OT: Substation safety

[john.andrews1]

I realise this is slightly off-topic, but I'd value some well-informed opinion and this is a good place to get it I think.

I'm being put off buying a certain house because at the bottom of the garden there lurks an electricity sub-station. I think it's the 11,000V

240V type which serves approx. 100 houses - it's about the size of a single garage.

Should I give any credence to the health scares over living in proximity to magnetic fields?

Here are my specific concerns:

- Lots of countries other than the UK, e.g. Sweden, seem to think that a field strength of 100-300 nT (nano Tesla) becomes harmful. However there is a lot of controversy over this. Some scientific studies seem to indicate that at this kind of level the incidence of childhood leukemia is increased for example - some refute this. Worth noting that UK guidelines are more than 1000 times higher than this kind of level.

- It seems to be impossible to predict magnetic field strength in the vicinity of substations or overhead power cables. If you really want to know, you have to go out and measure it. From my research it appears that levels outside a common or garden (sic.) substation may sometimes be well over 300 nT.

- Even if there is no real health risk, a perceived risk could knock the property value in future.

So my questions are: (1) Am I nuts? (2) Would you buy a house with a substation at the bottom of the garden (if you had young kids)?

Thanks a lot John

[Andrew Gabriel]

I don't believe they very often do this in the UK...

[mrcheerful]

Basically it has not been proved to be harmful or safe. If it worries you then buy elsewhere.

I have an elf/emf meter and after testing I moved my children's beds to avoid high fields as I figure it is not worth the risk.

mrcheerful

[dennis]

Do you have a TV? Have you seen the magnetic field strength form one?

[Chris]

I like that video more now that the highest voltage I deal with on a daily basis is 24 vdc ;-).

An american colleague in my last job owes his life to the blast wall that was between the transformer he was working on and the neighbouring

230 KV transformer that decided it was time to shuffle of its mortal coil

Chris

[Anna Kettle]

I'd be concerned about this. My sister owned just such a house and had a bit of difficulty selling it. You might have to accept a low price if you need to sell in hurry

Anna

[justcalledfubar]

The presence of a substation near the property may make some lenders twitchy. If the substation is actually adjoining the property, forget it; you will find it extremely difficult to get lending on it.

[ron]

I wouldn't live near it ! No chance unless it was in some sort of electrically shielded cage. Don't forget you will hear humming all the time too.

[ron]

Yes I have a very nice LCD TV, so how do I test for a magnetic field from around it?

[Owain]

I used to walk past a slightly larger (but unenclosed) substation and thought how annoying it would be to live near it because of the constant 50Hz hum.

I wouldn't be worried about magnetic whatsits, more about the thing going bang or children climbing on it and frying themselves and disturbing my quiet summer evenings.

Owain

[Alan]

In message , ron wrote

but only if it doesn't know the words :)

[Andy Dingley]

There's absolutely no evidence, or even a mere suggestion of it, that the EMFs from one of these lower voltage substations has any effect on anything. Now talk about living underneath the real HV cables of the Grid and you might have a point, but these small substations are (literally) some orders of magnitude smaller than those. As even the Supergrid effects are too small to demonstrate with any real conclusion, these little ones can't be seen as any hazard more serious than your domestic appliances.

As others have posted, the domestic TV is one of the worst of these culprits. They emit Bogons that make you stupid.

However I would be concerned about your substation humming. Some do, some don't. If you live next to a nocturnal hummer in a quiet neighbourhood, then it can indeed grow to be a nuisance (my parents are downwind of a water pumping station).

[dennis]

Same as with a substation.. you do have a pocket flux meter so you can avoid all the magnet fields you worry about?

[Huge]

None whatsoever.

However, when you come to sell the house, why limit yourself to those capable of rational thought? After all, greeny, tree-hugging, tinfoil hat wearers, money is just as good as anyone elses.

[Huge]

I assume you don't have a TV? Or a toaster, electric kettle, or especially an electric hairdryer??

[Peter Parry]

People don't buy houses for any number of reasons such as bad Tchai, incorrect Feng Shui, the opinion of psychic advisors and the colour of the wallpaper. If it bothers you, don't buy it.

You already are, reality is not going to dissuade you.

No "study" shows this unless you lower the probability level to a point where random factors obscure reality. See

Worth noting that

Wow, 1000 times nothing - scary.

substation may sometimes

How far outside? In what orientation? With what equipment configuration therein? What "research"?

Indeed, it never pays to underestimate stupidity.

I have no idea whether your fears are borne of psychiatric disorder or merely ignorance.

Yes. "What about the chillun" would not alter that.

[Frank Erskine]

When I worked for the Radiocommunications Agency I once had a complaint from an elderly gentleman of constant humming on his TV sound. It turned out that he used an induction system from the TV to his hearing aid. Unfortunately there was a substation about 25-30 yds from his house....

[david lang]

Don't know about the health issues, but you will get through light bulbs much faster. We have a sub station at the end of our culdesac, voltage often up to 250volt, everyone complains about bulbs & appliances not lasting.

Dave

[Jim Gregory]

I would worry about a possible effect on magnetic strips intrinsic to passes, tickets, money-transaction and loyalty cards, and on analogue watches and clocks, archive tapes and disks, pace-makers, alarms, etc. Should it ever short-circuit and explode, if it is oil-filled, there is a fire risk I suppose.

[Andy Dingley]

There doesn't need to be.

In general, animals (including humans) are weakly diamagnetic, which is how they can levitate (in the right circumstances). However there are several cases where small ferromagnetic structures have been identified in some animals. It's entirely _possible_ that humans could be sensitive to magnetic fields at this sort of level. Absence of ferrous body parts doesn't disprove it.