Parents Demand Power Line Safety Tests

Angry parents worried about potential hazards at Fountain Valley schools presented the school board with a petition signed by about 300 parents Thursday night demanding independent tests of every classroom and school yard in the 5,900-student, 12-school district.

School Supt. Ruben Ingram said he will put together available information on electromagnetic fields and their possible hazards. Board members said they want to err on the side of safety and support researching the issue further. They, however, did not commit to independent testing.

Ingram suggested that the district accept an offer from Brian Bennett, regional affairs manager for Southern California Edison, to take readings at all 12 schools.

” . . . We’re not convinced that a real hazard exists,” Bennett said.

Parents said they equate the power company’s offer to having tobacco companies research the cancer risk of cigarettes.

So far, tests by parents, school officials and Southern California Edison representatives have found widely different levels of electromagnetic intensity.

The parents’ group is most concerned about Roch Courreges Elementary School, where high-tension wires carrying 500 kilovolts (500,000 volts) stand less than 100 yards from the playground.

Parents were not satisfied by a ruling of an Orange County Superior Court judge last May that the school district followed proper procedure in determining the environmental safety of Roch Courreges before deciding to transfer 30 students there from recently closed Fountain Valley Elementary.

Initially, the parents’ fight was against the school closure, but it is now focused on eliminating what they say are hazards at Fountain Valley schools.

The group’s attorney, Allen Brandt, said if the board does not initiate independent studies by the end of the month, he will pursue the lawsuit.

The parent group cited studies suggesting a link between electromagnetic fields and some cancers.

Public health officials say the dangers posed by the fields are poorly understood but acknowledge new evidence that long-term exposure may increase the risk of leukemia and brain tumors.

Power company officials and some scientists insist that there is no definite proof that power lines pose a public health threat.