Posted By Della Pearlman
I did some research on this recently - as others have said, it depends who you believe - but there was a recent report (May 2007) on this - below is my summary on the report - hope this helps: Della
Planning - Power lines
In May 2007, Ministers were told that introducing a ban on the building of new homes and schools within 60 metres of major overhead power lines might reduce the risk of death from childhood leukaemia and possibly other illnesses.
The SAGE report noted the range of views about the science of EMFs, typified by the two views they have described as “WHO/HPA” and “California”. They have therefore considered both. The first leads the report to consider the appropriate precautionary response to the possibility that there is a risk from magnetic fields for childhood leukaemia (the “WHO/HPA” view). The second leads them to consider the appropriate precautionary response to the possibility that EMFs also cause other adverse health effects (the “California” view).
(There is also discussion on wiring and electrical equipment in homes etc. Please note that nowhere in the report is there a 100% assertion that magnetic fields do cause childhood leukaemia, although there is a suppostition of this;)
But the expert advisory group assessing the policy implications of the health impact of electric and magnetic fields (EMF) which power lines and electrical equipment generate could not agree whether such a ban – or the undergrounding of power lines in some locations – could be justified on economic grounds or in terms of the reduction in the number of expected deaths.
Instead the Stakeholder Advisory Group on ELF EMFs (SAGE) has said that ministers must decide whether such a policy is needed. "We urge Government to make a clear decision on whether to implement this option or not," concluded thereport.
The report suggested that a ban on specific developments within 60m of power lines could be implemented by Communities and Local Government issuing a planning circular on the subject.
In summary, the option is to stop building any new buildings for residential use (and some other uses including schools) within specified distances of overhead power lines, and to stop building new overhead power lines within the same specified distances of existing such buildings.
The group acknowledged that bringing in a new planning regime for power lines would sterilise land, could hamper regeneration in areas like the Thames Gateway and reduce both land and house values. It suggested that introducing new development control measures would cost in the region of one to two billion pounds.
The Sage Report “Precautionary approaches to ELF EMFs” can be seen in full at:
http://www.rkpartnership...interim%20assessment.pdf (note for moderators - all this is copyright free)