular grounding (another name for Earthing) restores the body’s natural electrical state, calms the nervous system, reduces inflammation, and improves circulation. No pill on Earth can do what Mother Earth does!”

The Earthing pads that are discussed in Hans's email, indicate a detrimental effect. I believe GeorgeN introduced the Earthing pad to the forum. I'll be interested in his response.

I've been using an Earthing pad, myself, for about five months and notice a very calming effect and very restful sleep. The early-morning stiffness I used to have when first getting out of bed is gone. I've always slept well, but this sleep is even better. I've been working with energy healing and ANS balancing since early May and eventually, I'll be doing a report on my experiences. Thus far, I've had nothing but overall improvement.

I'm especially interested in the following report as it indicates a lowering of cortisol which is very important.

Jackie

Volume 10, Number 5, 2004, pp. 767–776

© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

The Biologic Effects of Grounding the Human Body During Sleep as Measured by Cortisol Levels and Subjective Reporting of Sleep, Pain, and Stress

MAURICE GHALY, M.D.,1 and DALE TEPLITZ, M.A.2

ABSTRACT
Objectives: Diurnal cortisol secretion levels were measured and circadian cortisol profiles were evaluated in a pilot study conducted to test the hypothesis that grounding the human body to earth* during sleep will result in quantifiable changes in cortisol. It was also hypothesized that grounding the human body would result in changes in sleep, pain, and stress (anxiety, depression, irritability), as measured by subjective reporting.

Subjects and Interventions: Twelve (12) subjects with complaints of sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress were grounded to earth during sleep for 8 weeks in their own beds using a conductive mattress pad. Saliva tests were administered to establish pregrounding baseline cortisol levels. Levels were obtained at 4-hour intervals for a 24-hour period to determine the circadian cortisol profile. Cortisol testing was repeated at week 6.

Subjective symptoms of sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress were reported daily throughout the 8-week test period.

Results: Measurable improvements in diurnal cortisol profiles were observed, with cortisol levels significantly reduced during night-time sleep. Subjects’ 24-hour circadian cortisol profiles showed a trend toward normalization.

Subjectively reported symptoms, including sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress, were reduced or eliminated in nearly all subjects.

Conclusions: Results indicate that grounding the human body to earth (“earthing”) during sleep reduces night-time levels of cortisol and resynchronizes cortisol hormone secretion more in alignment with the natural 24-hour circadian rhythm profile. Changes were most apparent in females. Furthermore, subjective reporting indicates that grounding the human body to earth during sleep improves sleep and reduces pain and stress.

[www.earthinginstitute.net]

Jackie

I've had a subtle but positive response sleeping on an earthing sheet for about a year. I noticed the difference when my wife was out of town in the winter and I let the house temperature drop, therefore sleeping with clothing (which insulated my skin from the sheet). I started waking up in the middle of the night and having a hard time getting back to sleep. This was common prior to getting the sheet. When I realized what I'd done, I removed the insulation (clothing) and started sleeping through the night again.

George

Jackie,

We obviously disagree on the benefits/risks of grounding. However, as I recall it you live in a rural environment and even have your own well. In your case, it is quite possible that grounding may have a beneficial effect especially if your return current actually returns to the substation via a dedicated wire rather than through the ground.

However in Victoria, and I suspect in many other North American cities the situation is quite different. Here every second power pole is equipped with a ground connection that allows the return current to return to the substation via the ground rather than through a usually vastly overloaded dedicated wire. Also, I know of at least two cases where the neutral connection at the entrance to a house was so corroded that all the return current flowed back to the substation through the ground. So I have no disagreement with Sam Milham when he suggests that the earth acts as a vast return to substations in large areas of North America. So I would not want to ground myself to that mess. As you may recall, this opinion is supported by German experts in building biology.

[www.buildingbiology.ca] (article in English)

So as I have stated on several occasions, if you live in an electrically pristine environment grounding may be great. If you live in a city such as Victoria where the electrical grid has been allowed to deteriorate to the point where a large amount of the current that should be returned to the substation via a proper neutral is actually returned through the ground then I would not consider grounding without prior testing by an expert.

Hans

What about Grounding everything yourself. Drive a copper rod into the ground & running the wire to a room or 2.
My house is off the ground & i could run wiring to several the rooms easily.
The ground under the house is bone dry. How deep would the ground need to go ? Best type of wire !

Todd,

Bone dry earth is a very poor conductor. Look for a spot that is at least moist most of the time.

Hans

I am an Eletrician. Drive a ground rod into the earth at a 45- 60 degree angle, use copper wire, it may be easier to use your incoming copper water line, to drain stray voltage, just make sure you place it on the copper pipe before it enters the water meter. sand it down for better grounding and use the proper grounding connecter. #12 wire or #10wire should be adequate to drain any stray voltages. If your home is properly wired you should not have this problem to begin with, but if it makes you feel safer, add th extra grounding.
When I built my house, I placed extra ground rods in all four corners, I later realized I had created a massive ground grid and could attract lightning.
I coulnt pull the rods out, but I did disconnect the wiring.
Every time a big storm passes I get nervous.. So far no strikes.

Go as deep as it takes to get to moist soil.
I drove an old piece of copper water pipe into the ground until it hit bedrock, then soldered a piece of 8 or 10 gauge stranded to it. Solid is better, but the hardware store didn't have any.

William

Hans,

I am an electrical engineer with 40 years of experience. The situation you describe of every 2nd power pole showing a ground wire is normal. It is tied to the neutral/return wire (transformer center tap in the USA). Most homes also have a ground rod connection near the main breaker panel. These grounds are for safety and to meet electrical code. They are NOT for use as a current return( except in emergency). Most power wire home entrances consist of 3 wires, 2 hot wires and 1 neutral. From either hot wire to neutral you have 120VAC. From hot wire 1 to hot wire 2, you have 220-240VAC. These wires are more reliable than ground rods and all current into and out of the home should flow thru these wires. Ground rods rust and corrode and do not provide low resistance paths over the years. If anyone who reads this thinks they have current returning via the ground wire instead of the neutral wire, contact your electrical utility supplier asap.

The ground connection is not a carrier. If the neutral is broken to a 120/240 residence, all 120 volt circuits go high, even with a grounded neutral, (277 volts in this area) with a risk of destroying all 120 v0lt appliances, etc. and a risk of fire to the residence.

Larry and Frank,

Thank you very much for your comments. They obviously make sense but I am not sure how a non-electrician would come to suspect that current is returning via the ground.

Here is my experience. A couple of years ago I measured EMF radiation in my neighbour's home. In both their bedroom and their living room they were exposed to 10 milligauss. An expert electrician was called in. He put his amp-meter on the hot and the neutral wires at the service entrance and found zero current on the neutral. It turned out that someone had connected a hot wire to a metal stud in the wall and that it was carrying the current directly to the ground. The whole area around the neighbour's and my house had very high EMF readings. Upon fixing the problem, including calling in BC Hydro to replace the corroded neutral connector at the service entrance carrying the return current back from the house to the electrical grid the problem was solved and EMF readings returned to normal for the area (0.3 milligauss).

Hans

Hans,
The safest and best way to determine if current is flowing in the ground wire is to use a clamp-on current meter. Clamp it around the ground wire at the breaker box. It should read zero or near zero when various appliances in the house are on. I realize that most people don't have this type of meter but could probably borrow one from a technician/electrician friend.

Your experience with the house that had the hot wire connected to a metal stud is really scarey. This would be drawing power 24/7 and among many problems this could cause, a high electric bill would be a tip off.

Dr. Sinatra's video clip on intro to Earthing or grounding.

[www.youtube.com]

Grounding Q &A
[www.heartmdinstitute.com]

Does anyone know where can I buy a Gaussmeter in Canada?