Electrosensitive people may find travelling on underground systems anywhere in the world difficult as both trains and stations use fluorescent or low energy light bulbs and large amounts of electricity.
However, for those travelling in London, the situation is exacerbated by the fact that London Underground now uses Tetra throughout the whole system.

Electrosensitives are therefore probably better off in a bus or car. However, it may be best not to buy a hybrid car unless you know that you are alright in them. They use a lot of electricity to drive their electric motors and the fields from these could upset some people. A diesel may be the best option since they can be as cheap to run as a hybrid petrol car, and you don't have the high voltage fields generated by the ignition circuits.

Post Script - August 2009
It appears that hybrid cars may not be so bad after all for ES sufferers. By putting the return wires next to the supply wires to the motor, their magnetic fields tend to cancel each other out (see below).

Also, the motor and its associated battery run at a much higher voltage (around 200 volts or more), which means that for a given power, less current is needed, and this will also reduce the magnetic fields. The electrical field may be greater (this was not given), but this is more easily screened by the bodywork of the car.

Highlights of BEMS/EBEA 2009 (BioEM 2009) Meeting Davos, Switzerland 14-19 June 2009
Session 9: Dosimetry IV
ELF and LF Magnetic Field Exposure In Hybrid And Electric Cars

Dr. G. Schmid from the Austria Research Centers made magnetic field measurement from 0 to 100 kHz in 3 hybrid cars (Honda Civic, Toyota Prius, and Lexus GS 450H), 2 electric cars (Panda Electric and Doblo Electric), and 2 conventional cars (VW Passant and Audi A4 Kombi).

These measurements filtered out the magnetic fields from magnetized tires. Interestingly, the hybrid and electric cars had lower fields than the conventional cars because the hybrid and electric cars used return wires in close proximity to the load wires while the conventional cars used the chassis as the return current path.

Click here for more articles on the management of ES.

July 2009

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