Powerlines & pregnancy??

kirstynikole

Alright so we just moved into a duplex at the beginning of the month and were so excited for the yard and extra space the home gave us for our DS. Now that we're pregnant with #2, we're still happy with the space and know it will work well.. That was we thought so, up until my husband's latest Physics II class today. 

In class they were talking about power lines and the fields they give off etc.. And now here we both are googling and terrified we've moved out family into a hotspot that's going to increase our DS and unborn LO to be predisposed to childhood cancer. I know there's conflicting data on the correlation between the two, but I'd hate to be the % it does effect. I've had a few friends lose their children to childhood cancer, so the reality of it is very real and one of my worst fears. 

Could I be overreacting? Sure. Are my pregnancy hormones probably making me overly anxious? Absolutely. But now here I am, awake, and nauseated, worrying that we've made a horrible decision to move into this place. DH says he'll call the electric company tomorrow to come out and do a reading just so we can know what our levels are. He says If the levels are questionable or high, we'll find a solution to move, but I'm really not sure how we can afford to when we just moved in and signed a year lease? 

Is is there anyone out there with experience on this topic? Any amazing scientists out there who can ease my mind or atleast shed some light on the topic?

Because right now I feel like a crazy person.

cinderin

I think your H is right. see what you are dealing with (levels), talk to your OB, make a decision. 

your lease will say how you can get out of it. talk to your landlord and see if you can work something out between you. moving costs a lot of money and time so you want to make a decision thoughfully. 

kirstynikole

Thank you @cinderin I agree that it's a huge decision and something that should t be rash. I appreciate you responding and even just having someone else with a similar thought process is encouraging. We definitely don't want to jump the gun and move if it's not an issue, but damnit Google we have such a love/hate relationship. I never even thought about power lines and their potential health hazards- I will forever learn from this, even I just to be on the safe side and stay away in the future.

cinderin

it was brought up when my H and I were house hunting (~10 years ago) that people shy away from homes near powerlines. I didn't look into it at all myself.

that said, I would avoid Internet searches for health info during PG as much as possible. it's a rabbit hole and just serves to freak you out. 

you're adults. you got this. you'll collect info, talk to your OB and make a decision. 

fourPsinapod

Hm.. I have never heard of this. What I have heard of is radon, which is also supposedly dangerous. We moved into our house after they installed a radon mitigation system because our realtor demanded it even though we had never heard of it before. Apparently, houses (in affected areas) have a ton of radon so I guess growing up we were exposed to a lot that we didn't know about or didn't know was dangerous at the time. 

Long story short, there is sooooo much in the world that is dangerous and while we need to take caution where we can, don't lose sleep over it. I agree to have levels checked and make a decision with your OB and your family but if you choose to stay there, just take precautions when you can. Don't stress too much yet! 

ETA: incorrect info! Thanks @WinchesterGirl

WinchesterGirl

Just to add to the radon discussion - it is part of my realtor training - the county you live in is more important than the age of your house. Some areas have ZERO cases of radon due to natural geography, whereas others have very high occuances. I would Google your area and radon gas reports to verify that.

* back to your regularly scheduled programming*

fourPsinapod

@WinchesterGirl - you are right, I should clarify - older houses without the new mitigation systems (in those areas). Our house was only built in 2009 but had some crazy level (like 23) before we moved in. I had never heard of it before until we went house hunting. So weird. 

Xstatic3333

fourPsinapod said:

@WinchesterGirl - you are right, I should clarify - older houses without the new mitigation systems (in those areas). Our house was only built in 2009 but had some crazy level (like 23) before we moved in. I had never heard of it before until we went house hunting. So weird. 

We had to get a radon system installed, too. Our seller paid for it, but it was only around $800-well worth the piece of mind and a drop in the bucket of homeownership. 

fourPsinapod

Xstatic3333 said:

fourPsinapod said:

@WinchesterGirl - you are right, I should clarify - older houses without the new mitigation systems (in those areas). Our house was only built in 2009 but had some crazy level (like 23) before we moved in. I had never heard of it before until we went house hunting. So weird. 

We had to get a radon system installed, too. Our seller paid for it, but it was only around $800-well worth the piece of mind and a drop in the bucket of homeownership. 

In our area where levels are high, it's pretty standard to see the systems on most houses. The seller paid for ours too. We live in a development where houses buy and sell like crazy and I wonder if it's pretty much just normal to have them installed before moving in. They didn't have them as part of the house when they were originally built though which is interesting - maybe the original owners didn't think it was necessary? If it was something I knew about when building a house, I would have most definitely added it on then and there. 

WinchesterGirl

Yep, some areas have extremely high radon occurrences - our entire tricounty area has never had even 1 reported. It just goes to show that location is important! But the mitigation systems are very effective from what I hear.

fourPsinapod

WinchesterGirl said:

Yep, some areas have extremely high radon occurrences - our entire tricounty area has never had even 1 reported. It just goes to show that location is important! But the mitigation systems are very effective from what I hear.

Once they installed it, it went from 23 to 0.2 or something ridiculously small. And they told us it's supposed to act as a natural dehumidifier too so that is kind of a bonus. 

kirstynikole

Thank you everyone! This is something I never thought to look into prior and will be sure to in the future. I'm feeling better this morning thanks to yalls advice and what a simple fix may entail. I'd believe since this is a rental home, the owners would be required to fix it if provided with valid documentation. In hoping I'm over reacting for no reason and that all is fine, but better safe than sorry!! I've checked and thankfully our area, generally, isn't high. 

Now knowing of of your realtor knowledge @WinchesterGirl  I'm a bit peeved that our realtor that leased us the home didn't bring up any concerns. Since it's not as much of an issue here as up north, I'm assuming that may be the cause for her lack of communication.  

Thanks again everyone I really appreciate your input!! 

kirstynikole

 This is said power line  we actually didn't even notice it until move-in due to the foliage from the street and its position

cantalopes24

We have underground power lines running directly to our house but it's almost impossible to not live really close to power lines anywhere I am. I've never really thought it before. 

WinchesterGirl

@kirstynikole the power line thing doesn't come up as an issue in realtor training, and it's not related to radon gas as far as I know. There are things we are required to disclose,  but at least in my state power lines don't qualify. I would just ask your OB.

laurenmichael725

@kirstynikole Before you posted the picture, I thought you were referring to those HUGE power lines or maybe an area where there were a bunch of them.  When I look outside my house, I see at least three of those like the one you posted in my general area.  Aren't those types of power lines everywhere?  I wouldn't worry about that at all.  This is what I thought you meant: 

catmommac

I never heard of this before so I brought it up with my DH, a licensed electrician. He says it's nothing to worry about. He gave some explanation that I understood at the time, but couldn't really repeat. Something about magnetic fields from the lines and something something something stronger magnetic field from fridge magnets. 

cinderin

laurenmichael725 said:

@kirstynikole Before you posted the picture, I thought you were referring to those HUGE power lines or maybe an area where there were a bunch of them.  When I look outside my house, I see at least three of those like the one you posted in my general area.  Aren't those types of power lines everywhere?  I wouldn't worry about that at all.  This is what I thought you meant: 

that's what I thought at well. 

PerraSucia

cinderin said:

laurenmichael725 said:

@kirstynikole Before you posted the picture, I thought you were referring to those HUGE power lines or maybe an area where there were a bunch of them.  When I look outside my house, I see at least three of those like the one you posted in my general area.  Aren't those types of power lines everywhere?  I wouldn't worry about that at all.  This is what I thought you meant: 

that's what I thought at well. 

me too.. EVERYONE has powerlines going into their house man.  everyone with power at least.  I thought you meant like a field of these above.  

kirstynikole

Sorry I clarify that one is in the backyard and the other bigger ones are in the field behind. So yes they're both there. It was a concern about the EMF waves so I'm guessing that what your h was talking about @purplewriter