§ Mr. Watkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he is aware of any research which suggests that there may be dangers to health from an unusual concentration of positive and negative ions in the atmosphere;
(2) if any research has been carried out by the Central Electricity Generating Board on ionisation in the atmosphere;
(3) if there are any safety standards in force relating to exposure to electrical pollution in power stations in the United Kingdom;
(4) if there is any evidence to suggest that serotonin hormone levels in the human body fluctuate in relation to the electrical charges present in the air;
(5) what research has been carried out in the United Kingdom on the possible harmful effects to people of high voltage cables.
§ Mr. EadieThe CEGB has not carried out research into possible physiological effects of ions. It has co-operated in international studies on the alledged adverse effects of prolonged exposure to high voltage fields, and is maintaining close contact with research work being undertaken in the United States and Europe.
Russian research in the 1960's did suggest that workers in very high voltage substations—over 700 kV—experienced adverse effects on health. More recent research work, which is continuing, has cast doubt on those findings. I am advised that the consensus of opinion among research teams in the United States and Europe is that there is no evidence that human exposure, even to much stronger electrical fields than those encountered in relation to overhead lines of up to 400 kV in this country, or the ions that may arise from them, produces harmful effects.
There are no United Kingdom safety standards with regard to electrical fields experienced in the electricity supply industry.