A Quiet Place for the ‘Electrically Sensitive’

Summary

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Full Measure After Hours

Episode: A Quiet Place for the ‘Electrically Sensitive’

Host: Sharyl Attkisson
Guest: Andrew McAfee, Licensed Electrician
Date: April 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the unique community of Green Bank, West Virginia—the only federally protected Radio Quiet Zone in the U.S.—and its role as a haven for people who identify as "electrically sensitive." Sharyl Attkisson interviews Andrew McAfee, a licensed electrician specializing in helping people reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in their homes. Together, they discuss the science, the controversy, the legislative challenges, and practical strategies for living with or alleviating electrical sensitivity.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What Is Electrical Sensitivity?

• Definition and Terminology

  • McAfee prefers “electrical sentience” or “awareness of perception” over “sensitivity,” framing it as a beneficial biological adaptation to a toxic environment ([03:07]).
  • He argues that the body’s reactions (pain, mood shifts, awareness) are mechanisms to avoid harmful exposures.

• Variability and Triggers

  • “Everybody has sensitivities to electrical sources. Some people have become extremely aware…because of Lyme, mold, Epstein Barr virus and other co-infections that just explode around the influences of electromagnetic fields.” (C, [04:10])
  • Co-factors like illness or immune issues can make some individuals more susceptible ([05:15]).

• Documented Health Effects

  • Links to chronic disorders, cancer, mood swings, fatigue, and blood sugar issues.
  • Removing EMF exposure “absolutely 100%” reduces certain diseases, including Ms. and Parkinson’s ([05:29]).

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2. Green Bank: The Radio Quiet Zone

• History & Importance

  • Protected since WWII to enable sensitive work with the giant radio telescope.
  • Certain signals (cellular, Wi-Fi) are banned to prevent interference.

• Why It’s a Magnet for the Electrically Sensitive

  • The lack of pervasive EM signals has attracted a small, growing group seeking relief from symptoms they attribute to EMF exposure.
  • Sharyl highlights: “Some people…live in the Green Bank, West Virginia area precisely because certain signals are not allowed there.” (A, [00:32])

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3. Threats and Changes: Wi-Fi Encroachment

• Changes to Wi-Fi Policy

  • Since August, schools and some public spaces have been permitted to use Wi-Fi, breaking decades of radio silence ([07:07]).

• Community Concerns

  • McAfee: “It’s really a death knell to all of us who have invested in this area to have it protected … infrastructure will be built…broadcasted onto our properties.” (C, [07:23])
  • The community, supported by Children’s Health Defense and the Mercola Group, is lobbying to strengthen state law (West Virginia §37A) to reinforce property rights and environmental protections ([08:26]).

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4. McAfee’s Work and Practical Solutions

• His Business Model

  • “Help electrically sensitive people rewire their houses.” (C, [02:59])
  • Conducts home assessments, “bed maps” of EM fields, and corrects code violations or wiring issues with shielded cables ([06:03]–[06:47]).
  • Focuses on sleeping areas first for maximum restorative benefit.

• Advice for Listeners

  • “Nobody needs a cell phone in their bedroom at night…Turn off your Wi-Fi...Move all wireless devices out of your sleeping area…and turn the power off with your breaker around the bed.” (C, [10:08])
  • Suggests simple measures can improve sleep quality by “90, 95%” ([10:45]).

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5. Advocacy and Safe Home Initiative

• Supporting the Community

  • McAfee is board president of Safe Home, an organization helping electrically sensitive people relocate to Green Bank ([10:50]).
  • “Electrically sensitive people are coming here two or three times a month, new people, and they’re desperate. There’s no place that they can stay.” ([10:55])
  • Membership organization offers temporary lodging solutions and relocation assistance.

• Emphasizing Sensitivity as Strength

  • “It’s not a weakness, it’s a strength...The children, their eggs, their future generations are exponentially more affected than we are as adults.” (C, [11:45])

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6. Reflections, Skepticism, and Family Dynamics

• Current Size of the Community

  • McAfee estimates around 100 electrically sensitive residents in the Green Bank area ([12:38]).

• Responding to Skeptics

  • “Keep using your devices. Have at it. Good times. But if your wife, your child is having a health problem…would you be considering maybe changing your behavior a little bit for their benefit?” (C, [13:22])
  • McAfee underscores how disbelief can strain families to the breaking point.

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Notable Quotes

• On the benefit of biological adaptation:

  • “I call it a beneficial biological adaptation to a toxic environment that helps us avoid repeated harmful exposures.”
    – Andrew McAfee ([03:13])

• On differences in perception:

  • “Men especially are proud of taking pain and not complaining. And women are opposite. Thank goodness for them. They have the sensitivity to protect their children and can raise awareness…”
    – Andrew McAfee ([04:32])

• On recent legislative threats:

  • “It’s really a death knell to all of us who have invested in this area to have it protected.”
    – Andrew McAfee ([07:28])

• On skepticism and empathy:

  • “If your wife, your child is having a health problem … would you be considering maybe changing your behavior a little bit for their benefit?”
    – Andrew McAfee ([13:22])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:32] — Introduction to Green Bank, its history, and the electrically sensitive community
• [02:55] — Andrew McAfee explains his business and definitions
• [04:10] — Discussion of physiological effects and why some are more affected
• [06:03] — McAfee describes his assessment and remediation work
• [07:07] — Changes to local Wi-Fi policy and community concerns
• [08:26] — Legislative and property rights background
• [10:08] — McAfee’s practical advice for reducing EMF risk
• [10:50] — Safe Home’s mission and services
• [12:38] — Community size estimate
• [13:22] — Responding to skeptics and impact on families

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Memorable Moments

• McAfee's pragmatic yet passionate advocacy for both personal and community rights.
• Candid reflections on family conflict and the social dynamics of disbelief.
• The revelation of ongoing migration to Green Bank by those desperate for EMF relief.
• Calls to action for practical changes anyone can make, regardless of skepticism.

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For Further Information

• Catch the related TV segment on “Full Measure” to hear from more community members and Green Bank’s telescope operators.
• Visit Safe Home and FullMeasure.News for additional resources and updates.

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Hi, everybody, it's Cheryl Akisson. Welcome to another edition of Full Measure. After hours today, a quiet place for the electrically sensitive. Sunday, April 12th on full measure, a fascinating story from Green Bank, West Virginia. This is the only Radio Free Quiet zone in the US since World War II. Certain signals are prohibited so as not to interrupt work of the giant telescope there. We're talking about radio signals, WI Fi, other things like that, and maybe some people would find that very inconvenient. But there is actually a group of people, maybe it's growing, who actually live in the Green Bank, West Virginia area precisely because certain signals are not allowed there. These are people who are electrically sensitive. They can be made very sick by simple things like electricity and 5G cell phones, wi fi and so on. You may know from other Full Measure stories that I only learned by researching this topic that there's a lot of science behind it. It's not conspiracy theory or mumbo jumbo. There are very real risks and documented risks to the technology that we use today, including just simply using our cell phones. We're not supposed to hold it up to our heads, which is pretty much how everybody uses their cell phone. If you look at the warning labels that have come with cell phones for decades, but in addition to the links to cancer and chronic disorders that maybe you know about, some people have a particular sensitivity that can make them very sick in the moment when they receive an assault of certain signals of this type. And some of them who found out that the Green Bank, West Virginia area is pretty isolated because there's a huge telescope there. And Since World War II, there's been a unique law or regulations and restrictions that prevent certain signals because they would interfere with the work, some of it national security work that this telescope does. So there are people who have sought out this quiet place, and they say they feel a lot better when they live there. Technology is finally beginning to encroach upon this remote place, and you'll find out about all of it in full measure. My cover story on Sunday, April 12. In today's podcast, I have an interview with a man named Andrew McAfee. He's someone I met on my shoot in West Virginia. He is a licensed electrician who inspects and troubleshoots homes for electrically sensitive people. So here's my interview with Andrew McAfee.

[A]

What is it that your company does? In a nutshell, what's like a slogan?

[C]

Top one, Help electrically sensitive people rewire their houses.

[A]

So what's the definition for what we're talking about today?

[C]

I Call it electrical sensitivity. Actually it's sentience and awareness of perception. Sensitivity connotes a weakness. So if we call it electrical sensitivity, that's fine. That's the coined word. So I call it a beneficial biological adaptation to a toxic environment that helps us avoid repeated harmful exposures. The body now uses extra sensory perceptions like pain and awareness to influence our choices to override a harmful belief system that increases internal infections and disease. By reducing our exposure to external sources of electromagnetic forces, we have a chance to finally be free of what's causing the disease.

[A]

Now correct me where I'm wrong. Based on what I'm hearing, I would describe it as something like some people are very sensitive to electric exposures in our lives. Which is, which are everywhere really.

[C]

Yes, absolutely. Everybody has sensitivities to electrical sources. Some people have become extremely aware of it because of Lyme mold, Epstein Barr virus and a number of other co infections that are blown just explode around the influences of electromagnetic fields. So why are some people affected and why are some people not? So this is the great argument. I am really thankful when there are relationships where one person is not affected and the other one is because we need that one person to be functional, to carry the weight while this other person works through their issues. So I'm not against that. But physiologically everybody does feel it to some extent. It's just the body is always trying to find what's normal. And men especially are proud of taking pain and not complaining. And women are opposite. So thank goodness for them. They have the sensitivity to protect their children and can raise awareness about the real problems and we can then flush them out.

[A]

Is it fair to say that some people are more affected than others because they have some other CO factor? They may be sick with something already or an immune issue. So they may be more sickened by this than other people.

[C]

That's absolutely 100% true. There are infections, there are diseases inside of us that are being stimulated which will increase a disease, Ms. parkinson's. All this stuff is absolutely known, 100% to be reduced when you take away the dirty electricity or lower the electric fields, magnetic fields. So the other component of this is, well, could everyone benefit with a lower wireless exposure? Yes, of course. Your chronic fatigue, your eye burn, your mood swings, all this blood sugar, it's all well documented. It's just what's the cost benefit?

[A]

Can you describe what your business is, what you do?

[C]

Yes, the first thing I do is I come in and I do an assessment of what is your exposure. I'll get a call from someone who says, you know, I feel bad and you know, my husband says I'm not getting rid of my cell phone, so what else are you going to do? And we do a bed map and it basically is a color spectrum picture of the electric fields and magnetic fields around where they're sleeping. I focus on the sleeping area first because you're sleeping, you're repairing, you're doing great. We fix wiring, we shield the electric fields and there's a lot of code violations that get passed the inspectors and the electricians and nobody knows about them, but they're still creating magnetic fields. I correct those problems.

[A]

What did you do in this house as it was being built?

[C]

I worked with the installing electrician to make sure that the way that the wires were shielded would be correct. There's a lot of things that you can mess it up on and he was a very good electrician. But basically installing MC cable or shielded cable is the first step and that's what they did.

[A]

There is a change that's happened here since I think around August where they've allowed for the first time officially allowed more use of some WI fi, saying that the school really needed it, for example. What do you have to say about that? Is that a concern?

[C]

It's a huge concern both for the research which is now blinded, which is extremely unfortunate. It's one of the most valuable resources we have for being a radio telescope to be eyes and ears for what's going on out in space for a lot of different really important research. That's really heartbreaking that we're going to be blind to that now. The second part of is it's really a death knell to all of us who have invested in this area to have it protected. So they are not objecting to WI fi. So that means that you can just add as much as you want and it doesn't matter. So we're very concerned that infrastructure will be built using the 2.4 GHz and then that'll be broadcasted onto our properties. So we're actually have engaged Children's Health Defense and the Mercola Group to actually have a legal and legislative upgrade to 37A, which is a West Virginia state law that protects this environment.

[A]

So break that down for me. Are you actively lobbying to try to stop the WI Fi change that's already happened or to stop future changes? What are you trying to have happen?

[C]

We want to hold it right here. I am a red blooded American. I believe in privacy. You do what you want in your home and that's fine. Just don't let it come onto my property. So we have a really solid claim on West Virginia law for property rights on our property can't exist. And with the very stringent radio frequency levels that are allowed by the state law, I mean nothing good exists here. Now it's all about enforcement. So if we can get the 37A upgraded to protect humans and our property, we're great. So we keep the same numbers so the their projects can continue as they want, but we just increase it to where we're not going to allow infrastructure to come in and broadcast it on our own properties.

[A]

By that do you mean you're concerned that developers are going to come in and things are going to be built that need or want to use that and there will be more of it?

[C]

Yes. It would be very easy for city wide WI fi with emitters on every pole to then go up and be ubiquitous all over the county. I know there's requirements for them to get approval on that, but right now nothing would stop it.

[A]

What is some of the advice if people are looking at this and saying I'm not ready to throw out my cell phone, but are there any simple things I can do to A identify if I'm having a problem and B just mitigate this exposure?

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

Tell me.

[C]

Nobody needs a cell phone in their bedroom at night. There are many other ways that you can get an alarm or some sort of notice if there's an emergency without a radiation producing device next to your head. So the first thing is turn off your WI fi or get an Eco JRS eco router at night that turns off when you're not needing it. Move all of the wireless devices out of your sleeping area so where you can hear them if they ring. And then turn the power off with your breaker around the bed. Lower the electric fields and you'll get about like 90, 95% improvement in your electromagnetic and your sleep quality.

[A]

Wow, that's big. Did I leave anything out that you wanted to cover?

[C]

Safe Home is a an organization that I'm the board president of and we help people move to Green Bank. Electrically sensitive people are coming here two or three times a month, new people, and they're desperate. There's no place that they can stay. We are working on basically where can I stay? For $100 membership we have people that are hired and paid to help these people find places where they can stay temporarily and until they can either build a home, buy property or whatever it would take. The other part is understanding what electrically Sensitivity is. It's not a weakness, it's a strength. And I want to encourage everyone to learn about the little tiny steps that we had talked about to help their children. Especially. They don't have a voice and they're crying at night or complaining during the day. Their mood swings are directly blood sugar related to these exposures. The children, their eggs, their future generations are exponentially more affected than we are as adults. Adults cannot be used as a marker of health for children. And taking little tiny steps to keep your kids away from the WI fi, away from electronic devices that are entraining them with it with the blue light, as well as putting out signals for Bluetooth, will exponentially increase their fertility as well as their ability just to be calm and have mental faculties in school, their performance and relationships, especially to a

[A]

lot of people, this is the proverbial middle of nowhere. There's not much population in the county. Do you know how many electrically sensitive people live here?

[C]

Approximately I have a phone list of 63 people that I know of. There are other people that are living on the outskirts that have come to West Virginia to get protection but aren't in our community. I would estimate there's probably closer to 100 people.

[A]

Okay, thank you so much. Did I not ask that? I'm sorry, I forgot to ask. Or did you? Did we already address it? You can let me know. A lot of people may say they don't think this is real. They use a lot of electronic devices. They don't notice that they suffer anything. Maybe they don't believe this exists. What do you say to that?

[C]

That's totally fine. Keep using your devices. Have at it. Good times. But if your wife, your child is having a health problem, and they call me and they want to find a way that we can live together, would you be considering maybe changing your behavior a little bit for their benefit? A lot of my clients are in this situation, and it's really heartbreaking when the relationships have been deteriorating for so long because of this rift that it becomes a power struggle. And a lot of my clients end up losing their children, sleeping in their cars because this cannot be rectified. So I want to catch it before it gets to this break point of what are the easy things that we can do so we can coexist and then go do whatever you want in your own world. But at least when we come together, we can have a family.

[B]

Sunday, April 12, on my TV program Full Measure, you will meet several people who suffer from being electrically sensitive. In addition to Andrew McAfee, and you'll find out what brought them to Green Bank, West Virginia, what they think about the changes, and as an added area of interest, I interview the man who's leading the operation of the telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. That's interesting in of itself, so I'll have that in my cover story Sunday on Full Measure. To find out where to watch, go to cheryl Atkison.com click the full Measure tab for a list of stations and times near you. But don't worry if you can't find a TV station or miss it on television, you can always watch at Fullmeasure News. We post the show around 11am Eastern Time on Sundays at Fullmeasure News. And if you miss it on Sunday, April 12, don't worry about that because you can catch a replay anytime at Fullmeasure News. I hope you enjoyed the podcast today and that you will consider subscribing to it, sharing it with your friends, and leaving us a great review. And check out my other podcast, the Cheryl Akison Podcast, to help support independent reporting causes. You can go to cherylakkeson.com and click the Store tab. I know you're going to see some products there that you like, and the money earned goes to a number of different independent reporting causes, such as the Brechner center for Freedom of Information and the ION Awards, which I created for professionals and also at colleges to reward truly independent thinking, accurate investigative journalism. Do your own research, make up your own mind, think for yourself.