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You are > Home > Protest staged over ESB powerline
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Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Protest staged over ESB powerline
BY MARESA FAGAN
MORE THAN 70 people gathered outside the ESB compound in Boyle on Monday morning to voice their concerns over plans by the ESB to erect overhead pylons in the region.
The proposed pylons are part of a new power line from Flagford in County Roscommon to Srananagh, County Sligo. The new group, Safe Alternative for Electricity (SAFE), was set up in support of a number of concerned landowners in the Boyle area, who have vigorously resisted the ESB plans for the last seven years.
They will not permit pylons to be erected on their land. The group is made up of residents living along the proposed 35 mile route.
Members of SAFE gathered outside the ESB compound at around 7.30 a.m. on Monday to stage a two hour peaceful protest, as part of an ongoing campaign of opposition to the ESB plans.
The protestors are opposed to the overhead powerline, which will see pylons ranging from 78 177 feet in height being erected in the Boyle and Croghan area, on health and safety grounds.
Carrying banners and placards with the message ‘Bury our powerline, not our people’ and ‘health is our wealth’, the protestors hoped to get their message across that there is no need to construct an overhead powerline and that the ESB could go underground with the proposed line along the N4.
“We are a communitybased group concerned about the health effects of overhead powerlines. The logical approach is to place these lines underground. In towns and cities all lines are buried .. why is the same approach not taken in the countryside. The proposed power line in its present form would cause massive devaluation of our propertythe answer is to bury the line,” a spokesperson for SAFE said.
The spokesperson added that members harboured concerns over the “harmful effects” of EMF emitted from overhead high voltage powerlines, particularly given recent research findings which suggested a link between overhead powerlines and childhood leukeamia.
The group added that a new EU Directive will come into force next year directing that all companies must safeguard workers from negative EMF effects as of April 30th, 2008 and asked what protection farmers would be afforded.
“ESB workers must be protected. What about farmers on their farms, which is their place of work? We would like to know how the ESB plan to protect farmers and homeowners along the proposed line and provide details of their ability to adhere to the guidelines for limits for exposure to EMF which have been set down by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection,” the spokesperson said.
The group pointed out that landowners affected by the proposed powerline, who have refused to co-operate with the ESB on the overhead powerline plans, have agreed to allow entry onto their land for an underground line.
“We would like to reassure the ESB that the viability of a power line between Flagford and Srananagh is not an issue for us. If a power line is needed then that is ESB business.
However, the health and safety of the community is our concern and to that end, placing the line underground would be a sensible option,” the spokesperson concluded.
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