A national radio quiet zone in Green Bank, West Virginia, limits transmissions to protect a government telescope. This telescope, known as the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. The telescope can pick up radio waves from space that are weak and difficult to identify.
“The Federal Communications Commission established the National Radio Quiet Zone in 1958 to protect the observatory’s sensitive radio telescopes from interference, and state law restricts transmissions within a radius of 10 miles of any radio astronomy facility,” according to researchers.
These restrictions are reportedly frustrating West Virginia residents; however, teens and children have found ways around the quiet zone regulations. A seventh grader at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, which is next door to the government telescope, said many students have found ways to obtain wi-fi signals.
“By connecting to a home wi-fi network (that the telescope interference protectors apparently haven’t picked up on), kids don’t need a cell network to talk to their friends—they can just use the new texting functions in apps like Facebook and Snapchat,” according to researchers.
Another result of this established quiet zone is the gathering of “electrosensitives” to the area. For more than 10 years this area has attracted electrosensitive residents, who have illnesses they believe are caused by electromagnetic fields.
“Over the last few years, electrosensitives have taken shelter beside cows and farms and fellow sufferers. They do so despite research suggesting that their ailments aren’t caused by wireless signals,” according to the Washingtonian.
Numerous studies have examined electrosensitives and these results found people who claim to have this disorder cannot recognize the presence of electromagnetic fields. Studies that did show health effects were proven flawed.
“Well controlled and conducted double-blind studies have shown that symptoms were not correlated with EMF exposure,” according to the World Health Organization.
Many electrosensitives prove they would do anything to avoid Wi-Fi. Diane Schou, an electrosensitive who moved to Green Bank in 2007, even considered buying a space suit to wear when she leaves the house. Since the suit would have cost her $24,000, she decided against its purchase.
Schou attribute headaches, nausea, insomnia, chest pains, disorientation, digestive problems, and more to electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
However, mainstream medicine does not accept these claims.
“I feel for these people because they do have health problems. What the cause is, I have no idea, but it’s not Wi-Fi,” Georgetown professor, Timothy Jorgensen, said.
There are currently no plans to cancel the funding and operation of the observatory and telescope, even though many residents would not mind if the telescope and wireless restrictions disappear.
“We’ll be so far out of the loop one of these days that we won’t be able to catch up. I think it’s gonna turn us into a bunch of dinosaurs. People come back home and think we’re living in the dark ages,” Harold Crist, resident of Green Bank, said.
