A growing challenge for journalists? Science and “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” court cases
by Steven T. Corneliussen, scitation.aip.org, 1st September 2015
by Steven T. Corneliussen, scitation.aip.org, 1st September 2015
Litigation partially legitimizes EHS in France; in Massachusetts, a school’s Wi-Fi upgrade inspires a lawsuit.
In March, New York Times science writer George Johnson reported on litigation in New Mexico about electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), an affliction allegedly caused by wireless emissions. He observed that the case “shows how two of civilization’s great bodies of thought—the scientific and the legal—can make for an uneasy mix.” Now court cases in France and Massachusetts are stirring that mix.
In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that the most common symptoms attributed to EHS include dermatological ones (“redness, tingling, and burning sensations”) as well as “neurasthenic and vegetative” ones (“fatigue, tiredness, concentration difficulties, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitation, and digestive disturbances”). But the WHO stipulated that these are “not part of any recognized syndrome” and concluded:
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In March, New York Times science writer George Johnson reported on litigation in New Mexico about electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), an affliction allegedly caused by wireless emissions. He observed that the case “shows how two of civilization’s great bodies of thought—the scientific and the legal—can make for an uneasy mix.” Now court cases in France and Massachusetts are stirring that mix.
In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that the most common symptoms attributed to EHS include dermatological ones (“redness, tingling, and burning sensations”) as well as “neurasthenic and vegetative” ones (“fatigue, tiredness, concentration difficulties, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitation, and digestive disturbances”). But the WHO stipulated that these are “not part of any recognized syndrome” and concluded: