CONCERNS REGARDING CENTRAL HUDSON POWER LINE
I am a resident of the Village of Montgomery with my property line bordering Valley Central School District. Recently I am a resident of the Village of Montgomery with my property line bordering Valley Central School District. Recently, after walking the perimeter of Valley Central School property with Trustee Andrew Roepe, Montgomery Mayor Steve Brescia announced that "this is the preferred route" for the Central Hudson Walden Montgomery Transmission Line Rebuild Project. This project would involve the placement of power lines at 69kv along the perimeter of school property any my neighborhood.
I express concern regarding potential health related problems with respect to the proposed power lines. Numerous studies exist that show residential exposure to electromagnetic fields of the magnitude proposed by Central Hudson may have serious and potentially fatal consequences, particularly for children. These studies show that children living in proximity to these fields are at increased risk for leukemia. In general, the weakness of most studies that look into residential exposure to electromagnetic fields rests in that they are case-control studies. Case-control trials lack the rigors of studies that say, look into medications and their effects on illnesses. The anatomy of a good study: the study is a randomized, double blind (both investigator & patient are blinded to active drug vs. placebo), placebo-controlled trial. Obviously, we cannot conduct such a study when looking at the effects of residential exposure to electromagnetic radiation.
In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer labeled residential exposure to electromagnetic field from residential power lines as a possible human carcinogen. That same year, the World Health Organization urged for further epidemiologic studies in high-exposure areas. A meta-analysis (pooling together studies) by Angelillo IF, et al., showed potential effects of residential electromagnetic radiation on childhood leukemia concluding that more studies are needed since "enough evidence exists to conclude that dismissing concerns about residential EMFs and childhood leukemia is unwarranted"1. Other case-controls support this finding.
For reasons I stated above, good studies remain inherently difficult to design. One fairly well designed study attempted to control for variables. They summarized their results this way: "Controlling for some possible confounding factors did not alter the results appreciably. Even an analysis in which selection bias was maximized did not fully explain the association. Our results provided additional evidence that high MF [Residential power-frequency magnetic fields] exposure was associated with a higher risk of childhood leukemia, particularly of ALL [Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia]."3 Carcinogenic effects were seen from 50- to 60-HZ fields.4 If power lines were not so close to schools and residential homes, I would have less concern. A recent study published in the Internal Medicine Journal looked at distances and found that adults who lived within 300 meters of exposure to electric power transmission lines during the first 15 years of life had a three fold increase risk in the development of lymphoma or leukemia later in life than those who lived beyond 300 meters5. Another study in the British Medical Journal, 2005 supports this finding.
Mr. Brescia stated that going on school property "seemed to be a safer situation". How is this a "safer situation"? Is this a safer situation for the many children who attend these schools or the many residents and families who border the school property? If safety were of a concern, then why would an elected mayor and a trustee make a seemingly arbitrary decision that potentially effects the health of many? Moreover, do they possess the necessary academic qualifications and expertise to make such an important decision? As a father, I see a responsibility to speak on this issue for my children who live in the village and attend the local schools. As a physician, I see a responsibility to speak on this issue for the local community impacted by such a development.
Sincerely,
Stanley C. Giudici, M.D., M.A.R.
Board Certified Internal Medicine/Psychiatry
1 Angelillo IF, Villari P. Residential exposure to electromagnetic fields and childhood leukemia: a meta-analysis. Bull World Health Organ. 1999;77(11):906-15. 2 Theriault G, Li CY. Risks of leukaemia among residents close to high voltage transmission electric lines. Occup Envir Med. 1997 Sep;54(9):625-8. 3 Kabuto M et al. Childhood leukemia and magnetic fields in Japan: a case-control study of childhood leukemia and residential power-frequency magnetic fields in Japan. Int J Cancer. 2006 Aug 1;119(3):643-50. 4 Tynes T, Klaeboe L, Haldorsen T. Residential and occupational exposure to 50Hz magnetic fields and malignant melanoma: a population based study. Occup Environ Med. 2003 May;60(5):343-7. 5 Lowenthal RM, Tuck DM, Bray IC. Residential exposure to electric power transmission lines and risk of lymphoproliferative and myeloproliferative disorders: a case-control study. Intern Med J. 2007 Sep;37(9):614-9. Epub 2007 Jun 2. 6 Draper G, Vincent T, Kroll ME, Swanson J. Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines in England and Wales: a case-control study. BMJ. 2005 Jun 4;330(7503):1290.
