dangers of living next to a sub-station

[Hebe]

(mod - two topics merged - GG)

I am concerned that a friend of mine has put an offer on a house which has a sub-station at the bottom of the garden. The garden isn't that long, maybe about 60 feet and there is a garage type building at the bottom with the sub-station right up against its wall.

She is looking into planning permission to convert the garage to a bungalow which she aims to sell off eventually, although she would look to rent it out first of all for the income. She thinks I'm neurotic to be concerned about the health impacts of having a sub-station so close to her house, let alone the poor people who'd end up living back to back with it in the bungalow. The extent to which she doesn't believe me is shown by the fact that this is the third house (that I know of...) that she's put an offer on that is close to a sub-station. I've always been vocal when the deal falls through "phew, that' s a relief, it was really close to a s-s...." but they get closer and closer and now it's right in her garden!

Does anybody know of some research I can put her way? Maybe if she read about the dangers, rather than hearing about it from me, it might help 'enlighten' her!

[mike]

Hi Hebe,
Im sure I remember reading something about sub stations from the late great ALF RIGGS .He understood bad Earth Forces and found ways to stop them, if the memory serves me I think he used chicken wire earthed and run between the station and where folk lived, to form a part Faraday Cage around the sub station,he was a great chap, and is a leader in the fight against bad earth forces.He linked the chicken wire with copper wire so each made a good connection, then earthed the lot again with copper to the planet, making sure that earthing point remained damp in dry weather to maintain a good contact/release of bad energy point...

[simonwheeler]

It is an issue of some controversy, however you might like to spend some time (12 minutes) looking at this video of the Richard Box art installation.

More on this can be found here (link broken)

It is only as the sun sets that the collaboration between installation artist Richard Box and Bristol University's physics department comes to life.
A sea of household fluorescent tubes lights up around an overhead power line close to the M4 motorway, giving substance to the otherwise unnoticed electrical field that permeates the area.
The work, dubbed Field, was inspired by Bristol physicists' pioneering work on the effects of magnetic and electrical fields on human health.

(Extract from Times Higher Education Supplement 20.02.2004)

There is plenty of stuff to be found on-line....but if you're looking for something dramatic, look no further than the tubes lighting up as a result of EMF.

[Grahame]

Check out the Powerwatch UK page on substations for factual information.
The main problem with substations next to properties is the high magnetic fields that they generate. Depending on the voltages involved at the substation, these can be very high and quite apart from the effects of prolonged exposure on the body, these will interfere with electronic equipment in the building, particularly computers - "Magnetic fields can also cause computer 'wobble' which can make operators feel ill and is against Health and Safety at Work regulations."

It is well-nigh impossible to do anything about magnetic fields as they will travel through walls as though they don't exist. The only practical solution is to stay away from them. The Inverse Square Law applies to all EM fields so the magnetic fields will likely have dropped to acceptable levels by the time they reach the main house at 60 feet distance. But of course the only way to be certain is to have them measured using an ELF meter.

There is a link to a study on that Powerwatch page that "the close presence of a substation could reduce the number of potential buyers by up to 63%, depending on the type of property concerned and the size and visibility of the substation. The study in reported that visible substations and cables reduce the value of a property; the percentage reduction depended on the type of property. Substations close to a house make the property harder to sell." Worth telling that to your friend, perhaps?

[simonwheeler]

Grahame: interfere with electronic equipment in the building, particularly computers

It doesn't take much, either! I was pointed to this particular site when my broadband speed slowed right down to virtually zero- especially upload speeds.

We have two phone lines into our house with two separate Broadband providers, one on each line. No problem. Until the weather got windy. We have a TP-Link wired network in the house- not using wireless internet at all.

I have an anemometer on the chimney of the house- about 12 feet away from one router- which send wireless signals to the weather base-station downstairs.
When it got to a critical speed it began to interfere with the broadband.

It took weeks of testing and support/patience from the great people at Zen.co.uk (my preferred ISP!) to ascertain what was going on...but now we have and all is well.

[Hebe]

Thank you all for your replies. I have forwarded the powerwatch link to my friend and keep fingers crossed she will want to find out more. I feel the delay in waiting for planning permission could be a god send.

[Lynnie]

Hi All

I have a colleague at work who said that their neighbours either side and across the road have all had cancer of various sorts and just off the cuff I asked whether he lived near to an electric sub station and he said yes. He pressed me for further information but all I was able to say was that there some theories that living near to an electric sub station could cause cancer. Having had a little time over the weekend, I was trying to find some more information but not coming up with too much. I wondered if anyone done any dowsing on sub stations and had any thoughts on:

1. What would be considered to be a 'safe' distance to live from a sub station.
2. Whether the energy is definitely detrimental to human health.
3. I've tried to find a map or list of sub-stations on the net as I wanted to see if I had one in my area and was surprised at the lack of info.

Would be interested in anyone's experiences.

Lynnie

[Grahame]

1. Depends on the power of the substation and whether it is situated on any underground water veins that are subsequently passing through the property in question. The Inverse Square Law applies to any EMFs from the substation, so in general unless it is immediately adjacent to the wall of the property it shouldn't be too bad. If it's a large high voltage substation, I would say 50m is probably a safe distance.
However, the EMFs can induce geopathic stress in any water veins running under the substation and this can be carried by the water for some considerable distance.
2. Yes. See above.


Edited by I.P. 21.10.13 - corrected mark-up

[Grahame]

I recently had the chance to survey a property that a client was thinking of purchasing, where a medium-sized substation was situated in the back garden a mere 5m from the back wall of the house. The substation was large enough that it had its own shed around it.

As I expected, magnetic fields were above nominal in those rooms nearest to the substation; however they were not as high as I expected and not much higher than fields measured next to a domestic appliance such as a fridge. What I found more problematic was the hum from the substation, which I felt would definitely cause psychological issues over a period of time. I still would not want to spend any length of time working or sleeping in rooms at the rear of the property.

The client seemed keen on the purchase and was proposing to construct a wall around the substation to further muffle the hum and reduce the fields from it, but the mere presence of the substation would be a deal-breaker for me.

[mike]

My son had a power box/junction box right by his door,I fitted a chicken mesh wall against the fence between the house and the sub station and made sure it was earthed well.It removed much of the radiation coming from it afterwards when I dowsed it,so that was good.Any chicken wire Faraday cage around the sub station would reduce its radiation but its important a strong earth is vital to ground it.