On powerlines and safety

On powerlines and safety

I hail the comments given by Mr. Norman C. Schmidt in The
Jakarta Post of Dec. 17, 1994. Finally, somebody is commenting on
the hazards caused by radiation of electrical installations, for
which very little common knowledge exists, even with engineers.
In this context I would like to cite a court decision dated Nov.
5, 1987 in Texas, by which the Houston Power and Light Company
was fined US$ 25 million, because they installed a transmission
line as near as 60 meters to a school, on top of which they, of
course, had to relocate the transmission line.

Electrosmog (static magnetic fields, alternating magnetic
fields and alternating electrical fields) is not only caused by
transmission lines, but frequently occurs in houses due to faulty
electrical installations and household and other appliances. I
can only recommend the book Elektrosmog published in the German
language by Katalyse e.V., publishing house C.F. Mueller,
Heidelberg, Germany, which deals comprehensively with health
risks, acceptable limits of radiation and consumer protection, I
am sure many Indonesian engineers, also of the PLN, can read
German. Anyway, this is a book almost everybody should read.

How did I come to the whole thing? Last year I had a medical
checkup in Germany and doctors ascertained radiation effects in
my body. For this reason I immediately started studying the
matter, had extensive conversations with specialized engineering
officers in this field, and in accordance with their advice and
instructions I bought a few simple inexpensive instruments, and
after my return to Indonesia, measured the electrosmog in the
house, mainly caused by the fact, that the installation was not
properly grounded, which I am sure is a frequent occurrence, and
also with fairly simple means I could eliminate about 80 percent
of the smog, although I am still not fully down to acceptable
limits. I can only recommend to every reader to do likewise,
because health hazards in this respect are real and should be
paid attention to.

One of the main effects of electrosmog is its influence on the
"Melatonin level" with the consequence of depressions, tiredness,
insomnia, damage of the immune system, higher risk for cancer and
a number of others, which usually disappear very soon after
electrosmog is taken care of.

LEO SETZEPFANDT

Jakarta