OPALCOGRAM 110
3/3/94

Doug Bechtel
Our member interest in the electric and magnetic fields (EMF) seems to come and go based on the most recent newspaper or magazine article reporting on the latest EMF study. Each study seems to raise more questions than it answers.

I have had several members ask me about my thoughts on EMF, and the answer is, “I don’t know”. I have read a lot on EMF, and I am not convinced of the degree of the problem. I don’t know whether there are safe or unsafe levels of EMF. My personal attitude towards EMF is similar to my attitude towards hell. I am not certain whether there really is a place called hell, but I am going to try to live my life so I don’t have to find out. I don’t know whether EMF is bad, but I am going to minimize my exposure.

Several months ago, I wrote an OPALCOGRAM pointing out the things I was going to do to minimize my exposure to EMF. OPALCO, on the other hand, has taken a much more aggressive role in EMF. To date we have, through our membership in the Electric Power Research Institute, paid for a considerable amount of research on EMF. We have recently joined with 700 other electric co-ops around the country to fund still additional research. On the local level, we have paid for EMF surveys of the Lopez and San Juan schools. This will continue to include the other schools and major facilities near our transmission lines. We have done spot check EMF measurements on our substations, our power lines and submarine cables. Last week, OPALCO sponsored a program on EMF for those officials and people within San Juan County who are involved in land use planning decisions. The purpose of this seminar was to provide those officials with an understanding of the issues around EMF to better enable them to make decisions in the future.

During 1994, we plan to provide more information to our members on EMF. We have been negotiating with Seattle City Light to have their personnel do EMF surveys of our members’ homes on a reimbursable basis. We estimate it will cost between $75 and $100 to have an EMF survey done of your home (provided we are able to come to an agreement with Seattle City Light). We have collected a considerable amount of information on EMF and have brochures available at our offices if you are interested in additional information.

If we finally come to an agreement with Seattle City Light for residential EMF audits, I will let you know, and we will start a list at that time. It would be premature for us to start a list of those desiring audits at this time.

Doug Bechtel