By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Electricity is an important aspect of spicing up living conditions of people and aiding businesses and organisations.
However, in a residential area or even business environment, electric poles are installed in such a way that it is causing menace for residential buildings likewise office complexes.
NatureNews gathered that some residential houses in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, are mostly affected by close installation of electric poles. Some landlords build their houses close to where these poles are installed.
When asked why some of them chose to erect buildings and fence close to electric poles, a landlord living at Peace Avenue, Egbelu road in Port Harcourt said that he had to erect his building according to his land’s measurement.
‘’I bought the land around 1999 and by the time I started building in late 2017, a lot of persons have built and fenced their lands. Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution company (PHEDC) workers had already installed electric poles along our street, which in some sense encroached on my own land. I had no other option than to protect my property by fencing it even if the pole is close to my house.’’
When asked if it does not pose some risk factors to him, he said, ‘’since I parked in to this place, I have not been exposed to any risk from the Pole nor experienced any problem from PHED workers.’’
Going contrary to this assertion by the landlord, NatureNews recalls that in 2018, 200 houses, 15 persons were injured after a downpour was accompanied by heavy storm in Port Harcourt.
The storm also brought down 85 electricity poles in different parts of the city, forcing the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) to cut off power supply from the affected areas.
The boisterous wind, lasted about an hour and had its worst hit at the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, popularly known as Port Harcourt Polytechnic.
Eight of the structures on campus were badly damaged by the heavy wind, disrupting the ongoing second semester examinations.
The windstorm wreaked havoc on assets in some parts of the city, destroying property worth millions of naira, including electricity installations of which Peace Avenue street was not left behind.
A lot of poles collapsed into many buildings, destroying roofs, fences and properties worth millions of naira.
Speaking to a PHED official who spoke in confidence, he disclosed that it is the responsibility of the PHEDC to install electric poles.
He said, ‘’ Installation of electric poles is the right of the PHED. We install based on some calculations of the distance. We don’t encroach into anybody’s land or property. We know what we are doing.’’
Speaking on the dangers of living close to electric poles, he said, ‘’those building close to electric poles are only creating risks for themselves. Heavy wind can cause an electric pole to collapse on their buildings thereby destroying their properties. It can also cause them their lives in cases of electrocution.’’
NatureNews correspondent made efforts to speak to the spokesperson of Rivers State Housing and Property Development Authority (RSHPDA) concerning the issue but as at the time of filing this report, response have not yet been communicated to.
Considering its health impacts, a report by BC Medical Journal revealed that they have been debate of whether there are adverse effects associated with electromagnetic fields from living close to high-voltage power lines.
It stated that research indicates that large risks are not present but there is a possibility of a relatively small risk that cannot be conclusively excluded.
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are produced by electrical appliances, electrical wiring, and power lines, and everyone is exposed to them at some level. Numerous studies have investigated EMF exposure and health. Although earlier studies did suggest associations between exposure and a variety of health effects including brain cancer, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive and developmental disorders, most of these associations have not been substantiated by more recent research.
According to the report, one notable exception to this is the association with childhood leukemia, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer regards as sufficiently well established to rate extremely low frequency magnetic fields as a “possible” human carcinogen.
The first study to link childhood leukemia with residential EMF exposure was published in 1979 and since then, a number of studies have found weak associations to support this original finding.
Studies investigating childhood leukemia as a health outcome of EMF exposure have used measured and calculated magnetic fields, as well as distance of homes to power lines, as an exposure measure. Studies using magnetic field strength as an exposure measure have found that exposures greater than the range of 0.3 to 0.4 µT lead to a doubling risk of leukemia, with very little risk below this level. This exposure range is approximately equal to a distance of 60 m within a high-voltage power line of 500 kV.
However, a more recent study showed an elevated risk of leukemia among children living in homes with distances much greater than 60 m from high voltage power lines.
This study involved close to 30000 matched case-control pairs of children living in the United Kingdom. It was found that children living in homes as far as 600 m from power lines had an elevated risk of leukemia. An increased risk of 69% for leukemia was found for children living within 200 m of power lines while an increased risk of 23% was found for children living within 200 to 600 m of the lines.[3] This study was notable in that it found some elevation of risk at much greater distances than previous studies.
Although distance of homes from power lines can be considered a crude measure of exposure, the results of this study do merit attention.
A limited understanding exists of how exposure to EMF can affect health. The underlying biological mechanism is unknown, making it difficult to determine which measure of EMF is most appropriate when evaluating health outcomes. Use of residential proximity may be a reasonable surrogate for direct measurements of EMF, but may also reflect other factors that are related to proximity to high voltage lines.
Also, the environmental impact can also be seen as powerlines can disturb forests, wetlands, and other natural areas.
