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PC Packet 08.23.18
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PC Packet 08.23.18
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12/7/2018 11:01:01 AM
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12/6/2018 2:29:44 PM
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Commissions
Meeting Date
8/23/2018
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Agenda/Packets
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Planning
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produced in a solar farm. The following paragraphs provide some additional background and detail to <br />support this conclusion. <br />Since the 1970s, some have expressed concern over potential health consequences of EMF from <br />electricity, but no studies have ever shown this EMF to cause health problems._63 These concerns are based <br />on some epidemiological studies that found a slight increase in childhood leukemia associated with <br />average exposure to residential power -frequency magnetic fields above 0.3 to 0.4 gT (microteslas) (equal <br />to 3.0 to 4.0 mG (milligauss)). gT and mG are both units used to measure magnetic field strength. For <br />comparison, the average exposure for people in the U.S. is one mG or 0.1 J, with about 1% of the <br />population with an average exposure in excess of 0.4 gT (or 4 mG)..64 These epidemiological studies, <br />which found an association but not a causal relationship, led the World Health Organization's International <br />Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to classify ELF magnetic fields as "possibly carcinogenic to <br />humans". Coffee also has this classification. This classification means there is limited evidence but not <br />enough evidence to designate as either a "probable carcinogen" or "human carcinogen". Overall, there is <br />very little concern that ELF EMF damages public health. The only concern that does exist is for long-term <br />exposure above 0.4 gT (4 mG) that may have some connection to increased cases of childhood leukemia. <br />In 1997, the National Academies of Science were directed by Congress to examine this concern and <br />concluded: <br />"Based on a comprehensive evaluation of published studies relating to the effects of <br />power -frequency electric and magnetic fields on cells, tissues, and organisms (including <br />humans), the conclusion of the committee is that the current body of evidence does not <br />show that exposure to these fields presents a human -health hazard. Specifically, no <br />conclusive and consistent evidence shows that exposures to residential electric and <br />magnetic fields produce cancer, adverse neurobehavioral effects, or reproductive and <br />developmental effects." 65 <br />There are two aspects to electromagnetic fields, an electric field and a magnetic field. The electric <br />field is generated by voltage and the magnetic field is generated by electric current, i.e., moving electrons. <br />A task group of scientific experts convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005 concluded <br />that there were no substantive health issues related to electric fields (0 to 100,000 Hz) at levels generally <br />encountered by members of the public. 66 The relatively low voltages in a solar facility and the fact that <br />electric fields are easily shielded (i.e., blocked) by common materials, such as plastic, metal, or soil means <br />that there is no concern of negative health impacts from the electric fields generated by a solar facility. <br />Thus, the remainder of this section addresses magnetic fields. Magnetic fields are not shielded by most <br />common materials and thus can easily pass through them. Both types of fields are strongest close to the <br />source of electric generation and weaken quickly with distance from the source. <br />The direct current (DC) electricity produced by PV panels produce stationary (0 Hz) electric and <br />magnetic fields. Because of minimal concern about potential risks of stationary fields, little scientific <br />research has examined stationary fields' impact on human health..67 In even the largest PV facilities, the <br />DC voltages and currents are not very high. One can illustrate the weakness of the EMF generated by a <br />PV panel by placing a compass on an operating solar panel and observing that the needle still points north. <br />While the electricity throughout the majority of a solar site is DC electricity, the inverters convert <br />this DC electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity matching the 60 Hz frequency of the grid. <br />Therefore, the inverters and the wires delivering this power to the grid are producing non -stationary EMF, <br />known as extremely low frequency (ELF) EMF, normally oscillating with a frequency of 60 Hz. This <br />frequency is at the low-energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Therefore, it has less energy than <br />12 <br />
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