Power Line Safe Distance

This video is about Power Lines and EMF's. Is there any danger in living too close to power lines?

[kengartner]

Good for you to be observant and aware of environmental hazards. The AC magnetic field measurements generally are done in units of milliGauss. There are health-based guidelines that suggest in your sleeping area (ie, bed) at night you should not have more than 1.0 milliGauss. Living in a house that is routinely measuring more than 2 milliGauss where people find themselves (home office, kitchen, living room) can lead to long term health implications (Kaiser-Permanente has long term studies of the effects of AC magnetic fields, especially on miscarriage). I am surprised you could not read any milliGauss levels at your main power panel -- that should be quite high under normal circumstances (because the utility wires are separated by some distance and so the currents do not cancel each other, leading to a high field).

There are many reasons that people have high AC magnetic fields in their homes. In your video, the question is raised about how near is 'safe'. You will not be able to estimate that unless you know how much current is flowing on those wires (amps), the height of the towers and the separation distance of the transmission wires. With that info an engineer can estimate the field strength at a distance. At half a mile you are too far from these lines to be directly influenced by their AC magnetic fields, but many of those other homes shown in your video *are* in a danger zone and folks should be on the lookout for chronic disease (cancer, leukemia, nervous stress). I believe that there was a study that showed that children who grew up in the vicinity of power line before age 15 had worse health outcomes in the rest of their lives.

In your sister's home, where you measured high AC magnetic field readings, there are several 'wiring errors' that can cause this. The most common errors are mistakenly linked neutrals for several circuits in a junction box. A second common error is that the CATV or municipal metal water supply pipe are carrying current instead of the utility neutral wire. A third reason is that there is a neutral-ground intertie in the house. In all cases you can have huge AC magnetic fields and associated illness. A less common reason is the older knob&tube wiring where conductors are separated too far for cancellation.

To size up the health impacts of such issues, look for 'Karl Riley'(Youtube Video and Amazon textbook on tracing wiring faults) or seek out a qualified Building Biologist to measure using quality meters and measurement techniques. You might also consider reading Dr. Sam Milham's book 'Dirty Electricity' or Arthur Firstenberg's 'The Invisible Rainbow' to get an eye-opening exposure the EMF-related health hazards we live with (and die due to, unfortunately) every day.

The comment about whether those homes were built too close to existing transmission power lines is a good point. Architects follow power company guidelines for minimum setback, which are NOT HEALTH ORIENTED, but instead are merely to prevent gross, pathological problems (such as electrocution) rather than subtle or chronic problems.

[susansullivan]

I bet most of these transmission lines were there long before those houses....just a thought..

[lol]

Solar panels houses are EMFs free because the grounding wires send them to the ground so if installed correctly you can even live under big powert lines