Auto Trends

There has been talk through a variety of sources that the electromagnetic field of hybrids may have some potential to cause sickness among some people. There is no solid proof mind you… but it has been said to be just something we need to keep our eye on over the next few years.

With this said, there has been talk as of the past week that some people have already returned their hybrids, stating that it was making them nauseous, sleepy, dizzy, etc. With things heating up around the hybrid front, we thought it important to go ahead and dig into this situation a bit more:

The science behind these returns and accusations is the fear that high voltage electricity produces an unhealthy EMF (Electromagnetic Field). This is something we have known for years, and thus has been the brunt of a number of studies by the cancer institute. There is some evidence that suggests a risk factors of living too close to high voltage utility lines as causing sickness in humans, including Leukemia among children.

While a hybrid isn’t exactly a high voltage utility line, it does carry substantial voltage through the car (150 to 250 volts) to the electric engines. As to date there is no government mandate as to how much EMF is too much, so manufacturers have never had to worry about such numbers.

With these accusations amidst, both Honda and Toyota have released press statements stating that their hybrids pose no additional EMF than any regular combustion car and therefore pose no additional risk.

Toyota’s Prius spokesperson, “The measured electromagnetic fields inside and outside of Toyota hybrid vehicles in the 50 to 60 hertz range are at the same low levels as conventional gasoline vehicles. Therefore there are no additional health risks to drivers, passengers or bystanders.”

After what seemed to be a clear rebuttal to these statements a number of posts popped up on the Internet from consumers who had purchased their own Trifield meter ($145) and took some measurements themselves and claim the meter tipped the scales beyond what the spokespersons were saying.

Of course it needs to be noted with just how much accuracy are these car owners able to achieve such readings on their own. But none-the-less it has stirred some souls out there and built up enough worry in peoples minds that some of them at the very least probably made themselves sick, if nothing else, just by all their worrying.

This should probably have no significant damage to the hybrid for the long haul, but it may knock off a few sales over the next few months.

Are you at all concerned about the hybrid health risks… or is all this talk just a bunch of fear mongering?