[sci.electronics] High Tension Wire Hazards?

palmer@inmet.inmet.com (03/23/91)

My wife and I have a strong interest in a house which has high tension
wires located approximately at 200-300 feet behind the house.  There
is a large lawn in back of the house and trees which separate the lawn
from the utility easement so that the high tension wires do not
detract from the appearance of the property.  However, I have heard about
health concerns with people living near high tension wires (e.g cancer
risks) but I don't know much about it.  I assume that radiation is
sharply attenuated with distance - so would 200-300 feet be far
enough?

Any information about the health effects of high tension wires or experience
with houses near them, especially with young children, would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help.

- Ken Palmer  (also posted in misc.consumers.house)

palmer@inmet.inmet.com

Intermetrics Inc.
733 Concord Avenue
Cambridge MA 02138
(617) 661-1840 x4620

wilker@gauss.math.purdue.edu (Clarence Wilkerson) (03/23/91)

I don't know about the risks, but I do remember from
sophomore physics that in contrast to the inverse-square
dropoff for a point source, for an infinite line source,
it's an inverse linear dropoff.
Clarence Wilkerson

nyet@nntp-server.caltech.edu (n liu) (03/24/91)

Did some calculations the other day for a EE class...

results were somewhat interesting.

I calculated the average voltage across a brain cell of 10um in
diameter due to a 60Hz B field of 1uT -  (about that from
a VERY close powerline).

Came out to around 200 pV.

For a 60 Hz E field of about 1kV/m,( i think in a storm this
can get as high as 1000kV/m)
i got about 70 pV for a cell in the body  - conductivity ~ 1S/m

All VERY tiny voltages, considering the signal voltages on a
brain cell are around 100mV, signals range from 1 - 100 Hz, 
i think.

Incedentally, p means 10^-12, u =10^-6, m=10^-3.

In short, its bunk.  (according to my EE prof, anyways)
And IKEA means sucker in Eskimo :)
But what do I know anyways? I'm sure there are quantum
relativistic effects that i'm not aware of.

nye

dt@yenta.alb.nm.us (David B. Thomas) (03/24/91)

My mom asked me about possible health hazards from living near
high tension wires.  I told her that, in all likelihood, if she
could pick up weak AM radio signals, her liver wasn't gonna fry.
I know that if you get really close to high tension wires, you
can't pick up AM radio very well at all.. but I basically made
that up to make her feel better.  Anybody else have opinions?

					little david
-- 
Bottom of stack = 0x40000
Stack pointer   = 0x3fffe
Don't push it!

steve@nuchat.sccsi.com (Steve Nuchia) (03/25/91)

In <8582@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> wilker@gauss.math.purdue.edu.UUCP (Clarence Wilkerson) writes:
>in contrast to the inverse-square
>dropoff for a point source, for an infinite line source,
>it's an inverse linear dropoff.

Are you thinking of monopole sources or far-field EM waves?  Neither
model is appropriate for this problem.  Substituting an appropriate
model, the near E field of a dipole, gives us an extra 1/r to play with.

Inverse square is the right law to use here.  If you are close enough
to be able to consider a single conductor as a line charge source you
are way too close, and if you are far enough away to model the transmission
line as a linear source of 60 Hz electromagnetic radiation you have better
things to worry about, like the Van Allen belts.

-- 
Steve Nuchia	      South Coast Computing Services      (713) 964-2462
	"Innocence is a splendid thing, only it has the misfortune
	 not to keep very well and to be easily misled."
	    --- Immanuel Kant,  Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals

jeff@markets.amix.com (Jeff Crilly N6ZFX) (04/13/91)

In article <17100012@inmet> palmer@inmet.inmet.com writes:
>
>
>My wife and I have a strong interest in a house which has high tension
>wires located approximately at 200-300 feet behind the house.  There
>is a large lawn in back of the house and trees which separate the lawn
>from the utility easement so that the high tension wires do not
>detract from the appearance of the property.  However, I have heard about
>health concerns with people living near high tension wires (e.g cancer
>risks) but I don't know much about it.  I assume that radiation is
>sharply attenuated with distance - so would 200-300 feet be far
>enough?
>
>Any information about the health effects of high tension wires or experience
>with houses near them, especially with young children, would be appreciated.
>Thanks in advance for your help.
>

[I *probably* shouldn't post this becuase it could be considered *RUMOR* material.]
[But I will anyhow.  							          ]

I was asking a similar question among my family friends recently.  A nurse
friend who works with cancer patients told my wife that there is a study that
has *confirmed* that living next to HT lines does in fact cause some kind of
problems (I don't recall if it was in fact cancer, leukemia, or what).  However
the government (she refered to "Bush administration") is "holding up" the
release of the study.  I sincerly hope this is not true (both the results of
the study and any government action to delay its release).  But nonetheless,
if such a study existed I'd like to hear about it.

Jeff Crilly (N6ZFX)
AMIX Corporation  2345 Yale Street  Palo Alto, CA  94306
jeff@markets.amix.com, {uunet,sun}!markets!jeff, N6ZFX@N6IIU.#NOCAL.CA.USA

rambler@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Dan Meyer) (04/14/91)

The only hazard a high tension line has is that it is somewhat ugly!

--Dan
Remember: " Buffalo never Oink " Seen on a South Dakota travel brocure.
Advertisment: Try the Railway Post Office , a railfan BBS ! (612) 377-2197.
UUCP: {crash tcnet}!orbit!pnet51!rambler
INET: rambler@pnet51.orb.mn.org

john@newave.UUCP (John A. Weeks III) (04/15/91)

In article <4608@orbit.cts.com> rambler@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Dan Meyer) writes:
> The only hazard a high tension line has is that it is somewhat ugly!

Although I will agree on the ugly part, there are other schools of thought
on various hazards associated with high tension wires.  There was an
article about a year ago in either Discover or Omni magazine.  Breifly,
some claim that there are health risks (especially cancer) associated
with the magnetic fields around power lines, and that the alternating
nature of the magnetic fields caused long lasting mental problems
(concentration problems and altered attention spans).  These problems were
especially bad for babies and young childern, according to "studies".

-john-

-- 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
John A. Weeks III               (612) 942-6969             john@newave.mn.org
NeWave Communications                       ...uunet!tcnet!wd0gol!newave!john

kludge@grissom.larc.nasa.gov ( Scott Dorsey) (04/16/91)

In article <1991Apr12.213951.10825@markets.amix.com> jeff@markets.amix.com (Jeff Crilly N6ZFX) writes:
>I was asking a similar question among my family friends recently.  A nurse
>friend who works with cancer patients told my wife that there is a study that
>has *confirmed* that living next to HT lines does in fact cause some kind of
>problems (I don't recall if it was in fact cancer, leukemia, or what).  However
>the government (she refered to "Bush administration") is "holding up" the
>release of the study.  I sincerly hope this is not true (both the results of
>the study and any government action to delay its release).  But nonetheless,
>if such a study existed I'd like to hear about it.

I have seen a couple of studies pointing out a higher incidence of cancer
among people who lived close to 3 KV distribution lines.  However, there 
was no causation indicated anywhere.  Perhaps the higher cancer rate was
caused by the huge number of herbicides used near the lines, or the fact
that more power lines tend to occur in built up areas.  But I have not seen
any studies involving the very high voltage long lines.
--scott
   (who works in a 1200 mv/m2 electrical field and seems to suffer no ill
    effects other than not having any radio reception and having to keep
    his hair short)

naqvi@ucselx.sdsu.edu (Shahid Naqvi) (04/17/91)

In article <1991Apr16.141601.573@news.larc.nasa.gov> kludge@grissom.larc.nasa.gov ( Scott Dorsey) writes:
>In article <1991Apr12.213951.10825@markets.amix.com> jeff@markets.amix.com (Jeff Crilly N6ZFX) writes:
>>I was asking a similar question among my family friends recently.  A nurse
>>friend who works with cancer patients told my wife that there is a study that
>>has *confirmed* that living next to HT lines does in fact cause some kind of
>>problems (I don't recall if it was in fact cancer, leukemia, or what).  However
>>the government (she refered to "Bush administration") is "holding up" the
>>release of the study.  I sincerly hope this is not true (both the results of
>>the study and any government action to delay its release).  But nonetheless,
>>if such a study existed I'd like to hear about it.
>
>I have seen a couple of studies pointing out a higher incidence of cancer
>among people who lived close to 3 KV distribution lines.  However, there 
>was no causation indicated anywhere.  Perhaps the higher cancer rate was
>caused by the huge number of herbicides used near the lines, or the fact
>that more power lines tend to occur in built up areas.  But I have not seen
>any studies involving the very high voltage long lines.
>--scott
>   (who works in a 1200 mv/m2 electrical field and seems to suffer no ill
>    effects other than not having any radio reception and having to keep
>    his hair short)

I have written a paper on the effect of Low frequency Electromagnetic
fields [LF/ELF] which are produced by high volatge transmission lines 
and power transformers.  There is an increasing evidence of the correlation
between the 60 Hz EM fields and various kinds of cancer.  Childhood leukemia
is one of the major ones.  The 1st extensive research was done in the the
1970's when the relationship b/w leukemia incidence and the proximity
of the victims to the nearby power transformer was determined.
The US govt, for some reason or another continues to say that the evidence
is inconclusive.  It is not hard to imagine why.  [I'll leave you some food
for thought].  The evidence is fairly alarming but little is being done about it
[I can provide the recent statistics and research if required]