Parents Against the Powerlines

Posted by Jeffrey St. Clair on August 14th, 2008 | Link

PARENTS TO CONDUCT OWN EMF READINGS

By Sandor Gyarmati, The Delta Optimist,
(Ladner, B.C., Canada)

Opponents of the B.C. [British Columbia] Transmission Corporation’s
high voltage power lines project in Tsawwassen plan to conduct their
own comprehensive testing of electromagnetic fields.

Several members of Mothers Against Power Poles (MAPP), including
Heather Colls Wahlberg, have spent hundreds of dollars to purchase
hand-held meters to begin measurements at South Delta Secondary and
other locations.

“Once everyone receives their EMF testers, we are meeting and we are
going to determine how to run the scientific experiment,” said
Wahlberg.

Dr. Bruce Owen, a retired University of B.C. biology
professor who lives in Tsawwassen, will be co-ordinating the study,
explained Wahlberg.

“We will try to document and track our own study with a variety of
locations in Tsawwassen and certainly the high school,” she said.

The Delta school district recently announced it has hired an
independent contractor to conduct periodic testing of EMF levels at
SDSS. The district will look to the Fraser Health Authority for advice
on safe levels of exposure for students and staff.

Owen explained his group’s testing would be done more often than what
the school district is planning.

“They can vary the power in the line very quickly and easily, so we’ll
have to do some repeat readings. But I’m pretty sure what the readings
could be. It will be a much more intensive study,” he said.

Wahlberg said many concerned parents of SDSS students have stated they
plan to withdraw their kids from the district completely, thus they
won’t be filling out transfer application forms. As of last week, the
district had received 22 transfer applications.

BCTC is replacing and upgrading the existing 138 kilovolt (kV)
overhead transmission lines and one of the existing submarine cable
circuits connecting southern Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland
with new 230 kV infrastructure.

Since the Crown corporation announced the Vancouver Island
Transmission Reinforcement project, MAPP, Tsawwassen Residents Against
Higher Voltage Overhead Lines (TRAHVOL) and others have argued the
precautionary principle should be taken when it comes to exposing
people to higher EMF levels.

Opponents point to a study, which was made available on Delta
council’s agenda last year, by the Stakeholder Advisory Group on ELF
EMFs (SAGE) in Great Britain. SAGE identified precautionary measures
for EMF exposure reduction, including the restriction of new homes and
schools close to existing lines, and on new lines close to existing
homes and schools.

Noting it appears obvious power will also be diverted for sale to the
U.S., Owen said there’s plenty of other documentation that recommends
precaution when it comes to EMF.

Copyright The Delta Optimist 2008