Power Lines Raise Health Concerns Among Homeowners
Electricity. Most of us expect the lights to turn on at the flick of a switch, but we don’t give much thought to where it all comes from.
For people who live and work amid high-voltage power lines and utility distributing stations, the source of all the electricity we consume is a bit harder to ignore. Recent medical research suggests possible links between electromagnetic fields and various health hazards--and scientists now report that we may be harmed by a wide range of electrical sources from small appliances, like alarm clocks, to major electrical transmission lines.
None of the recent studies are conclusive, but children and the elderly who are exposed to elevated levels of electro and magnetic field energy, known as EMF, may be at an increased risk for brain cancer and leukemia. EMF may interfere with the immune system, the studies say.
The new concerns over possible health hazards are prompting a growing number of Valley homeowners and home buyers to learn more about electromagnetic fields and their effects on health and home values.
Starting in August, new 90-foot electrical towers will sprout in Northridge and Granada Hills to bring in an additional 6.7-mile transmission line to serve the West Valley and West Los Angeles. One of the towers will join two that are already next to Roger Waldbaum’s residence in the 217-unit Northridge Townhome Estates.
“When I bought my townhouse in 1980, I wasn’t sophisticated about electromagnetic fields,” Waldbaum said. “I was not at the time concerned about property values.”
The 10-story towers next to Waldbaum’s home link power sources such as dams with receiving stations and a widely spread network of distributing stations. The distributing stations receive higher-voltage electricity and transform it into lower-voltage power for use by homes and businesses. But the stations are loaded with EMF. They usually operate without a staff and are camouflaged by block walls and shrubbery.
After fighting the new elevated transmission line, Waldbaum has resigned himself to the Department of Water and Power’s construction project. The Rinaldi-Northridge line is needed to supply the growing power needs of local residents, the DWP says. As for the possible health effects, DWP officials say the addition of an extra line may actually reduce hazards by canceling out other currents along the same route.
Placing the transmission lines underground is rarely done. The cost of aboveground transmission lines is about $300,000 to $400,000 per mile. Underground lines cost about $2 million to $3 million per mile, the DWP says. Besides the added cost, it’s unclear if it is actually safer to place transmission wires six feet underground than 90 feet aboveground.
In Arleta, residents near the 13200 block of Branford Street banded together to block a planned $9-million DWP distributing station. “The community was against this project from the very beginning and never wavered,” said Jose Bonilla, a local homeowner with two children at home and also treasurer of the Arleta Chamber of Commerce. DWP officials argued that the proposed project would do no harm to the health or pocketbooks of nearby residents. Under pressure from neighbors, though, the project was officially scrapped in February after an 18-month battle.
“Being next to a utility complex sure wouldn’t increase our property values,” said Karen Zuccolillo, who lives across from the Arleta site that was identified for a new station by the DWP. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am that the DWP decided to scrap its plans. I didn’t want my family to be exposed to that.”
Zuccolillo has lived in Arleta for about 16 years. Most of the homes in her neighborhood sell for between $175,000 and $200,000. She was concerned about what would happen if the DWP facility was actually built. “If they ever find out for sure that being near power lines and electric stations is absolutely harmful, we’ll never be able to sell our house.”
“The neighbors were determined to keep their neighborhood the same,” said Bernard V. Palk, assistant general manager of power at the DWP. “Frankly, the distribution station would be an asset to the neighborhood,” Palk said. The DWP is placing an increased emphasis on the architecture and landscaping of the stations, and residents in Arleta and other communities who live near the DWP’s 90-foot towers appreciate having beltways of open space, Palk said.
Nonsense, said Steve Owen, owner of Century 21 Choice Realty in Mission Hills and past president of the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors. “Anytime a property is adjacent to commercial property, it has a negative impact,” he said. “I don’t care how desirable the architecture is. Buyers still don’t feel comfortable about power company buildings.”
In one of the Mission Hills neighborhoods where Owen sells homes, the DWP is planning to add to the capacity of an existing distributing station to make up for the utility’s decision not to build in Arleta. The station on Lemona Avenue in Mission Hills will be modified to carry 50% more current. Another station on Nordhoff Street in Panorama City will be modified to carry 60% more current.
The DWP plans to visit neighbors of the Mission Hills expansion by going door to door and explaining the project, said Joe Thompson, executive engineer for the DWP.
In communities straddling the Ventura Freeway, residents are concerned about another high-voltage project--the proposed electrified rail system that would be built by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. Homeowners in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills and Valley Village joined together to form the Coalition of Freeway Residents that has voiced its concerns about health hazards and diminished property values.
“Our view is that this would really hurt property values,” said Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino. Power lines feeding the rail line could harm nearby residents and magnetic fields below the trains could harm riders, Silver said.
“There’s a lot of controversy about the impact of electromagnetic fields,” Palk said. Residents who are concerned about levels of EMF can have their homes checked room-by-room by the DWP for free. The number to call for information or to schedule an appointment is (800) 722-1122.
Other precautions include avoiding extended use of certain electric blankets; sitting at a distance from televisions, computer monitors, electric heaters or humidifiers and placing electric alarm clocks at least a few feet away from your bedside. In addition, stay away from the DWP’s electric-wire hookups to your home.
