Thinking of putting in an offer on a house which is near power lines, are there any downfalls?

Question

The powerlines/pylons are approx 40 meters from the end of the back garden. I have heared the rumours about health risks but are they founded? Do they affect TV/Radio reception?

Thanks

Answer 1

There are no health issues, nor will there be any problems with television or FM reception.  AM reception is another issue; take a portable radio to the site and see whether the interference is objectionable.

Answer 2

if aliens come and crash into the power lines they'll die so thats a good side to it, but if you try skydiving to your house you might die too

Answer 3

they have also said that mobile phones can cause cancer dont belive every scare story you hear i would say you are very safe

Answer 4

I suggest doing more research.  I've heard that too and it seems to do with cancer.

Answer 5

Sky News has learned that the Government has known for three years that high voltage power lines double the risk of childhood cancer.  

A study for the Department of Health shows children living within 100m of overhead cables are more likely to suffer from leukaemia.



Power cable link to leukaemia

Officials were alerted to the findings three years ago - but the public has been kept in the dark, a Sky News exclusive report has found.  

Linda Tatton's son David died of leukaemia. She has always blamed high voltage power lines that passed within a few metres of his bedroom.    

She told of David's suffering and added: "If it's through power cables somebody's got a lot to answer for... a lot."    

And now details of a massive study that have been kept under wraps by the Department of Health confirm that children living near overhead cables are twice as likely to develop the blood cancer.

National Grid Transco said it is "totally committed to the safety of the public".

But in a statement, a spokesperson for the company added: "It would be completely inappropriate for us to comment on any study until it is completed, has undergone scientific peer review and is published in the scientific literature."

Seven years ago, in response to conflicting research on the risks of power lines, the Department of Health ordered the biggest ever study of its kind.  

Oxford scientists checked the records of 35,000 children diagnosed with cancer and studied how close they lived to a cable.  

The research shows there is a 100m danger zone around high voltage lines and that children under 15 had double the normal risk of leukaemia.  

It is estimated that powerlines might account for 20-30 of the 500 cases of childhood leukaemia in Britain each year. They are also suspected of causing other forms of cancer and miscarriages.  

The Department of Health says it is up to the individual researchers to publish their findings. People living near powerlines say ministers have a duty to protect public health - and an official safety warning is long overdue

Answer 6

used to live in a house with substation power lines and pylons for about the same distance for 3 years may not be very long but no health problems yet.

Answer 7

There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support the rumours. The source of the rumour was a Swiss study that looked at about 150 random possible factors, examining which factors were linked with cancer. In that study, a serious statistical error was made: the researchers decided that they would announce that any correlation that they found which had a 1% probability or less of being due merely to chance would be announced as a result.

Perhaps you already see the error. That probability is way too high to have any confidence in it whatsoever. 1% of 150 is 1.5, so you absolutely expect that one or two correlations in your sample of 150 will occur by chance, and you have just announced those expected chance results are real. The scientific community saw the error immediately, but "99% confidence" sounds really scary, and the public damage was already done. I use this example in my science ethics class all the time.

Since then, multiple studies have been made of power lines and none of them find correlations, exactly what you would expect if the initial report was mere chance, as you would expect from the flawed analysis.

Answer 8

The rumors about health risks are just that; rumors.

Nobody has yet proposed a mechanism by which low-amplitude electric fields could cause cancer.  It's not as if power lines emit x-rays or gamma rays.  They only oscillate at 50 or 60 Hz.  Any radiation they produce would be far, far into the radio range (i.e., harmless).

They can, however, produce sound at that same frequency of 50 or 60 Hz, which can annoy some people even if they aren't consciously aware of it.  There is also the risk of the lines coming down in a storm and setting fire to nearby things.

This property is 40 meters from the property, though.  I'd say you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Answer 9

There have been a lot of scientific studies over the past 10 years or more which do show some data that states the closer to a power line, especially if many and transformers, the better the chance of developing cancer. It seems to turn on something within the body. They are still doing studies and the final word is of coruse not out yet. I will tell you also from a resale point of view. Don't buy a house near and especially if in view of such power lines. They are very unattractive and do take away the value of a home and make selling very difficult.