Delta Optimist (Ladner, B.C., Cabada), August 13, 2008

PARENTS TO CONDUCT OWN EMF READINGS

[Rachel's introduction: Since the Crown corporation announced the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement project, MAPP, Tsawwassen Residents Against Higher Voltage Overhead Lines (TRAHVOL) and others have argued the precautionary principle should be taken when it comes to exposing people to higher EMF levels.]

By Sandor Gyarmati, The Delta Optimist

Opponents of the B.C. [British Columbia] Transmission Corporation's high voltage power lines project in Tsawwassen plan to conduct their own comprehensive testing of electromagnetic fields.

Several members of Mothers Against Power Poles (MAPP), including Heather Colls Wahlberg, have spent hundreds of dollars to purchase hand-held meters to begin measurements at South Delta Secondary and other locations.

"Once everyone receives their EMF testers, we are meeting and we are going to determine how to run the scientific experiment," said Wahlberg.

Dr. Bruce Owen, a retired University of B.C. biology professor who lives in Tsawwassen, will be co-ordinating the study, explained Wahlberg.

"We will try to document and track our own study with a variety of locations in Tsawwassen and certainly the high school," she said.

The Delta school district recently announced it has hired an independent contractor to conduct periodic testing of EMF levels at SDSS. The district will look to the Fraser Health Authority for advice on safe levels of exposure for students and staff.

Owen explained his group's testing would be done more often than what the school district is planning.

"They can vary the power in the line very quickly and easily, so we'll have to do some repeat readings. But I'm pretty sure what the readings could be. It will be a much more intensive study," he said.

Wahlberg said many concerned parents of SDSS students have stated they plan to withdraw their kids from the district completely, thus they won't be filling out transfer application forms. As of last week, the district had received 22 transfer applications.

BCTC is replacing and upgrading the existing 138 kilovolt (kV) overhead transmission lines and one of the existing submarine cable circuits connecting southern Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland with new 230 kV infrastructure.

Since the Crown corporation announced the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement project, MAPP, Tsawwassen Residents Against Higher Voltage Overhead Lines (TRAHVOL) and others have argued the precautionary principle should be taken when it comes to exposing people to higher EMF levels.

Opponents point to a study, which was made available on Delta council's agenda last year, by the Stakeholder Advisory Group on ELF EMFs (SAGE) in Great Britain. SAGE identified precautionary measures for EMF exposure reduction, including the restriction of new homes and schools close to existing lines, and on new lines close to existing homes and schools.

Noting it appears obvious power will also be diverted for sale to the U.S., Owen said there's plenty of other documentation that recommends precaution when it comes to EMF.

Copyright The Delta Optimist 2008