Pylons near house

Davesnave

I don't have a detailed knowledge of the subject, but I've wondered whether high voltage lines and clusters showing higher levels of cancers are a sort of self-fulfilling prophesy.


As noted here, the places where the lines run have depressed house prices and the routes these things take tend not to be in the nicest parts of towns and cities, so it's a fair assumption that people living close by are poorer than average for the general location.


We already know that poorer people tend to have less healthy lifestyles, so we'd expect to find more lifestyle-related cancer and other diseases in places close to the lines.


I expect studies have already tried to compensate for this 'low income effect', but I wonder how successful they have been.

theartfullodger

Buy a shack with no electricity within 6 miles. You'll be safe.

Except when the Sun is up, a huge source of electromagnetic radiation. So sleep inside during the day, only come out at night.

But no torches! No internet! Oh the harm looking at a screen......

Tomg84

Think you should look at Public Health Englands advise directly. The science causing a link to cancer is hardly strong:

3.3 Extract from HPA (NRPB 2004) advice:

“…the overall evidence for adverse effects of EMFs on health at levels of exposure normally experienced by the general public is weak. The least weak evidence is for the exposure of children to power frequency magnetic fields and childhood leukaemia.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electric-and-magnetic-fields-health-effects-of-exposure/electric-and-magnetic-fields-assessment-of-health-risks

robatwork

savvysquirrel wrote: »

However the survey states:
"There is high voltage electrical supply equipment close to this property. The possible effects of electromagnetic fields have been the subject media coverage.

Great. The survey says "As seen on TV." Or even better "As seen in the Daily Mail."

Don't you love when people who don't get science try to understand science?

I wonder if ACG who commented earlier that he didn't want to live near a pylon also uses a mobile phone, or lets his child(ren) play with an Ipad or similar. There are of course enormous amounts of electromagnetic radiation wafting on and through our bodies pretty much constantly.

societys_child

There are of course enormous amounts of electromagnetic radiation wafting on and through our bodies. . .

I was thinking the same, not just mobiles phones themselves, but the infrastructure, masts etc and WiFi, it's everywhere, even free WiFi on buses . . .

there's no escape :eek: we're all doomed :rotfl:

ProDave

As someone living close to a pylon, I am not the least concerned by any health risk. I do think they look ugly and some other buyers may be put off by that.

Many years ago I recall a tv program about this. They had an EM field monitor and were going around a house that was built directly under the pylon. I don't think the presenters were at all scientific. At one point they found a very high reading right at the headboard of one of the beds, and were spouting how bad this was. Then they went around the corner and there on the wall backing onto that headboard, was the electriciy meter and fuse box. What this told me is you will get a FAR higher EM field from your own house wiring that is very close to you, than you will from any pylon 100M or more away.

So if you can't see the pylon I would be happy to buy it.

ToasterScheme

savvysquirrel wrote: »

If future research did find a causal relationship with high voltage power lines and the health risks that are currently just anecdotal surely the national grid would have to remove them and re-route them underground.

Why do you think they would be safer underground? If anything they would be more dangerous since they would be closer than they currently are.

If you want them removed, then the grid would have to be switched off completely. Goodnight all.

savvysquirrel

ToasterScheme wrote: »

Why do you think they would be safer underground? If anything they would be more dangerous since they would be closer than they currently are.

I guess it's just a case of out of sight out of mind, as I think people think of them as being more sinister than they actually are because of how the pylons look. Areas without pylons still have electricity so there will still be high power electricity cables near to them too they're just underground.

Nasqueron

What is funny is these people who claim to have electro magnetic sensitivity never know about all the background EM we have been subject to for thousands of years and claim they get immediate migraines standing near a wifi router yet in controlled trials in labs (empty white room, guess whether wifi is on or not), none of them can do any better than guesswork.

We've had electricity for 100 odd years, thousands of studies, none shown a definitive link. Plus OP stated it's 175m away

robatwork

Just an aside for the tinhat brigade to chew on too, while considering radiation.

If you think that mobile phone signals can be harmful, then living near a phone mast would actually be healthier. The phone, which is usefully placed right next to your brain, pumps out less signal into the air (and your head) when near a mast.