CHILDREN living within 200 metres of an electricity pylon are 70 per cent more likely to develop leukaemia, a British study has shown.
The study, carried out by British magazine Professional Engineering, also shows that children living between 200m and 600m from a pylon have 20 per cent greater chance of developing the condition.
Other epidemiological studies over the years have also spotted a connection between health problems and electromagnetic fields.
Professional Engineering’s latest findings have provoked great concern to the many families living in Limassol areas of Polemidia, Kapsalos and Pantheon, who are living literally a stone’s throw from pylons.
A programme to “distance” pylons from built-up areas has already been prepared as part of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus’ (EAC) tactical plan.
Many of the island’s communities have been fighting for the removal of nearby pylons, with Polemidia being one of the most affected.
No works have started in the area, however, provoking a reaction from the community.
But the EAC has explained that it was impossible to begin works in the area while the construction of the flyovers on the Limassol highway was still underway. The Authority will, however, begin works soon, it has assured, on an underground pylon system, which will be put into operation as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the EAC’s press spokesman, Costas Gavrielides, has assured the public that the level of electromagnetic fields in Cyprus is well below the highest acceptable amounts, set by the EU and World Health Organisation (WHO).
But despite this, he added, the EAC does not promote the construction of pylons in housing zones.
Gavrielides called on the public to put its trust in the EAC and “stop being fooled by certain private workers called in to make regular checks [on electromagnetic levels], and taking advantage of the public’s fears, profiteering at their expense”.
The Green Party has also voiced its concern over the dangers that electromagnetic radiation could pose on public health.
Apart from complaints over pylons, the party has been receiving a number of calls from all over Cyprus from people concerned over the numerous mobile phone masts that can be found in built-up areas around the island.
Recently, Green Party leader George Perdikis sent the Education Minister a letter informing him that most of the complaints were received by concerned parents, worried about masts situated near their children’s schools.
In the letter, Perdikis said parents’ associations and community residents have started lobbying with protests, petitions and letters to mobile phone companies and local authorities, in order to remove some of the masts, which he claims are mostly illegal.
“A clear example is that of a mast situated in Margarita Street in Limassol, exactly opposite a primary school and two kindergartens,” Perdikis said.
“The Green Party is calling on the [Education] Ministry, which has the responsibility of ensuring children’s safety during the hours they are in public schools, to help legislate measures that will ban the operation of masts near areas where children are based for many hours each day,” he said.
