photo by Boyd Loving
Reader Voice Safety Concerns over Power Lines
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
Of course it is difficult to reduce exposure when you live under the wires.