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Excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) has also been
linked to childhood leukaemia, brain cancer, Lou Gehrigs motor neuron disease, and depression.
De-Kun Li, of Oakland's Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, studied
969 pregnant women in San Francisco about three years ago and found they had an 80 per cent greater chance of
miscarriage if exposed to more than 1.6 microteslas of magnetic forces.
That level of exposure would occur about 50 metres away from the
400kV transmission line proposed by Transpower.
Transpower's proposed 65-metre wide easement for the
Whakamaru-Otahuhu transmission line would see landowners getting exposure of 7-8 microteslas.
At the forum, attended by about 100 people, New Era Energy (NEE), a
lobby group opposing the power line, launched a proposed new standard for EMF of 0.1 microteslas, a thousand
times less than the current New Zealand standard of 100 microteslas.
New Era Energy vice-chairman Bob McQueen said if the Electricity
Commissioner agreed to adopt the new standard, it would force Transpower to buy 600 metres of land for easements
compared to the present 65 metres.
Power line opponents believe the extra land compensation costs would
make Transpower's plan uneconomic.
New Zealand's 100 microtesla maximum exposure limit is based on
recommendations from the Health Ministry's National Radiation Laboratory.
Transpower has said it will stick with its 65-metre easements.
Also at the forum, Californian doctor Raymond Neutra summarised the
results of an evaluation he and other scientists had done as part of a $7 million study on behalf of the
Californian Department of Health Services (DHS).
"To one degree or another, all three of the DHS scientists are
inclined to believe that EMFs can cause some degree of increased risk of childhood leukaemia, adult brain
cancer, Lou Gehrigs disease and miscarriage," he said.
South Auckland surgeon Robin Smart, whose Clevedon property is
affected by the power line plan, said he believed the health concerns related to EMF were now proven.
"Since 1979 there's been a huge number of well-conducted studies
which have statistically proven arguments about the health risks."
Mr Smart said New Zealand's current maximum exposure level was
completely arbitrary. He said no one could actually live with an exposure of 100 microteslas as it would
be about 30cm away from a transmission line.
"If people are going to have these lines inflicted upon them,
then given the weight of scientific studies, they should be no closer than 0.1 microtesla exposure which in this
case means a 600-metre easement." |
