Sir, – By way of response to John Robinson (November 15th), EirGrid under its licence as the transmission system operator is obliged to plan the electricity transmission network in the most safe, secure, economic and reliable way possible.
We fully understand people have concerns and questions about power lines, including health concerns. EirGrid’s position on electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and health is based on the authoritative conclusions and recommendations of established national and international health and scientific agencies that have reviewed the body of scientific research and studies. These panels have consistently concluded that the research does not indicate EMF cause any adverse health effects at the levels encountered in our everyday environment and that compliance with the existing International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection standards provides sufficient public health protection. EirGrid has produced an information brochure for the public on this issue (www.eirgridprojects.com/yourhealth/).
In March 2007, the Department of Natural Resources assembled a panel of independent scientists to review EMF and radio frequency research. In relation to EMF, the report states: “No adverse health effects have been established below the limits suggested by international guidelines”.
This position was re-stated by the office of the chief scientific adviser in a report into possible health effects of exposure to electric and magnetic fields published in July 2010: “It is simply not possible for the level of energies associated with power lines to cause cancer”.
In relation to undergrounding: the majority of the transmission systems in Europe are AC overhead lines because they are the most efficient way of transporting electricity over long distances. The percentages of 400kV lines that are underground in some other EU countries, by way of example, are as follows: Austria, 1.94 per cent; Belgium, 0 per cent; France, 0.1 per cent; Germany, 0.34 per cent; Britain, 1.91 per cent; the Netherlands, 1.43 per cent; Spain, 0.28 per cent; Switzerland, 0.45 per cent. The longest AC cable in the world is 40 kilometres in Japan, where the cable is installed in an air-conditioned tunnel. Undergrounding AC cables over the distances required for the GridLink Project (circa 250km) is not technically feasible.
EirGrid follows best international practice in designing the transmission system and, like our counterparts around the world, constructs the majority of the network as overhead. This means that consumers do not pay more nor do they suffer from extended power outages. The European 10-year network development plan includes the installation of almost 27,000km of high voltage overhead lines in Europe, but only 420km of underground cable. – Yours, etc,
JOHN LOWRY,
Grid Link Project Manager,
EirGrid, Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4.