Is it safe to live near or under electricity pylons/ grids?

Question

I am looking at moving into a new home. However it has overhead electricity pylons with electricity flowing through it about 50 metres close to the house. The developer states they have done research and its safe. However i am worried about long term risk of cancer.
Please advise

Answer 1

I think I can safely say that the risk of cancer from electrical lines is an urban myth.

By far the biggest risk factor for cancer is smoking, second is probably overweight / poor diet / lack of exercise.

Just to give you an example. It is more likely that you will die because you were walking down the street talking on your cell phone, and accidentally ran into one of those pylons, and broke your neck.......

The top ten causes of death in the US are:
1) Heart disease
2) cancer
3) stroke
4) lung disease
5) accidents(mostly car accidents)
6) diabetes
7) influenza/pneumonia
8) Alzheimer's
9) kidney disease
10) infections.

If you want to reduce the risk of these things, my advice to you is this:

1. Get health insurance, and get a yearly checkup. 2. Don't smoke. 3. Go on a *permanent* diet and exercise plan. 4. Don't drink alcohol. 5. Wash your hands, and use excellent personal hygiene. 6. Buckle your seatbelt, slow down, and drive carefully. 7. Don't own a gun. 8. Don't do drugs. 9. Don't engage in unsafe sex.

All these things are known as "preventable" health risks; i.e. dangers to your health that you can DO something about. (Note: in general, there is no point in worrying about things you can do nothing about....)

On the other hand, overhead power lines are not a risk to your health AT ALL.

~WOMBAT

Answer 2

The verdict is not out on exposure to high voltage lines at close proximity. The magnitude of exposure diminishes greatly for even a small increase of distance away from the source. At 150 plus feet I would say that you are quite safe, but if you spent years living 1.5 feet away it might well have an effect on you.

There have been exhaustive tests done on the subject, with no clear and conclusive finding. I would think that standing 3 feet from your microwave would pose far more risk than being 150 feet from a high voltage wire.

There are far more carcinogenic risks ( in many aspects of our lives) that would dwarf the level of risk from being 150 feet from a high voltage wire.

If you really expressed a lot of concern to the potential seller, and if you had a ream of the research papers that suggested risk, you might be able to get the selling price down.