Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 15, 1993 TAG: 9309150047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
For Dr. Samuel Milham Jr., a retired Washington state epidemiologist who traveled to Virginia as a witness for the opposition, said there is no question there is a link between certain types of cancer, including leukemia, brain cancer and lymphoma, and exposure to electromagnetic fields, or EMFs.
He believes three European studies, two from Sweden and one from Denmark, published last year justify his own findings as one of the original researchers in the field to establish an association between EMF exposure and cancer risk.
"With this much smoke there's got to be some fire," he told SCC hearing examiner Howard Anderson Jr. Anderson, who heard extensive testimony in 1992, reopened the case to allow examination of the new scientific studies.
Milham, whose 1983 study showed that men working in electrical jobs had a higher incident of leukemia, decried the "inertia" in the scientific community.
He later suggested "it was the flat earth society all over again," referring to modern-day skeptics who adhere to the ancient notion that the earth is not round.
But a witness for Apco, Dr. Darwin Labarthe of the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, suggested those same studies have enough inconsistencies to cast doubt on higher mortality statistics.
"To my knowledge I don't know of any expert who says EMFs cause cancer," said Labarthe.
Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, said he doesn't know who among the health experts is right. But he went on record Tuesday to oppose Apco's proposed routing of the 110 mile, 765,000-volt line through Craig County, southern Botetourt County and Roanoke County.
Last week, Cranwell, the majority leader in the House of Delegates, sent a letter to constituents on campaign stationery urging them to "join the power line fight." He helped organize a demonstration outside the SCC prior to the hearing and then made a brief appearance before the examiner to plead for an alternate route.
"Understand, these people in Craig County, the Catawba Valley and southern Botetourt have already made a substantial sacrifice," Cranwell told Anderson. Cloverdale, in Botetourt County, is home to an Apco power station, while Catawba has one high-voltage transmission line and houses a state mental hospital. Much of Craig County is part of the national forest system, which he said provides no tax revenues for the rural county.
"We are probably going to get the line. The question is: Where are we going to route it?" said Cranwell.
As Apco envisions it, the new line would wind from Coal Mountain in Wyoming County, W.Va., to Cloverdale and link up with a huge transmission web already built by Apco's parent company, American Electric Power. Virginia Power has asked the SCC for approval to build a 102-mile, 500-kv line through central Virginia that would connect with Apco's line and supply power to its customers in the eastern part of the state.
Opponents in both Virginia and West Virginia have organized as the nonprofit Arcs Inc. But those who participated in Tuesday's demonstration suggested that their greatest hopes lie with West Virginia, where officials have consistently thrown up roadblocks in Apco's path.
"I'm positive it won't be built, but it will be killed in West Virginia," said Jeff Janosko of Arcs.
At Tuesday's demonstration, several dozen Arcs members, some carrying and wearing hand-lettered signs, were joined by opponents of the Virginia Power line who had demonstrated their opposition on Monday prior to a hearing on the 500-kv line.
"We are going much beyond saying, `Not in my back yard,' " said Mary Kranz, a Louisa County resident. "We are saying, `Not in anybody's back yard.' "
Harriet Hodges of Craig County criticized the lack of a comprehensive energy plan and suggested that citizens share the blame with power companies because of excessive consumption.
"We don't want to paint Apco and Vepco as demons from hell," she said, but she suggested the regulatory agencies must establish a "sane energy policy."
"If the SCC in both states would require energy conservation, we would be way ahead of the pack," she said.
Anderson also heard testimony Tuesday on the issue of the region's karst terrain, which involves such landforms as caves and sinkholes, and the impact of herbicides on the power line rights of way.
Anderson is expected to make a recommendation to the SCC judges within two months. Once that decision is made public, a 15-day comment period follows. After that, the commission will issue a final order.
Anderson, on Tuesday, praised lawyers for both sides.
"It has been a long case, but I think it has been a well-tried case," said Anderson.
by CNB