In Ridgewood, residents ask officials to try to block more towering utility poles
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday July 17, 2013, 11:27 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — A stream of Hope Street and Spring Avenue residents addressed the Village Council on Wednesday night, urgently asking that it do whatever it can to prevent further installations of 65-foot-tall utility poles along their blocks.
And officials said the village, indeed, will explore its legal and regulatory options, especially regarding whether installation of the poles and their high-voltage lines represent any new safety hazards to the neighborhood.
Crews from Public Service Electric and Gas began erecting the towering poles more than a week ago.
The poles, far higher than those they are replacing, are being built to support wires that can transmit up to 69,000 volts. A total of 78 poles will go up in Ridgewood, connecting high-voltage lines from a Fair Lawn substation to one in Paramus.
This dispute will not be resolved at noisy, applause ridden meetings. Discussions should be orderly and respectful please.
I guess that your side lost.
Does not sound very safe. From the epa website:
“In 1998, an expert working group, organized by the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), assessed the health effects of exposure to extremely low frequency EMF, the type found in homes near power lines. Based on studies about the incidence of childhood leukemia involving a large number of households, NIEHS found that power line magnetic fields are a possible cause of cancer. The working group also concluded that the results of EMF animal, cellular, and mechanistic (process) studies do not confirm or refute the finding of the human studies. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) reached a similar conclusion.
What you can do to protect yourself
People concerned about possible health risks from power lines can reduce their exposure by:
Increasing the distance between you and the source – The greater the distance between you and the power lines the more you reduce your exposure.
Limiting the time spent around the source – Limit the time you spend near power lines to reduce your exposure.”
https://www.epa.gov/radtown/power-lines.html
Whether or not power lines cause cancer, they definitely harm property values.