[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Remember about twenty five years ago when “stray voltage” became a worry? Lots of con artists started plying the trade of claiming to “find” safe places in your home to put your child.

Others claimed that you could be hurt or killed by being under a high voltage power line.

Bunk.

A few years after this, a local man bought and sub divided an area right under a main power line running from the local power plant. He even made the power line service road the main street of this sub division.

There have been NO complaints from anyone living under those power lines. Ever!

[thackney]

You are confusing stray voltage with EMF fields.

But then, so are some of the people in the article.

Regardless of the EMF talk, this home and others in the area had measurable voltage on the water piping and the gas line piping, even after shutting off the main breaker to the house.

[Fraxinus]

I remember losing some electronics to step potential. The lightning strike was ~1000ft from the house (shattered tree). The pulse bridged the difference between the house ground and the cable ground.

Others claimed that you could be hurt or killed by being under a high voltage power line.

I think this is only a problem when there are other serious issues with the power lines. In my experience High Voltage lines make nice lightning rods.