A charity called Children with Leukemia has urged MSPs to intervene to stop new housing developments near areas where there are power lines. The charity said that health concerns were forcing people to reconsider buying houses in such areas.
"It's a very clear message for the policy makers in Scotland - even those Scottish people not affected want a moratorium on new building where it puts homes and power lines next to each other," said Eddie O'Gorman, chairman of Children with Leukemia. "We have a duty to do everything we can to protect young lives now and in the future."Research firm TNS had sought the views of 265 people earlier this month on their preferences. The findings of the survey lend support to the Draper report published last year, which had said that living near power lines increased risk of childhood leukemia.
The Draper study looked at more than 29,000 children with cancer. It had found that kids living within 200 meters of a power line had 70 percent increased risk of developing leukemia, while those living between 200 and 600 meters away had a 20 percent risk.
But the researchers had stressed that there were no explanations to this occurrence and this could have happened by chance.
