Power lines and health

[fiannafailure]

The fact is these people live in the area and have the right to protest at something that is going to change their area. If yo someday are travelling through Meath with say American friends and they were to remark on how ugly the power lines are and that they would not endear them to return to this particular area what would you say then, the fact of the matter is that the lines could be put underground and although I am aware this would be vastly more expensive it still means that the lines would be performing the same job only underground. People have every right to have concerns about changes made to their living space.

willoughby,

My OP was concerned with the methods used as protest, I really do not know what the litter wardens in Meath are doing with their time. Graffitti is graffitti no matter the message.

Power lines are present in every modern culture and most people do not even notice them, even American tourists.

Are you prepared to significantly raise the cost of electricity to put them underground and are you prepared to wait days for repairs to be made when necessary.

People DO have the right to be concerned about their living space, but let them be legitimate concerns and in this case cancer risk is not a legimate concern.

If there are concerns, make a collection and pay for professional research and submissions to the planning process based on that research.

Minor local visual impact must be balanced in my opinion with cost efficiency for the majority.

[realist]

Realist,

I will confine my references to the website you linked to,

Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines in England and Wales: a case-control study

About 4% of children in England and Wales live within 600 m of high voltage lines at birth. If the association is causal, about 1% of childhood leukaemia in England and Wales would be attributable to these lines, though this estimate has considerable statistical uncertainty. There is no accepted biological mechanism to explain the epidemiological results; indeed, the relation may be due to chance or confounding.

That is not a quote from the study I linked to although it is from the same website. You left out the first line of the conclusions in the U.K. study however:

"CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between childhood leukaemia and proximity of home address at birth to high voltage power lines, and the apparent risk extends to a greater distance than would have been expected from previous studies. About 4% of children in England and Wales live within 600 m of high voltage lines at birth. If the association is causal, about 1% of childhood leukaemia in England and Wales would be attributable to these lines, though this estimate has considerable statistical uncertainty. There is no accepted biological mechanism to explain the epidemiological results; indeed, the relation may be due to chance or confounding."
Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high... [BMJ. 2005] - PubMed result


According to the EU, recent studies warrant further investigation into the possible adverse effects to those living in proximity to high voltage power lines.

HVDC may be what these people are asking for, if so get ready for much higher electricity prices to pay for it.

If these people have signs saying "No to Cancer" and not "Save our scenery" then one would assume they are more concerned with negative health effects rather than anything else.

[realist]

If there are concerns, make a collection and pay for professional research and submissions to the planning process based on that research.

I thought that was what Environmental Impact Assessments were supposed to incorporate but then Ireland does not have a very good record regarding the standard of these I suppose. In any case, the professional research is being carried out by the EU at present so one must assume our planners and the Department of the Environment are aware of that.

[Ecoguy]

Personally i would not purchase a house within 500m of a major power line or transformer and I suspect I may be in the majority with that view. For me the jury is still out on the long term health affects of being exposed to high levels of EMF and other forms of radiation. I can't see why these things can't be buried underground. In any case proper planning should control their erection in places of outstanding natural beauty and were they represent a potential threat to protected species and/or major migratory flight-paths.

[wombat]

I can't see why these things can't be buried underground.

Cost, our electricity is expensive enough. I agree that power lines should not run above people's houses but I suspect the protests have more to do with compensation than health fears.

[Ecoguy]

Cost, our electricity is expensive enough. I agree that power lines should not run above people's houses but I suspect the protests have more to do with compensation than health fears.

Our electricity costs are higher mainly because of the crazy policies of the government/regulator that force the ESB to inflate prices to suit private interests/providers. As regards burying powerlines - I only suggested that be done in certain circumstances, in any case during the recent oral hearing into all this in the Meath/Cavan area, the cost of burying them wasn't significantly different from running them above ground according to evidence presented at the time.

[fiannafailure]

[quote=realist;2445161]

That is not a quote from the study I linked to although it is from the same website. You left out the first line of the conclusions in the U.K. study however:

"CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between childhood leukaemia and proximity of home address at birth to high voltage power lines, and the apparent risk extends to a greater distance than would have been expected from previous studies. About 4% of children in England and Wales live within 600 m of high voltage lines at birth. If the association is causal, about 1% of childhood leukaemia in England and Wales would be attributable to these lines, though this estimate has considerable statistical uncertainty. There is no accepted biological mechanism to explain the epidemiological results; indeed, the relation may be due to chance or confounding."
Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high... [BMJ. 2005] - PubMed result

realist, I am being very honest here, association is very far from causation, those unfortunate children would have shared many associations from cornflakes to the brands of TV sets in their home.

According to the EU, recent studies warrant further investigation into the possible adverse effects to those living in proximity to high voltage power lines.

When these studies conclude many years from now, we may have an outside chance of having something to discuss, however don't hold your breath as certainly outside a cordon of 100m there is no field effect, however my warning about the internal wiring of houses still stands.

If these people have signs saying "No to Cancer" and not "Save our scenery" then one would assume they are more concerned with negative health effects rather than anything else.

Well their fears are groundless and should be laid to rest.

[fiannafailure]

Our electricity costs are higher mainly because of the crazy policies of the government/regulator that force the ESB to inflate prices to suit private interests/providers. As regards burying powerlines - I only suggested that be done in certain circumstances, in any case during the recent oral hearing into all this in the Meath/Cavan area, the cost of burying them wasn't significantly different from running them above ground according to evidence presented at the time.

We are discussing underground ac lines, higher maintenance costs, extremely disruptive maintenance restriction on land use and very similar radiative properties.

As regards costs, underground is seven times more expensive, in this case €588 milliom versus €81 million.

http://www.eirgrid.com/media/Compari...s%20Report.pdf

ecoguy, there are some situations where underground is appropriate but this is not one of them, Meath is lovely but an area of outstanding natural beauty, well mmm eh eh it is lovely on a summers day.

[Ecoguy]

We are discussing underground ac lines, higher maintenance costs, extremely disruptive maintenance restriction on land use and very similar radiative properties.

As regards costs, underground is seven times more expensive, in this case €588 milliom versus €81 million.

http://www.eirgrid.com/media/Compari...s%20Report.pdf

ecoguy, there are some situations where underground is appropriate but this is not one of them, Meath is lovely but an area of outstanding natural beauty, well mmm eh eh it is lovely on a summers day.

To be fair Eirgrid figures wouldn't exactly represent an unbiased analysis of potential cost given some of the other figures produced at the oral hearing by other experts.


PS: I often wonder why power companies don't run overhead pylons along major roads and motorways instead of ploughing through virgin countryside - surely this would allow ease of access for maintainance etc.

[fiannafailure]

[quote=Ecoguy;2447357]

To be fair Eirgrid figures wouldn't exactly represent an unbiased analysis of potential cost given some of the other figures produced at the oral hearing by other experts.

Ecoguy, yet they are the costs that we would be paying, I hope someone introduces these other experts to the energy regulator if they can do the job cheaper

PS: I often wonder why power companies don't run overhead pylons along major roads and motorways instead of ploughing through virgin countryside - surely this would allow ease of access for maintainance etc.

Three main reasons,

Safety, imagine the death toll if a truck were to hit a pylon and unleash a tensioned, electrified steel cored aluminium cable onto a motorway full of cars.

The roads or railway lines will very rarely be going in the same direction as the transmission line.

Performing maintenance would involve closing the road to traffic