The Invisible Topography of Power: Electromagnetic Fields, Bodies and the Environment

Abstract

This paper discusses how low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted from power lines, computers and electrical appliances have become a form of environmental pollution. At the heart of this controversy is a growing public and scientific preoccupation with measuring EMF `levels', quantifying EMF `exposure', and calculating the EMF `risk' to human health. Increasingly sophisticated measurement devices (dosimeters) are offered on the market to `detect' an invisible topography of `field levels', `non-sinusoidal wave forms', `hot spots', `peak intensities' and `high frequency transients'. We thus approach the representation, constitution and management of EMFs by considering how dosimeters are used in epidemiological studies to construct EMF risks, and in particular environments (homes, schools, offices) to construct an invisible topography. We argue that EMF measurements are not just representations of pollution, but also regulatory devices constitutive of the boundaries between individual bodies, social bodies and the environment.