Another White Zone

Dozens of Americans who claim to have been made ill by wi-fi and mobile phones have flocked to the town of Green Bank, West Virginia More than five billion people use mobile phones worldwide and advances in wireless technology make it increasingly difficult to escape the influence of mobile devices. But while most Americans seem to embrace continuous connectivity, some believe it's making them physically ill. Diane Schou is unable to hold back the tears as she describes how she once lived in a shielded cage to protect her from the electromagnetic radiation caused by waves from wireless communication. "It's a horrible thing to have to be a prisoner," she says. "You become a technological leper because you can't be around people. "It's not that you would be contagious to them - it's what they're carrying that is harmful to you." Ms Schou is one of an estimated 5% of Americans who believe they suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), which they say is caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields typically created by cell phones, wi-fi and other electronic equipment. Hiding in a cage Symptoms range from acute headaches, skin burning, muscle twitching and chronic pain. Diane Schou says she was forced to live in a shielded cage in Iowa, prior to moving to West Virginia "My face turns red, I get a headache, my vision changes, and it hurts to think. Last time [I was exposed] I started getting chest pains - and to me that's becoming life threatening," Ms Schou says. To alleviate the pain, her husband built an insulated living space known as a Faraday Cage. He covered a wooden frame with two layers of wire mesh and a door that could be sealed shut to prevent radio waves from entering. Diane spent much of her time inside it, sleeping on a twin mattress on a plywood base. "At least I could see my husband on the outside, I could talk to him," she says. Diane believes her illness was triggered by emissions from a mobile phone mast. Her symptoms were so severe that she abandoned her family farm in the state of Iowa and moved to Green Bank, West Virginia - a tiny village of 143 residents in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains. Outlawed wireless technology Green Bank is part of the US Radio Quiet Zone, where wireless is banned across 13,000 sq miles (33,000 sq km) to prevent transmissions interfering with a number of radio telescopes in the area. The largest is owned by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and enables scientists to listen to low-level signals from different places in the universe. Others are operated by the US military and are a critical part of the government's spy network. As a result of the radio blackout, the Quiet Zone has become a haven for people like Diane, desperate to get away from wireless technology. The world's largest, fully steerable radio telescope is operated in the town of Green Bank "Living here allows me to be more of a normal person. I can be outdoors. I don't have to stay hidden in a Faraday Cage," she says. "I can see the sunrise, I can see the stars at night, and I can be in the rain. "Here in Green Bank allows me to be with people. People here do not carry cells phones so I can socialise. "I can go to church, I can attend some celebrations, I can be with people. I couldn't do that when I had to remain in the Faraday Cage." But EHS is not medically recognised in the US.