Overhead power lines UK

No problem

by AgentX86 - 2022-05-26 12:05:58

We have 14.4kV lines all over (it's a standard for distribution), spaced at about that height. They're at the pole going between the transormers that serve each house. They're also buried a meter or so underground, across the front or back of each property.

Get out there and enjoy life

by Gotrhythm - 2022-05-26 17:44:42

Although there has been speculation for the last 40 or 50 years that electromagnetic fields from power lines could threaten the health of people and animals alike, even after 40 to 50 years, there is no proof. You'd think after all this time, and the proliferation of the electrical lines all over the globe, if it were true, we would see the evidence.

In that same period, pacemakers have also proliferated. Millions upon millions of people have pacemakers--all over the world. If power lines were a danger specifically to people with pacemakers, we would know it. AgentX 86 says he lives near them and has come to no harm.

I get it that electromagnetic fields and pacemakers and how they work are mysterious to you. They are to me too. But use your common sense.

Think about it. Pacemakers are new to you, but they are not new, untried technology. Pacemakers have been around since the 1950s. The early problems have been worked out. Today, millions of people can and do live for years and years with a pacemaker, taking no special precautions, because none are neccessary. Any electrical apparatus meant for use by the general population (including powerlines) is safe for you.

It really is safe for you to forget you have a pacemaker and get out there and enjoy the new chance at living the pacemaker has given you.

(If the real problem is that you don't want to visit those people in the caravan, tell them you have a bad back or allergies or something.)

EMF

by toniorr11 - 2022-05-27 02:24:09

Thanks for both replies. 

The caravan is ours and we wouldn't be visiting, we'd be staying there for most of the summer months where I will be sleeping directly under an overhead power line approximately 6m away. I am looking for definitive information rather than a feeling that I'm being told off for overthinking and overreacting...but I guess this is the internet and I should expect all types of feedback.

I have been Very anxious since I had my pacemaker implanted 3weeks ago. I haven't found my new normal yet and my hope is to have a long and rhythmic life! I shall look elsewhere for answers From someone who may know about electromagnetic fields but thank you for your time.

Its perfectly safe

by PapaMike - 2022-05-27 06:03:01

I think I can answer with some authority here.

I spent 12 years as an electrical engineer designing, constructing and maintaining the electricity distribution system for what was then the local electricity board.

11kV pole mounted conductors pose no risk to pacemakers as the EMF is very, very low and only extends a negligible distance even under load. Cancer risk is also a myth that has been scientifically debunked time and time again.

I remember when we were introducing hotglove techniques for live 11kV working in a Unimog mounted lift access mewp. There were a number of concerns raised by the crews about emf due to being at literal arms length and the gloves/chest plate they wore. We were provided numerous documents of scientific studies and evidence that proved it was safe.

I wouldn't have a caravan under any overheads, not due to the electric, but due to roosting birds pooing on your caravan, and if a wire does snap it'll land on your caravan causing damage.

Perfect reply!

by toniorr11 - 2022-05-27 07:12:42

Papa Mike... thankyou thankyou thankyou. Your reply was just what I was looking for,!  I had a suspicion that we would all have been told if there was any type of risk but it's so comforting to hear from someone who actually knows 😊 Health anxiety is a terrible state of mind. I'm not normally like this at all and I've been driving my family insane with the constant questions 😂

The birds don't seem to be a huge problem as it's in the middle of the countryside and next to the beach so they have plenty of space. We have some nesting owls somewhere too... you can hear them hooting to each other at night. it's lovely and now I will enjoy them even more! Lol. 

Sorry

by Gotrhythm - 2022-05-27 14:56:43

I apologize for any distress my comment might have caused you. I'm particularly sorry if I seemed to dismiss your concerns as silly or unimportant. I didn't and I don't. 

I hope you will be able to overlook my clumsiness  and continue to ask any questions that come to mind. 

Got rhythm

by toniorr11 - 2022-05-27 15:32:51

To gotrhythm ....I'm a bit tetchy at the moment so apologies for being a bit prickly. It's a lot to get used to. I still have to get the AV node ablation yet and I just wish it would all go away!

AV node ablation

by AgentX86 - 2022-05-28 14:25:23

Toni, I had an AV node ablation four years ago.  If these sorts of wires affected me I woud litterally be confined to my home.  I couldn't cross the street, or any other street without passing directly over or under 14.4KV lines at least every block. I also pass under 345KV transmission lines on my way into our development. This isn't anything to worry about. There is very little to worry about at all.  Live life.

BTW, I am an electrical engineer, too. Well, I was.  I retired at the beginning of the year.  ;-)