Man sues neighbor to shut off electronics

[n2doc]

By Michael Haederle
March 28, 2010


Arthur Firstenberg, who says he is hypersensitive to certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, saw the house at the end of a narrow lane as a refuge from physical and neurological symptoms that have plagued him for three decades.

"It's been difficult because of my electromagnetic sensitivities," he said. "I had a lot of difficulty finding a house that I could be comfortable in."

So in September 2008, he bought the home on Barela Street, a few blocks from the newly redeveloped downtown rail yard here.

But last October, when a friend of his rented a house on the next block that backed up to Firstenberg's property, the familiar waves of nausea, vertigo, body aches, dizziness, heart arrhythmia and insomnia returned -- all, he says, because she was using an iPhone, a laptop computer, a wireless router and dimmer switches.

Firstenberg, 59, wanted Raphaela Monribot to limit her use of the devices. "I asked her to work with me," he said. "Basically, she refused."

So he sued Monribot in state district court, seeking $530,000 in damages and an injunction to force her to turn off the electronics.

more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-na-hometown-santa-fe28-2010mar28,0,7549400.story

[Common Sense Party]

1. Not a dime.

[walldude]

2. MAn he's going to need to become Amish if he want's to avoid

electromagnetics...

[CBGLuthier]

3. Perhaps something in a nice hermit's cave?

Hey, I am hypersensitive to high frequency sounds but I don't expect the world to STFU. Guy needs to move to the boonies if he really has a problem.

[tridim]

4. Two words:

Faraday Cage

[mike_c]

13. yep, that's the answer....

Some well grounded copper wire would solve his problem IF that's actually his problem. Color me skeptical, however.

[Tesha]

20. A Faraday Cage won't cure basic mental illness. (NT)

[NeedleCast]

5. This is the next step up from people with "chemical allergies"

to perfume and deoderant.

Pretty much every part of the world is under constant influence of the EM spectrum. Having someone move in next to you using an Iphone would change that by almost nothing.

[kestrel91316]

6. Nutty people come in all different stripes.......what a loon......

[immoderate]

7. He should be tested.

Can he tell when a device is operated in the next room? I'd love to see that. He might qualify for Randi's million dollar prize.

--imm

[951-Riverside]

8. These are the types of people who go on shooting rampages n/t

[brooklynite]

9. It's probably just the secret Government satellite above his house...

[Cronus Protagonist]

10. He should quit drinking coffee

Coffee gives me the same symptoms! lol

[Neecy]

11. According to wiki...

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), also electrohypersensitivity or electrical sensitivity (ES) refers to claims of adverse medical symptoms purportedly caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields. Although effects of electromagnetic fields on the body are established, self-described sufferers of electromagnetic hypersensitivity report responding to non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (or electromagnetic radiation) at intensities well below the limits permitted by international radiation safety standards. The majority of provocation trials to date have found that self-described sufferers of electromagnetic hypersensitivity are unable to distinguish between exposure to real and sham electromagnetic fields, and it is not recognized as a medical condition by the medical or scientific communities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity

I'm sure that massive doses might have some effect, but not an iPhone, a router, a laptop and dimmer switches. Ridiculous.

[sfwriter]

12. NEXT TO A RAIL YARD....

http://www.howstuffworks.com/diesel-locomotive.htm

"This generator is called the head-end power unit. The one on this train can make over 560 kilowatts (kW) of electrical power. "

So he moved next to a yard where 560 kW power stations cruise back and forth behind his home.

[Tesha]

21. The heck with the Head-End Power unit.

The prime mover on a diesel-electric locomotive is *ALSO* spinning
an alternator (the "traction generator") and *THAT ONE* is running at
a power level of about 2.2 MW or more!

Tesha

[Ian David]

14. If he can prove he's got electromagnetic sensitivity, he doesn't need to sue.

He can just collect James Randi's Million Dollar Prize.



The neighbor should offer to facilitate the meeting in exchange for about half the money if the moron afflicted wins.

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

[mike_c]

15. he needs to ground his tinfoil hat....

That'll solve his problem. As tridem suggests, a Faraday cage. But I doubt that he needs to protect much more than his silly notions.

[sharp_stick]

16. Oh my

Don't tell him about those trails behind airplanes over his house, he'll stroke out.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

17. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity is yet to be documented scientifically

Part of it has been thrown out, the rest should follow with prejudice. Firstenberg should be all costs as well

[LiberalFighter]

18. He is probably getting all those electronic interferences from the

electronics when all the Toyotas in the yards get started up.

There are a lot of autos that appear possibly to be junk cars. Maybe with all that metal it is causing electronics to converge in his area.


:eyes:

[spanone]

19. there's no where on earth that there are not electromagnetic radiations, pal

move