Scientists do not all agree on the health impact of high voltage lines. The issue here is extremely low frequency electromagnetic waves, generated by the passage of current in electric cables: they have also been classified as “possible carcinogens for humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. “Several studies have shown that living near high-voltage lines poses a health risk. In particular, they would be suspected of playing a role in the appearance of leukemias (cancer of blood cells) in children. It has been shown that the risk of this disease decreases with the distance between the lines and the dwellings. In England and Wales, 1% of leukemias have been attributed to very high voltage lines,” notes Dr Souvet. For his part, Pierre Le Ruz is even more formal: “The clearest risk highlighted today is that of leukemia in children, but also in adults: numerous studies, over the past twenty years years, mention it,” he says. “Moreover, the Ministries of Industry and Ecology have recommended no longer building near high-voltage lines and taking special precautions for establishments welcoming pregnant women or children (hospitals, schools, nurseries…)”.
Why pay attention to transformers?
They constitute another problem… These electrical machines which transform the current in order to be able to distribute it are labeled “Local ERDF – Attention Danger!” “. “Their location is often too close to houses. They are also integrated into buildings under the apartments, and sometimes even inside them. The inhabitants can then be exposed to high values of electromagnetic fields, with, here again, the risk of leukaemia… Not to mention the possible malfunction of electrical and electronic equipment in the houses” emphasizes Pierre Le Ruz. You must be at least 10 meters away from a transformer so that there is no danger.
