Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Feb 15, 2009 6:44 pm Hi,
Stumbled across this forum while researching builders for our second home, which would be our first build. Haven't settled on a block yet, but we're looking in north Brisbane. One question leaps immediately to mind: one block we're looking at is about 450m from high voltage powerlines. I've heard about the increased risk of Leukaemia in children and wondered what the guidelines are for a safe distance. If there's any independent research or official guidelines that anyone could point me to, that would be much appreciated. We have a one-year-old and a four-year-old so it's very relevant to us! Hope to read and contribute much more in the future. Cheers James Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 2Feb 15, 2009 6:48 pm If you're 450 m from high voltage power lines, I wouldn't worry about it. The electromagnetic radiation from your house wiring would be stronger than that from the high voltage power lines. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 3Feb 15, 2009 6:49 pm Most of the research into that comes from England, where the high voltage lines go DIRECTLY over houses (IE, its straight up from your roof), so take that into account when looking into it.
450m to 10m is a huge difference. Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 4Feb 15, 2009 7:12 pm Hellman109 Most of the research into that comes from England, where the high voltage lines go DIRECTLY over houses (IE, its straight up from your roof), so take that into account when looking into it. 450m to 10m is a huge difference. That and it follows an inverse square law. If you say that the levels of radiation are proportional to the voltage being transmitted (i.e. 240v = 1 level; 200kV = 830 level), you are going to recieve 2000x less radiation at 450m than at 10m. So at 240v 10m away in a normal house you will recieve 2.4x the radiation that a 200kV line would give you at 450m. Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 5Feb 16, 2009 11:03 pm If you go there at night with a Floro tube in hand and it lights up at night on that block without being plugged in... don't buy it. If it doesn't, buy it How's that for scientific Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 6Feb 17, 2009 12:06 pm Fu Manchu If you go there at night with a Floro tube in hand and it lights up at night on that block without being plugged in... don't buy it. If it doesn't, buy it How's that for scientific I would do the opposite. If the flouro tube lights up, buy it. Think of the money you can save on lighting energy costs! Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 7Feb 17, 2009 12:11 pm Casa2 Fu Manchu If you go there at night with a Floro tube in hand and it lights up at night on that block without being plugged in... don't buy it. If it doesn't, buy it How's that for scientific I would do the opposite. If the flouro tube lights up, buy it. Think of the money you can save on lighting energy costs! heheheh!! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 9Feb 18, 2009 1:00 pm Regarding health, all the information I've received from collegues (high-voltage electrical engineers) here is that you receive more EMF from a bedside clock radio 30cm from your head than you do with HV lines directly over your house.
There has been some claims that it isn't just the EMF itself but the ozone that it generates that could potentially harm children but I have yet to see anything from a peer-reviewed journal to back those claims. Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 10Feb 18, 2009 1:16 pm This has been discussed many times... here is a link.
https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=11992 I worked in the HV industry and it is dangerous in my opinion - and in the opinion of many others. It's not the ozone - it's the EMR and the radon daughters. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 11Feb 18, 2009 1:27 pm taththi Regarding health, all the information I've received from collegues (high-voltage electrical engineers) here is that you receive more EMF from a bedside clock radio 30cm from your head than you do with HV lines directly over your house. how many clock radios are going to go up for sale in the classifieds section now? ICK So glad the building is over, never again. Loooove our house, but still not quite sure it was worth all of the stress they put us through! Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 12Feb 18, 2009 5:08 pm Is the risk worth it?
We looked at buying a GREAT block at the high end of a cul de sac with lovely views. It was about $20-$50k less than everything else on the market and much bigger, we could have built the house we really wanted, BUT it came with its very own Christmas Tree over the back fence. We did our research and kept finding conflicting results. Would we ever forgive ourselves if one of our kids got sick? Not likely. Nothing is worth that risk IMO. Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 13Feb 18, 2009 5:57 pm There's no link with cancer, it's to do with development of childrens brains but again it has not been verified and that is with lines directly next door.
450m away is many orders of magnitude less, and is totally safe. As I say, all the engineers in our workplace (we're in the HV transmission business - 220kV) and our offices are directly next to the substation switch-yard - all these people are fine with it. Including the system control operators I speak to who are usually ex-linesmen. Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 14Feb 18, 2009 7:17 pm taththi There's no link with cancer, it's to do with development of childrens brains but again it has not been verified and that is with lines directly next door. 450m away is many orders of magnitude less, and is totally safe. As I say, all the engineers in our workplace (we're in the HV transmission business - 220kV) and our offices are directly next to the substation switch-yard - all these people are fine with it. Including the system control operators I speak to who are usually ex-linesmen. I agree with the distance making it safe - but I worked with 2 guys who died of cancer. The type of cancer that radon daughters cause. Also 220kV... No logical argument can make the risk worthwhile. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 15Feb 19, 2009 11:59 pm It's good to keep it all in perspective. When I last looked at peer reviewed articles on this topic, it was clear that living near transmission lines was less of a worry than living near a road with lots of traffic. And that pales into insignificance compared to the choices the average Australian family makes in their diets.
Just think of all the positives - you are less likely to be struck by lightning when close to transmission lines. Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 16Feb 20, 2009 5:51 am Fiffaro It's good to keep it all in perspective. When I last looked at peer reviewed articles on this topic, it was clear that living near transmission lines was less of a worry than living near a road with lots of traffic. And that pales into insignificance compared to the choices the average Australian family makes in their diets. Just think of all the positives - you are less likely to be struck by lightning when close to transmission lines. There's a positive side to death by cancer... the bloke I knew wouldn't agree... "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 17Feb 20, 2009 6:31 am ed @ EcoClassic There's a positive side to death by cancer... the bloke I knew wouldn't agree... Was there a demonstrated and unrefutable link between his cancer and the position/location he worked in? There was a scare 2-3 years ago about the top of the RMIT business building and the radio tower there. A large cancer cluster was found and the radio tower was suspected. A few months on, it was concluded that it was not the radio tower and its emissions that caused it. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/20 ... 704148.htm While I am not a fan of HV power lines, you need to also put the risk into perspective. I work in the metals industry and get tested regularly for Lead due to our exposure. During a routine test back in the 90's one guy showed up 10x the average (still below norms) even though his office and workspace was the furthest away from any possible sources of Lead. It turned out his house was close to an exit of the SE freeway and he had absorbed it due to his environment (Lead in car fume) rather than his workspace. Can you positively conclude that the cancer was caused by radon daughters and no other sources, and that the radon daughters were caused by his proximity to the HV lines at his workplace? Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 18Feb 20, 2009 2:31 pm The science is irrefutable... which as always, just like cigarettes and cancer, is refuted.
High voltage power lines attract radon daughters, radon daughters can be inhaled. Radon daughters deplete melatonin in the body. Melatonin is used by the body to sweep cancer causing free radicals . The most likely cancer type to be caused by EMR is lung cancer - both the guys I know contracted lung cancer, one had never smoked in his life, although radon can accentuate the lung cancer problem with cigarettes. That said, the HV bus bars were in close proximity to a room in which they worked. Is there a link? Who knows? IMO stay away. Clock radios don't attract radon daughters. In some countries like Sweden, they test houses for radon gas - radon is a gas which is naturally occurring in rock. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-e ... ome_a1.asp Here's a web article by one of the Homeone contributors... http://renomart.com.au/granite-countert ... se-cancer/ Here's a peer review article - "pay-per-view" http://rpd.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/conte ... t/86/3/217 And there is heaps more... Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 19Feb 20, 2009 4:37 pm ed @ EcoClassic The science is irrefutable... which as always, just like cigarettes and cancer, is refuted. High voltage power lines attract radon daughters, radon daughters can be inhaled. Radon daughters deplete melatonin in the body. Melatonin is used by the body to sweep cancer causing free radicals . The most likely cancer type to be caused by EMR is lung cancer - both the guys I know contracted lung cancer, one had never smoked in his life, although radon can accentuate the lung cancer problem with cigarettes. Ed Thanks for that explanation Ed....it makes me feel justified in avoiding like the plague all the lots near the power lines running through our estate. It all comes down to a mixture of genetics and risk factors. Certain genetic variations predispose you to have a higher or lower risk of various illnesses. I'm lucky enough to have had my DNA tested for some genes and as a result I know that my body is pretty crap at removing toxins, and needs a bit of extra help to fight free radicals too. I'm doing nothing that will increase my risk and everything I possibly can to minimise it. I plan to be around for a looooong time. Most people have no idea of what their genetic profile entails, so it makes sense as a general health strategy to avoid obvious stuff like smoking, drinking to excess and - oh, living under powerlines. You might be one of the lucky ones with superior genes, but why on earth would you risk it? Re: Hi, and question about high voltage power lines 20Feb 20, 2009 5:03 pm I have built a house in relatively close proximity to HV Lines (approx 150 - 200m from front of house). We will live in it for 2-3 years before building again and using this current one as an investment.
I have just come across an interesting article / study / FAQ document (admittedly published in 1998). It is quite long and in parts does get a bit technical, but if you brush over some of the more technical parts, it makes for interesting reading. In essense this document finds that the evidence is inconclusive on whether or not it is dangerous under power lines. An interesting point is made at the end... quote... "Public controversy about electricity and health will continue until: future research shows conclusively that the fields are hazardous, or ...until the public learns that science cannot guarantee absolutely safety, or...until the public and media gets bored by the subject. Neither of the first two outcomes are particularly likely, but the third may be happening." unquote... Its a very interesting subject, and one that I will keep an eye on until we move into our next home! http://www.ens.gu.edu.au/HYGIENE/QANDA.HTM It will be neat but you won't have much freeboard. At least they are not weep holes. Are you in a high intensity rainfall region? The regulatory slope is only required… 3 8396 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 40169 Would also like an opinion from anyone that has used xcem over hebel for floors. Thanks 1 14345 |