Expert says research doesn't support health concerns over pylons

Over 300 people, many from County Meath, were presemnt for the opening day of the Bord Pleanala oral hearing into the application by EirGrid to establish a North/South electricity interconnector, which began in the Nuremore Hotel, Carrickmacross, on Monday. The proposal is for overhead cables to be carried via a network of pylons from County Meath through parts of Cavan and Monaghan and then connecting with the existing electricity supply north of the border in County Armagh and finishing near Dungannon in County Tyrone. The interconnector proposal is a huge project, should it go ahead, with 139 kilometres of land affected on both sides of the border. There will be approximately 57 kilometres impacted in County Meath, 10 kilometres of pylons to carry it in County Cavan, 38 kilometres of cabling and pylons through County Monaghan and 34 kilometres through Armagh and Tyrone. Since the proposal was first brought to the public's attention in 2008, there have been widespread concerns expressed by landowners, farmers and local communities throughout the counties which the pylons would pass through if the planning permission is granted. Meath, Cavan and Monaghan County Councils have objected and a number of groups have been formed locally to voice their concerns, including the North-East Pylon Pressure (NEPP) group which is the overall representative group for the people of the region who advocate that the 400kV electric cables should go underground. They claim to have active, local committees in more than 30 towns, villages or parishes, representing more than 45,000 people potentially affected throughout the area. Opening the An Bord Pleanala hearing, inspector and chairperson of the enquiry, Mary Cuneen, outlined the format of this week's sitting which began with experts from EirGrid outlining its proposal. EirGrid began the proceedings through its Senior Counsel, Mr Luan " Braonan. Tomas Mahony, the senior project manager with responsibility for the North/South Interconnector proposal, described in detail the plan to erect this, the second North/South Interconnector, running through a single circuit 400kV high voltage overhead line suspended on lattice towers from east Meath to mid-Tyrone. He said the pylons will range in height from 29 to 44 metres in height and would not look dissimilar to the existing pylons in many areas which carry a 220kV current. However, he said these would, in general, be at least 20 metres smaller in height than the existing towers. Yesterday (Tuesday), the hearing was addressed by Dr Wiliam H Bailey, a world renowned specialist on the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields. Dr Bailey went through an in-depth assessment of the proposal and addressed such concerns as leukaemia and other cancers, concerns over the effect on pacemakers and concerns over the health of wildlife and livestock from close contact with electromagnetic fields from overhead cables. Although Dr Bailey said in his submission that the conclusions of a health risk assessment typically include some uncertainty because science cannot provide a definitive statement of no risk about any exposure, including electro-magnetic fields. He added: "Scientific research cannot prove the absence of a health risk, rather the science evolves towards a conclusion that the cumulative body of research does not support a cause and effect relationship. At different points in the evolution of the research, different questions remain unanswered and, in many cases, unconfirmed." He concluded that "health and scientific agencies, including the World Health Organisation, and other agencies in Europe and Ireland have reviewed and evaluated research on the topic of electro-magnetic fields for the past 30 years. The conclusions of these assessments, which have followed a scientific process for the assessment of the research, are the same. The research does not support the conclusion that electro-magnetic fields are the cause of cancer, or any other long-term health effects." The hearing, which is expected to hear submissions and cross-examination of witnesses by both EirGrid and groups opposed to the application, is scheduled to take up to six weeks to complete.