The NYTimes reports that one Arizona town provides an “oasis in a toxic world”
Snowflake (a town named for early settlers named Erastus Snow and William Flake) became a home for those suffering from chemical sensitivities in 1988, when Bruce McCreary, the electrical engineer, arrived here from Mesa. The year before, he said, chemicals in the aircraft factory where he worked had left him almost totally disabled.
About two dozen other people with multiple chemical sensitivities (M.C.S., or “environmental illness”) have joined him, and Mr. McCreary helps them construct houses without the plastics and glues that are the mainstays of modern home building. They bought their home sites for $500 to $1,000 an acre.
The townspeople are worried because a recent real estate boom may cause people without MCS to locate in the town. The newer residents may choose to use pesticides on their lawns or build driveways with asphalt.
Apparently, many of the residents are also sensitive to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and have erected elaborate devices so that they can operate electrial devices, watch TV, and access the Internet. The Aarticle links to a multimedia show that describes the lengths to which they’ll go to minimize contact with EMF.