I'm looking at a townhouse the wife and I really like. On the second visit, I noticed that there are older wooden (but large) type polls with what I presumed to be power lines running over the immediate area of the townhome complex. I'd estimate it's about 400 or so feet from the building itself. We're not talking those steel gargantuan towers where you can take a florescent tube and stand under it and the tube lights up. The owner told me they were phone lines. I laughed and said there's no way, they're way too high and they have transistors on them. So sure enough, I checked with the development owner and they are power lines, but they're unused. He told me they were to put in a long time ago (decades) to service Aberdeen (military base), but that recently, the government sold them back to the local power company. I've tried to contact the local power company to determine what their plans are for the lines. I have a 1 year old, and there are all sorts of commentary on the net about how high Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) can be linked to childhood leukemia. The answer I'm looking for has nothing to do with whether you agree this connection exists, but the question I'm trying to answer is does anyone know if there are EMF gauges out there? Not too expensive, obviously, but looking for ones that measure EMF's. And yes, I know that every electronic device gives off an EMF. I don't care about that, but I would like to know if the lines are something to concern myself with. Thoughts? Thanks for reading.
worry about the excess fat in your diet.. that's what RELIABLY will kill you, not a magnetic field :eek:
I think what you're looking for is a gaussmeter, but I have no idea how you'd interpret the results... maybe compare the reading inside the apartment to what you get from standing near a TV, a computer, etc.
Yes, a gaussmeter. As for standards, these look right... http://www.indoorairsite.com/state_transmission_powerline_emf_standards.htm
EMFs are made up of two components, magnetic fields and electric fields. you can easily measure magnetic fields, but electric fields are near impossible to measure outside a lab setting. thats the physics background, and i'm sure you'll find other input elsewhere.
Stay the hell away. I know this area of commerce very well, and regardless of adverse health effect issue, resale values suck with these affecting aesthetic nature of property. You would not believe how much we've had to discount lots alone because they were in close proximity to power lines and even telephone poles. There have been people who thought they were getting a steal, only to find out how difficult it is and how much they have to discount their home, in return, to resell their home, whenever their is one of these eyesores within view of any line of site of their property. Just trust me on this.
That sounds like a big ask though, surely every moderately old neighborhood will still have the old style fugly lines? Im in oz though, i dont know for certain anywhere has gone truly underground yet. Beautiful, monster McMansionhomes-with a power/phone line running alongside the fence.
Yes - in a down market with lots of choices some houses with powerlines are almost guaranteed foreclosures. Nobody wants them. How much of discount do you need. In an up market you might have to take 15 - 20% off - how much of a discount should you get in a down market. And thats just the financial side of the equation. Before you buyer near powerlines - ask a few guys who work with the lines what they think. They may have some graphic examples for you. A lot of our schools in San Diego are by the powerlines. it seems the developers set aside their toxic land for schools.