FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Board Shuns Parents on Power Line Tests

Leaders of a parents group said they are disappointed by a letter from the Fountain Valley School District indicating that officials are not interested in conducting tests of electromagnetic fields on campuses.

“They said they have no intent of even discussing this,” said attorney Allen Brandt, who offered last month to drop a pending lawsuit against the district if officials agreed to independent testing of electromagnetic fields.

The lawsuit was filed in February by the Future Education Protection Committee to prevent the district from closing Fountain Valley Elementary School, but the focus has shifted since then to possible health hazards created by power lines near schools.

Supt. Ruben Ingram said the board, which reached the decision in closed session last week, is not prepared to discuss testing relative to the lawsuit.

“In other words, we’re not going to negotiate the health and safety of the students,” he said.

Group leaders point to studies linking electromagnetic fields emitted by power equipment to leukemia and other cancers. They want independent tests performed because their measurements differ from those of Southern California Edison.

“I’m very surprised by this,” parent Barbara Emerson said when she learned of the letter. “Honestly, I believed these people were listening to what we had to say. But they’re not. They’re listening to their wallets.”

School district and power company officials say there is no proof that electromagnetic fields present a health risk.

“The highest health officials in the county and the state are telling me that if I get the numbers, there will be no way to interpret them,” said Ingram, who has asked state and county officials for advice. “Do I take $100,000 out of the educational program to do independent readings and when they’re done, nobody can interpret them?”

Rex Ehling, the county’s chief public health officer, said there is no agreement over whether electromagnetic fields pose health risks, and if so, whether those risks are dose-related.

“I think you know that there are no policy guidelines,” Ehling said. “The state has not recommended any regulatory action with respect to electromagnetic fields and the recent state report made a number of recommendations, mostly for further study. But in the meantime, schools have to deal with the issue on an independent basis.”