Posted on 04/20/2007 7:34:44 PM PDT by blam
Power lines in new link to childhood leukaemia
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Last Updated: 3:14am BST 21/04/2007
A leaked Government-commissioned report has raised fresh fears of a link between power lines and cancer.
The Government has been urged to consider a ban on building new homes and schools near overhead high voltage power lines
The draft paper urges ministers to consider banning the building of homes and schools close to overhead high voltage power cables to reduce significantly exposure to electromagnetic fields from the electricity grid.
The Stakeholder Advisory Group on Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation (Sage) says a ban is the "best available option", pointing out that some countries have "corridors" for high voltage power lines where development is not allowed.
The report was drawn up for the Department of Health by "stakeholders" including scientists, electricity company bosses, the National Grid, government officials and campaigners over two years.
It comes after the Health Protection Agency accepted there was a weak statistical "association" between prolonged exposure to power fields and childhood leukaemia.
The report stops short of specifically recommending a ban on new homes and schools within 200 feet of power lines, or vice versa, which could wipe up to "£2 billion or more" off property prices and limit housing developments. However, it states: "We urge government to make a clear decision on whether to implement this option or not."
The 40 stakeholders have clashed over the final details and conclusions and it is unclear whether the leaked draft dated March 16 will be modified at a meeting of Sage scheduled for next week.
Two members of the panel, the regulator Ofgem and Scottish & Southern Energy, are understood to have quit.
Some stakeholders took the view - adopted by the Government's health advisers and the World Health Organisation - that childhood leukaemia is the only adverse health effect where evidence is strong enough for precautionary measures. According to this view, if there is a link, the building ban would cut just one case of childhood leukaemia every year or two and the costs would outweigh the benefits by a factor of at least 20.
But others have backed a California Department of Health Services paper in 2002 which suggested electromagnetic fields are "possibly carcinogenic" in terms of childhood leukaemia. It also cited four other health effects - adult leukaemia, adult brain tumours, miscarriages and motor neurone disease.
"The advice to government from following this 'California' view would therefore be to tend to favour implementing the 'corridors for new build' option," Sage added, stressing that this is why it has not been able to form a consensus.
The panel also recommends that the Health Protection Agency should issue more information about how to reduce the impact of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
For some years, there has been concern about cancer risks among people living near power lines. A pooled analysis of several studies suggests that the possibility exists of a doubling of the risk of leukaemia in children in homes at high levels of exposure to extremely low frequency (50-60 Hz) magnetic fields.
For the overwhelming majority of children living in homes with magnetic field levels below a given level - estimated to be 99.6 per cent of children in the UK Childhood Cancer Study - the data was consistent with no increased risk.
For higher magnetic fields levels, the leukaemia risk was estimated to be double.
Have they suggested any mechanism? Does an electric field align certain biomolecules so they are prone to error? In what way would this mutate your DNA?
I'm pretty sure that some people won't be happy until we're all subsistence farmers with outhouses.
It seems to be health statistics. The mechanism would be denied forever IMO, because they can. We all need electricity.
The largest dose of electromagnetism you’re going to get is from your electric blanket. Effects of powerlines are negligible by the time you site your house across the street.
Just buy Cancer Offset Credits, you’ll be fine....Al Gore said.
It’s the combination of EMR and global warming...yeah, that’s the ticket
bump
Global warming doesn’t seem to be working out so well, so I guess we will be treated to another EMF scare again. What dorks. I guess we can just shut the grids down across the country and that will make us all safe! Good luck living in the dark because you won’t be able to light candles either, too big of a carbon footprint don’t ya know!
We live by power lines, so I hope this isn’t true.
I would never live next to large powerlines. Too many if’s, and’s, and but’s.
A town in nearby Westchester county New York agreed to spend four million dollars to wrap their school in a protective coating to keep out those nasty EMF’s. They already pay enormous property taxes, but IT’S FOR THE CHILDREN. How much is a roll of Reynold’s Wrap?
Awesome response! :-D
I don’t know if there is any link or not, but when I was house shopping a few years ago, I immediately cut from the list those which backed up to transmission easements.
I don't either. Why should I take a chance when there are suspicions. That's always been one of the things I look for when I'm buying a house.
Damn VARs!
We need to pass laws to ban them! (Volts Amps Reactive)
Oh wait! If we do we won’t be able to move electricity as they magnetize the lines and make electricity flow, make transformers work and make induction motors in air conditioners and other items work.
Let’s go back to whale oil lamps instead.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.