EMF DATA - don't fall for the scare tactic

[hillmom]

The lines by the AME site while admittedly ugly are less dangerous than just about anything in your home. Just some facts:
The AME site range .32 - 7.2 MG with measurements of .36 MG at the closest spot from the school to closest power line - by this point the ugly substation is not even a factor or being picked up on the meter.

My Electric Outlets - 4 mg
My cell phone when talking - over 100 mg (thanks blackberry)
My daughters cell phone when talking - 80-90 MG
My home cordless phone - 15mg when just sitting on the docking station
My home - range from 1 - 4 mg
Driving on the road next to wooden power lines on 1/20 4-10 mg
Hairdryer 40-50 MG
The alarm clock by your bedside with in reach of your head- 25-50 mg (tested several at the store)
Average tube tv - over 100mg
The freezer's at grocery store when you put your hand in - over 100 mg

Lets call all the pictures and the Godzilla noise for what it really is - a scare tactic hoping people that people don't know enough about what is going on will be tricked into thinking this school site is more dangerous than everything we willing subject our kids to daily. When we all take our kids cell phones away and I see your alarm clocks, hair dryers, and non-plasma tvs on the curb for garbage pick up lets talk about the .36 at the closest corner to the building.

[EagleDad]

Apparently you have access to more detailed test results than we do - please share them.

Do you know, with certainty, for example that the test results in teh Site Report were not taken before the whole site was shifted 1/4 mile north onto the Midwest Generation land and immediately adjacent to the power lines?


If so please share the source of this information and the coordinates of the test readings. It would be good information to have.

[we4]

I do not know much about EMF's but I am reading tons lately. I have to ask, even if the EMF readings were considered acceptable, would anyone really want a school next to a substation? Would anyone by a house next to one? Not exactly an apples to apples comparison, but think about it. Maybe the parishioners of St John's AME didn't want their church next to that thing either and figured they could get rid of the land to the sd.

[hillmom]

eagledad said:

Apparently you have access to more detailed test results than we do - please share them.

Do you know, with certainty, for example that the test results in teh Site Report were not taken before the whole site was shifted 1/4 mile north onto the Midwest Generation land and immediately adjacent to the power lines?


If so please share the source of this information and the coordinates of the test readings. It would be good information to have.

I have seen the footprint as proposed with the EMF readings mapped. The highest readings seem to be more because of the underground cabling and other factors at the corner entrance at Eola. Everything using electricity wether via a plug or wireless emits EMF's - you don't even want to know what is in the classrooms - thinking of taking a drive to Macom site with my gauss meter today along with our 2 other high schools.

I don't have the physical copy of the data but the district does have it. I am sure that data will be at the meeting tonight.

A powerline fight that extends off this line went all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court years back - the argument was never the EMF factor because even at the County level everyone realized this is a non-issue. You would have to be willing to eliminate all power from your life to truly be EMF free. Even with the cell phone data people won't take them out of their childrens hands.

[hillmom]

we4 said:

I do not know much about EMF's but I am reading tons lately. I have to ask, even if the EMF readings were considered acceptable, would anyone really want a school next to a substation? Would anyone by a house next to one? Not exactly an apples to apples comparison, but think about it. Maybe the parishioners of St John's AME didn't want their church next to that thing either and figured they could get rid of the land to the sd.

Drive the site - this is not the view from the site - if we all made our decissions based on ugly or not ugly we all probably wouldn't be parenting our children. I know mine were kind of crazy looking when I first laid eyes on them. Great looking kids now but not so great when they were first born! The school does not butt up to the substation it is the back corner behind the field house buffered by trees and the Illinois Prairie Path. Power lines run along the North end of the site - not the lovely background picture!

[Arch]

Even if one were to completely discount EMF, that still leaves a train track and siding where hazardous cargo is transported, the underground old 36" natural gas pipeline and 'mitigated' wetlands needing mitigation due to some previous 'event' on the grounds.

It's still a hazard even without EMF on the table.

[MustangSix]

Thank you HillMom for calling it what it is - a scare tactic!! And interestingly (or not) it appears that its our Southern residents yelling scare tactics - the ones who will have NO kids at the school. It's not because they want what they want - the 3rd high school down south and not to go to WVHS is it??

Let's all call it what it is - personal agendas! And then educated people can make the facts work for their view!

It's time to move forward.

[we4]

hillmom said:

we4 said:

I do not know much about EMF's but I am reading tons lately. I have to ask, even if the EMF readings were considered acceptable, would anyone really want a school next to a substation? Would anyone by a house next to one? Not exactly an apples to apples comparison, but think about it. Maybe the parishioners of St John's AME didn't want their church next to that thing either and figured they could get rid of the land to the sd.

Drive the site - this is not the view from the site - if we all made our decissions based on ugly or not ugly we all probably wouldn't be parenting our children. I know mine were kind of crazy looking when I first laid eyes on them. Great looking kids now but not so great when they were first born! The school does not butt up to the substation it is the back corner behind the field house buffered by trees and the Illinois Prairie Path. Power lines run along the North end of the site - not the lovely background picture!

My comments have nothing to do with the view. My comments have everything to do with the safety of having a substation within 400 ft of school grounds, 750 ft from the parking lot and 1000 more or less of the school itself. After looking at the layout presented by Dr Dash, I was surprised. I thought the school would be located at the southern end of the property, not the northern end. And I have driven by it, many times. Let's picture this, if we will, the house on Eola Rd will be gone. I think many of the trees currently providing a buffer between the substation and school will be gone (just guessing from the site plan). That leaves a few trees, a 10 ft wide limestone path and a few more trees and some grass.

I am not trying to cause an argument. I have an interest in this site. I have 4 children in 5th grade and under. We have many years of school ahead of us. White Eagle is bused to middle school and high school. I truly believe White Eagle is fair game to go to any high school the sb decides to send us to (whether it's now or in the future). I do not feel AME is the best choice. I do not feel Macom or Hamman are the best choices either.

[Arch]

mustangsix said:

Thank you HillMom for calling it what it is - a scare tactic!! And interestingly (or not) it appears that its our Southern residents yelling scare tactics - the ones who will have NO kids at the school. It's not because they want what they want - the 3rd high school down south and not to go to WVHS is it??

Let's all call it what it is - personal agendas! And then educated people can make the facts work for their view!

It's time to move forward.

You are flat wrong. Many of us will have kids shifting from WVHS to MV if the boundaries work out that way. This site has safety hazards that are being ignored or glossed over with fudge to suit some people's personal agendas.

If we're going to call things what they are, the personal agendas seem to be on both sides of the fence. Some have mentioned that they are entitled to have the new school because they paid for NV all those moons ago.

How old is that pipeline and when was the last time it was inspected for damage, pits, corrosion, etc?

[magneto]

we4 said:

hillmom said:

Drive the site - this is not the view from the site - if we all made our decissions based on ugly or not ugly we all probably wouldn't be parenting our children. I know mine were kind of crazy looking when I first laid eyes on them. Great looking kids now but not so great when they were first born! The school does not butt up to the substation it is the back corner behind the field house buffered by trees and the Illinois Prairie Path. Power lines run along the North end of the site - not the lovely background picture!

My comments have nothing to do with the view. My comments have everything to do with the safety of having a substation within 400 ft of school grounds, 750 ft from the parking lot and 1000 more or less of the school itself. After looking at the layout presented by Dr Dash, I was surprised. I thought the school would be located at the southern end of the property, not the northern end. And I have driven by it, many times. Let's picture this, if we will, the house on Eola Rd will be gone. I think many of the trees currently providing a buffer between the substation and school will be gone (just guessing from the site plan). That leaves a few trees, a 10 ft wide limestone path and a few more trees and some grass.

I am not trying to cause an argument. I have an interest in this site. I have 4 children in 5th grade and under. We have many years of school ahead of us. White Eagle is bused to middle school and high school. I truly believe White Eagle is fair game to go to any high school the sb decides to send us to (whether it's now or in the future). I do not feel AME is the best choice. I do not feel Macom or Hamman are the best choices either.

Well maybe it this site is picked, that should be a suggestion made. Please find a way to shift the school further south on the property please.

The distances you speak of IMO are far enough away to not be a problem.

[WeBe204]

I'll have to say I have stayed away from the environment issue because I do not feel like I have the all the data. Also, I was an IE not an EE.

The only thing I can say is environmental is one of those gut level issues where the district needs to over deliver on facts. They have not up to this point to people perceived level of satisfaction. It is highly premature to say anyone is fine with this because only those people who get involved in these issues are aware of what is going on at the moment.

If the administration does not clear this up, MVHS will continue to have the stigma of being a lessor school at an environmentally unsafe location. Will that be right if the location is indeed safe? No. However, we have enough examples in this district to know that unfounded stigmas are more than possible. I can think of a nick name like Magneto Valley High School

While administration is over delivering on these facts, I'd like to see how they are going to build the school by 2009. I would also like to see how 124M became 146 million but we are still on budget. Oh, one more fact. I would like to see all the current land offers and where they stand. I know I am dreaming because the administration knows best.

It does seem the SB will follow the administration recommendation and fall in step obediently. I see now the SB is nothing more than an elected parent advisory board that is second tier to a much more knowledgeable administration.

[Arch]

brad204 said:

While administration is over delivering on these facts, I'd like to see how they are going to build the school by 2009. I would also like to see how 124M became 146 million but we are still on budget.

The how was another funny financial maneuver that helped play a part in sinking the housing market (Sorry to refer to the other post in another thread about this).

[hillmom]

archwinsome said:

mustangsix said:

Thank you HillMom for calling it what it is - a scare tactic!! And interestingly (or not) it appears that its our Southern residents yelling scare tactics - the ones who will have NO kids at the school. It's not because they want what they want - the 3rd high school down south and not to go to WVHS is it??

Let's all call it what it is - personal agendas! And then educated people can make the facts work for their view!

It's time to move forward.

You are flat wrong. Many of us will have kids shifting from WVHS to MV if the boundaries work out that way. This site has safety hazards that are being ignored or glossed over with fudge to suit some people's personal agendas.

If we're going to call things what they are, the personal agendas seem to be on both sides of the fence. Some have mentioned that they are entitled to have the new school because they paid for NV all those moons ago.

How old is that pipeline and when was the last time it was inspected for damage, pits, corrosion, etc?

Probably the same time you dug up your entire yard and inspected your gas line feeding to your house. They are all as deadly it we really want to weigh risk.

I spoke to one of the Nicor Reps for their Construction Division - she works right under the top guy heading Construction for Illinois. Her response was that natural gas transportation underground is by far one of the safest transports of energy. Do they dig up the line and inspect it annually no - she said gas lines exploisions are a result of someone trying to tap into a line that shouldn't. She said there are easements in place to protect that line from any construction related incidents. She also mentioned that those lines are created to far exceed our life expectancy.

Based on our conversation I also took away from the conversation that our home lines are more susceptable to issues because homeowners are more likely to dig without locating the line.

As for train tracks lets all hope our High school children are smart enough to know what those dangers are - have you considered asking for a fence?

[hillmom]

archwinsome said:

brad204 said:

While administration is over delivering on these facts, I'd like to see how they are going to build the school by 2009. I would also like to see how 124M became 146 million but we are still on budget.

The how was another funny financial maneuver that helped play a part in sinking the housing market (Sorry to refer to the other post in another thread about this).

I'll give you that one - funny! ;D

[jwh]

hillmom said:

archwinsome said:

You are flat wrong. Many of us will have kids shifting from WVHS to MV if the boundaries work out that way. This site has safety hazards that are being ignored or glossed over with fudge to suit some people's personal agendas.

If we're going to call things what they are, the personal agendas seem to be on both sides of the fence. Some have mentioned that they are entitled to have the new school because they paid for NV all those moons ago.

How old is that pipeline and when was the last time it was inspected for damage, pits, corrosion, etc?

Probably the same time you dug up your entire yard and inspected your gas line feeding to your house. They are all as deadly it we really want to weigh risk.

I spoke to one of the Nicor Reps for their Construction Division - she works right under the top guy heading Construction for Illinois. Her response was that natural gas transportation underground is by far one of the safest transports of energy. Do they dig up the line and inspect it annually no - she said gas lines exploisions are a result of someone trying to tap into a line that shouldn't. She said there are easements in place to protect that line from any construction related incidents. She also mentioned that those lines are created to far exceed our life expectancy.

Based on our conversation I also took away from the conversation that our home lines are more susceptable to issues because homeowners are more likely to dig without locating the line.

As for train tracks lets all hope our High school children are smart enough to know what those dangers are - have you considered asking for a fence?

Hillmom,

Thanks for this post. EMFs are not an issue. The gas line is not an issue. What will be the next scary item found? An old Indian graveyard?