The Canadian Cancer Society and Yukon Division, has submitted a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) and the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) to clarify its position on electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and its possible link to cancer.
The BCUC accepted public input until September 8 on the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement Project running through the community of Tsawwassen to Vancouver Island; the EAO is accepting comments until September 15, 2006.
In July, the BCUC approved a plan to install overhead power lines along a right-of-way through central Tsawwassen despite concerns raised by residents over health and safety risks to children, posed by the power lines' EMF. Critics of the project have pointed to advice on EMF available on the Canadian Cancer Society's website.
"There is insufficient scientific evidence to either rule out or confirm a definitive link between exposure to EMF and childhood leukemia," says Barbara Kaminsky, CEO for the Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. and Yukon Division.
"But we absolutely understand the public concern generated by potential carcinogens, particularly where children are involved. We recommend the EAO revise the transmission plan, if it is practical, in relation to power line routes directly over private residential property and school property."
The Canadian Cancer Society also suggests individuals limit their exposure to EMF by taking precautionary actions, which include limiting the amount of time children spend playing directly beneath power lines, updating household wiring in an older home, and sitting at arms length from a computer terminal.