Justice Recognizes Electrical Hypersensitivity

A pioneering ruling from the Social Court Number 1 of Zaragoza, ratified by the Supreme Court of Justice of Aragon , was the first in Spain to have recognized electrosensitivity as an “occupational accident”.

The justice has considered that the health problems suffered by an Endesa worker (a ” multisomatic condition of central neurological origin and limbic dysfunction”) are the consequence of the electromagnetic fields to which he is exposed in the office where he works: his symptoms (pain, fatigue, itching, tinnitus …) began to manifest themselves and become worse while there, surrounded by Wi-Fi, cordless telephones and a nearby powerful electricity transformer.

The ruling is novel since electrosensitivity, which had already been judicially recognized as a cause of incapacity for work, has now been indicated as a consequence of a work environment, that is, it establishes a cause-effect relationship. This is important so that the disorders caused by electromagnetic fields in sensitive people can be included in the table of occupational diseases of the Social Security system, which is not happening right now.

The great achievement of this ruling is that it could serve as a precedent and open new avenues in the prevention of occupational hazards. When it can be demonstrated that the disease has developed in the workplace, the company may be required to adopt the protection measures provided for in article 25 of the Law on Prevention of Occupational Risks.

Legally recognize the disease

Covering yourself under article 25 can be very useful. This article specifies that if a worker justifies that a product or technology causes him physical damage, the company has the obligation to protect him. According to this article, which is often breached, workers cannot be exposed to toxic factors that alter fertility and procreation, both proven risks in electromagnetic pollution. This type of contamination is considered neurotoxic and capable of producing multiple alterations at the multisystemic level.

In addition, it has also been shown that non-ionizing radiation produces oxidative stress and affects all systems (nervous, immune, endocrine, circulatory and digestive) and even the microbiota without the worker being aware of it.

The moment is important because with 5G and the Internet of Things will come new frequencies with greater penetration capacity in the body. Therefore, many work environments can become more harmful.

If you telecommute at home or in a coworking

We cannot rule out the consequences of exposure in the home environment, where many people telecommute exposed to sources such as Wi-Fi networks, signal boosters or other devices. Urban Wi-Fi towers serving entire municipalities are, for example, a powerful source of electromagnetic pollution. Although they are not installed in our neighborhood, their scope is much higher than that of a domestic and industrial Wi-Fi.

Humanize technological expansion

While the independent scientific community does not stop launching alerts to humanize the growing technological expansion, it is the people who can become aware of the problem and adopt new guidelines and habits that prevent risks.

European consumers have already launched awareness and mobilization campaigns in other areas that have led the European Parliament to pass new laws. The important thing is to be aware that everyday situations such as working next to a Wi-Fi point or wireless devices constitute a risk. The first step is, therefore, to begin to change the perception of these elements, to bet on the information and to adopt personal and collective measures that minimize risks.

Include the most sensitive in prevention

In addition to proposing a safer and less impactful technology, companies should assess whether they have sensitive workers to adopt special measures. The figure of the “sensitive worker”, like that of the “sensitive citizen”, begins to gain a greater and deserved prominence in labor and social policies.

Claiming that prevention costs money can be an excuse to adopt new approaches and criteria, such as biohabitability, which is based on creating spaces that respect our electrosensitive human biology.