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