R. Gregory et D. Vonwinterfeldt, THE EFFECTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC-FIELDS FROM TRANSMISSION-LINES ON PUBLIC FEARS AND PROPERTY-VALUES, Journal of environmental management, 48(3), 1996, pp. 201-214
Reports that proximity to electrical transmission or distribution line
s may be responsible for increases in human health risks, including le
ukemia and brain cancers, have resulted in a sharp rise in the level o
f public concern despite decidedly mixed scientific results. An import
ant policy question is whether these perceptions of health risks may a
lso have resulted in measurable reductions in the value of properties
in the vicinity of electrical lines. In this paper, we first discuss s
ome of the reasons why power-frequency lines could cause reductions in
property values and review the implications of public concerns about
EMF exposure for mitigation initiatives. We then summarize findings, f
rom recent court cases as well as published literature and reports, re
garding the observed magnitude and extent of reduced property values.
In a final section, we use these results to provide bounds on the exte
nt of likely property value reductions due to concerns about EMF expos
ure. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited