| Powerwatch, a non-profit, independent organisation which plays a central role in the high voltage health debate in the UK, says there is clear scientific evidence from studies dating back 20 years that show a direct link between leukaemia and power lines.
Director Alasdair Philips told the Tele the evidence had been “rigorously tested” and was now accepted by the World Health Organisation.
A Westminster cross-party inquiry, he said, has even concluded after studying the issue that there should be a moratorium on new schools being built close to high voltage lines.
However, Dundee City Council’s deputy education convener Stewart Hunter said he had read many studies and was “comfortable” enough with the merger proposal to be sending his own children to the new school.
Mr Philips said that, given the findings of many studies, it was better to err on the side of caution — even if it cost a little bit more. He said, “It seems ridiculous that there is another site at Dryburgh Resource Centre that is away from power lines and ticks all the same boxes as the Charleston site and yet the council has rejected it.
“Looking at the two sites, it seems to me the Dryburgh one would be more valuable if the council wanted to build houses on it, but I don’t know if that’s played a part in their thinking.”
Lochee Community Action, a local group made up of parents and members of Lochee Parish Church and the community, is fighting the council’s plans to merge Lochee and Charleston primaries on the site currently occupied by St Clement’s primary. St Clement’s would share the site, but would be separate from the other schools for religious reasons.
LCA’s concern over the potential health risks associated with high voltage overhead cables is one of the reasons for their opposition.
Dundee councillors, when asked to approve the merger plan at an education meeting earlier this year, were told the overhead pylons posed no risks to pupils. Council officers submitted a two-page report from the Energy Networks Association, an industry body, to support their position.
Education convener Liz Fordyce said in yesterday’s Tele that St Clement’s had occupied the site for 40 years and any health problems would have surfaced by now.
However, leukaemia is a rare disease and Mr Philips said that about one in 2000 children under the age of ten develop it. Electricity cable studies around the world have shown the incidence increases to one in a thousand where children live near power lines.
His own calculations revealed that, statistically, there could be expected to be one leukaemia case at the merged schools over the next 50 years if they were sited away from power lines and two cases if they go ahead at the St Clement’s site.
He said, “You will not get clusters of leukaemia cases because it is not a common disease. The council’s own figures suggest it would be £700,000 more expensive, spread over many years, to site the schools at the Dryburgh Resource Centre site but even if it were to cost much more than that it would still be worth it to prevent a child getting leukaemia.
“The Westminster cross party inquiry recommended there should be no new homes or schools built within 30 metres of 132,000 volt power lines. On that basis, then almost half the St Clement’s site is blighted.
“The cost to society of treating someone with leukaemia is much, much greater than the extra £700,000 the council claims the Dryburgh proposal would cost. Dryburgh makes the best economic sense as well as the best moral sense.”
Mr Philips said the studies showed a doubling of leukaemia cases for children living near power lines, but they were not conclusive about precisely how the cancer was triggered.
He added, “It may be the high voltages involved, but it could also be that the electricity charges toxic particles in the air that are then breathed in and stick in the lungs. Whatever the mechanism, the evidence for an increased risk is there.”
Councillor Fordyce said she would listen to the LCA if they could provide any medical evidence concerning health effects from pylons at St Clement’s.
She was unavailable last night, but Mr Hunter said he had taken steps to satisfy himself there was no risk to health.
He said, “Once the school is built, my own children will be going there and if I felt there was any risk for children I wouldn’t be putting them to the school.
“I am quite comfortable with the information the council has received. The council has looked into it and the people there who know what they are talking about are also comfortable with the proposal.
“I appreciate the parents have a concern about the power lines, but issues like that are a planning concern. Once it gets to the planning stage, the parents can raise it then.” |
