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stouffville suntribune thursday sept 30 2004 5 hydro health debate renewed by chris traber staff writer with only two years before hydro transmission capacity is doubled through york region no one it seems can conclusively con firm if power lines are a health hazard the debate on the poten tial risks of electromagnetic fields known as eme has been renewed in york since hydro one announced it will increase the capacity of the regions 24kilometre hydro corridor by fall 2005 from the parkway trans former station in markham to the armitage station in newmarket maximum volt age will be boosted from 115kv to 230w the existing 24metre tall towers will be replaced by 41metre struc tures and the distance between towers- will be reduced from the current 366 metres to 244 metres opponents claim the rampedup corridor threat ens health and property val ues hydro one officials con tend if the lines are not upgraded there will be inter mittent blackouts central to the wrangle is emf emfs are produced by computers electric razors hair dryers w radios cell phones and of course elec tricity transmission lines the medical and scientif ic communities have varying opinions on them hydro one asked the regions public health de partment to provide a health perspective on the issue in response medical offi cer of health dr helena jaczek asked hydro one for information on the impact of construction of new towers at the edge of the hydro cor ridor we did not receive a response in fact we have to date not been involved directly because we dont have specifics dr jaczek said regulation of emf is under federal jurisdiction and the feds have not estab lished human exposure lim its to emf from electricity transmission lines she said world health organization studies have- linked emf to childhood leukemia but it isnt proven they state that there was an above average incidence of leukemia in children and did relate it exposure to a specific dose it seems that the last place you want to put high voltage transmission lines is in a residential area dr jaczek said the york health depart ment doesnt have the capac ity to do its own research she noted but we can read what is out there shesaid what we are doing is trying to find out more about the environ mental assessment that the province will require hydro one to go through and see whether the dosage at the edge of the corridor is safe we hope that the assessment indicates that dosages will be well below the levels that cause illness peter gregg hydro ones vicepresident of corporate communications said his organization is an electricity provider not a health facility were not the health authority and we dont get into health research on emf he said hydro one recently held an open meeting in york with regional officials and con cerned citizens oncologists and cancer experts from torontos hospital for sick children and the united states gave expert opinion the evidence indicates that the experts dont believe emf is a health issue mr gregg said our readings on the edge of power line right- ofways indicate that the emf levels are the same as those youd find in your own kitchen or living room it seems that the last place you want to put high voltage transmission lines is in a residential area currents from appliances and power lines can induce weak electric currents to flow through the body health canada stated these cur rents are much smaller than those produced by your own brain nerves and heart and are not associated with any known health risks the international agency for research on cancer clas sified emf as possibly car cinogenic based on studies of childhood cancer but the evidence is not strong enough to conclude emfs definitely cause cancer in children according to health canada magda havas an envi ronmental resources studies professor at trent university said numerous reports show prolonged exposure to an emf stronger man two milli- gauss a unit of magnetic induction measurement can increase the incidence of childhood leukemia an emf between 10 and 16 mil- ligauss can speed the growth of cancer cells and cause miscarriages health canada guidelines are outdated dr havas said adding she has measured emf levels along the existing corridor and found some areas exceed two milligauss a recent uk study found children younger than 15 liv ing within 100 metres of high voltage power lines have close to twice the risk of developing leukemia ambassador gets new chain from page 1 has many duties including bringing greetings to guests helping in answer ing guests questions and participating in awards ceremonies the ambassa dors over the past several years have enjoyed the advantages they receive in this role mr fodder is the son of sylvia and john fockler of whitchurchstouffville he was the president of the stouffville district secondary school student staff photosjoerd witteveen countil from 2001 to 2003 andrew fockler of stouffville is the markham fairs first male ambassador he andrew has been given the honour will be joined by holly norris left and amanda davidson at the fair which wteimmm runs to sunday mayor foundation mrs seeley said uniqnville location yes christmas is coming bring the best of the j ill m 25 off 1014 pottropical plants choose from palms peace lilies benjaminas arboricola yuccas potting mixs0il 85 l bag reg h4 plant now for colourful i hurry for best selection tulips daffodils crocus hyacinth all nursery stock choose from japanese maples evergreens shrubs perennials 3040 off first come first pick fall winter lawn fertilizer garden gallery organicbased mm 12kg bag 14 mxjou- kv sm m0 onfr need qfteob lcoo1 pine ridge unionv1lle 4038 hwy 7 9054792480 monfri 98 pm saturday 96 pm sunday 95 pm 2215 brock rd n 9056835952 monfri 96 pm saturday sunday 95 pm 9am fri oct 1st- closing thurs oct 7th