Computer usage is the most popular reason given as the cause. Olle Johansson, a world-renown expert on the subject, coined the term 'VDT sickness' to categorize the specific sensitivity some people have to computer monitors. Swedish journalist Gunni Nordstrom cites chemicals emitted from monitors and the electricity coming from them working synergistically as a possible cause.

Dental amalgam is often cited too as a reason. A study has shown that it is possible for certain frequencies of electricity which emanate from computer monitors to release amalgam into the body where it can cause chronic toxicity. Indeed, mercury amalgam toxicity from dental work is a topic of heated debate in it's own right.

There is a strong link between chemicals toxicity and electrical sensitivities, i.e. that the latter may well be a by-product of the former. The UK based Breakspear Hospital reports that when one removes the chemical sensitivities from the body, the electrical sensitivities disappear also. The Environmental Health Centre Dallas, reports that of 500 patients treated for MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), 80% of them also have electrical sensitivities.

Other causes of sensitivities include mobile phones & masts, fluorescent lighting and low-energy lamps.

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In 2000, ElectroSensitive sufferers were invited to write open letters to RALF (Council For Working Life Research) in Sweden on their experiences with the condition. These letters were the basis of a book which was published in Swedish in 2002, which contained statistical analysis of reasons cited by the sufferers themselves as the cause of the disease.The book was translated into English in 2004 under the title Black On White (To see the diagram in it's original form, refer to Diagram 1, page 18 of this book).

Factors that are responsible for developing ElectroSensitivity

Computers

136

Amalgam (Presence of removal of)

69

General Electricity (including fluorescent lamps & low-energy lights)

44

Cellular Phones/Masts & telephones

10

Chemicals

8

Photocopiers

4

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