Any opinions on electromagnet fields (EMF) and their risk?

moosio

moosio

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Any opinions on living near power lines? Say there's one of those pylon shaped towers near your prospective home/condo... how would you feel about that? How close is close, and what's the risk? I found my next home... but there's one of those towers 40m's away. There's all types of conflicting opinions on Google, it's basically the cell phone close-to-your-head debate. Love to hear thoughts/opinions on this..... thanks in advance guys
 
Had a friend..elec eng at Hydro back in the day..went through the PCB crisis. The evidence of harm from liquid PCB's is not solid for negative health effects, although for burning or by-products of burnt PCB's it definitely is. He actually had a jar of PCB oil and would dip his fingers in it etc. Pretty honest and I trust the guy. He predicted some time ago (20 years) and EMF around transmission lines would be the next big thing for Hydro to deal with. He had seen the science on high voltage towers and thought that was more serious than PCB risk. Honestly, there are lots of houses out there..don't buy there. Just my opinion..
 
I worked for a company that made permanent magnets and they had no proof one way or another. We are bombarded with RF signals by the thousands 24/7. Radio, TV, cell phone, CB, etc. The earth is a huge magnet BTW.
Certain high frequencies have been proven harmful and exposure must be limited when servicing radio antennas etc. The 60 hz stuff is more unknown.
Lots of studies, mostly funded by organizations with an axe to grind or product to push.
 
Just wait until people strap themselves into electric cars with strong em fields that follow them every step along the way
 
I'd be much more concerned with the food you put in your body than the power lines.

I know a friend who lived very close to one and never had any problems....yet others claim to be so adversely affected it ruins their life. :confused:
 
CrazyKell said:
I'd be much more concerned with the food you put in your body than the power lines.

I know a friend who lived very close to one and never had any problems....yet others claim to be so adversely affected it ruins their life. :confused:
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Well, anecdotal evidence isn't worth much..look at the "I'm 83 and still smoking without getting lung cancer.." crowd. I have a buddy here who knows a family that backed onto a hydro corridor and 2 out of 3 daughters are infertile. EMF? Dunno..anecdotal. But yeah, there are probably worse things for you than EMF, air pollution, pesticides. And what order of magnitude is the earth's magnetic field compared to bein 40m from a high voltage power line? I don't know really. If it bothers you though, there are lots of other houses out there. Why take a chance and have it in the back of your mind?
 
invictus43 said:
Why take a chance and have it in the back of your mind?
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There are numerous studies in psychology about living close to powerlines and thats exactly what they discussed. The "constant fear" were more a harm to their health than actual electrocution or EMF. The study went on to reveal that ppl who live near powerlines are less healthy than ppl who don't. It does not say why. I am too lazy to look it up for you, but its out there.

My take??
I don't mind getting a house there, you know why? It means I will have a big field for me to play in. It would be nice to have a field for an evening walk.

On a side note, my ex use to live in an area heavy with powerlines and I never use to get cell phone reception in their basement. I am not sure if its the EMF that is cancelling the radio signals, u be the judge.

Ps. And for those who say the earth is a giant magnet, yes its true, but the magnetic waves emitted by the earth is probably negligible compare to the power lines. Like there is also background radiation next to u and from the sun, but its negligible. You can't compare that to something at a nuclear plant.

I work next to some power lines. For shat and giggles, I'll take a compass and walk around that area and see what happens. Should be interesting. Everytime I go out in the parking lot, I hear the humming of high voltage electricity, interesting.
 
RockerGuy said:
I work next to some power lines. For shat and giggles, I'll take a compass and walk around that area and see what happens. Should be interesting. Everytime I go out in the parking lot, I hear the humming of high voltage electricity, interesting.
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I was golfing in the rain under some power lines. I had the umbrella (metal shaft) up near my nose and I could feel a tingling sensation. The lines were leaking so much voltage that it was arcing between my nose and the umbrella shaft! That was interesting..
 
invictus43 said:
I was golfing in the rain under some power lines. I had the umbrella (metal shaft) up near my nose and I could feel a tingling sensation. The lines were leaking so much voltage that it was arcing between my nose and the umbrella shaft! That was interesting..
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You can't be serious :)

I bet when it rains a lot of the voltage bleeds to the ground because the insulators are wet and so is the metal grid
 
RockerGuy said:
You can't be serious :)

I bet when it rains a lot of the voltage bleeds to the ground because the insulators are wet and so is the metal grid
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Yeah, there's something going on there. I mean, it wasn't a huge deal..but it was fairly noticeable. That's when I started wondering what that amount of electrical energy could be doing to my brain as I stood underneath it for 15 mins or whatever.. :-)
 
Ok, so I was curious and managed to dug up something:

Studies using magnetic field strength as an exposure measure have found that exposures greater than the range of 0.3 to 0.4 µT lead to a doubling risk of leukemia, with very little risk below this level. This exposure range is approximately equal to a distance of 60 m within a high-voltage power line of 500 kV.
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A limited understanding exists of how exposure to EMF can affect health. The underlying biological mechanism is unknown, making it difficult to determine which measure of EMF is most appropriate when evaluating health outcomes.
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http://www.bcmj.org/bc-centre-disease-control/living-near-power-lines-bad-our-health

Ps. some critics say its the constant fear and anxiety that is causing the poor health
 
invictus43 said:
Yeah, there's something going on there. I mean, it wasn't a huge deal..but it was fairly noticeable. That's when I started wondering what that amount of electrical energy could be doing to my brain as I stood underneath it for 15 mins or whatever.. :-)
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There were one day when I went out jogging in one of those fields and the hair on my skin literally stood up. I dismissed it, but since u mentioned that story, I am beginning to believe what I felt :( .

With that high a voltage, I won't be surprised some ionization of air is happening. Never mind the EMF alone.

I always tease my ex and ask her if she is hiding from the RCMP, there's an "electronic/radio void" where she lives. Cell phone signals are not consistent and GPS does not work. Hard to monitor somebody there I suppose, lol
 
Our bodies run on electricity. some people are more sensitive to it than others.. know anyone that can't wear a watch because their body stops the watch?

i live about 1km from high power transmission lines. I've seen fluorescent lights occasionally glow when not connected to anything, I don't worry about it, but have wondered about the people living closer (there's a house about 200 meters from the towers) if they have problems with equipment.
 
CruisnGrrl said:
Our bodies run on electricity. some people are more sensitive to it than others.. know anyone that can't wear a watch because their body stops the watch?

i live about 1km from high power transmission lines. I've seen fluorescent lights occasionally glow when not connected to anything, I don't worry about it, but have wondered about the people living closer (there's a house about 200 meters from the towers) if they have problems with equipment.
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T8 florescent, most of the high newer stuff real, will light up from popping them into the fixture so that's not saying much.

Personally im only worried about arc flash, and when that magnetic field is grabbing your tools.
 
invictus43 said:
I was golfing in the rain under some power lines. I had the umbrella (metal shaft) up near my nose and I could feel a tingling sensation. The lines were leaking so much voltage that it was arcing between my nose and the umbrella shaft! That was interesting..
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Growing up in Niagara Falls you're never too far from power lines. The city is criss-crossed with hydro transmission lines. A lot of the walkways, streets/sidewalks, and right-of-ways are under the lines. I've walked for miles under lines during the rain, and never felt anything. Maybe you're just sensitive.:p Hell, we used to have impromptu 4 man races to the top of the towers in Michelson Park. Never felt any strange effects, and we wold be meters from the lines at various points on the climb up. Mind you, no one was crazy enough to do it in the rain.
 
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