ELKHORN, Wis. — Theodora Scarato is worried about how electromagnetic fields from power lines affect health. She is now sharing her concerns in Wisconsin as a company tries to build a 765-kilovolt line through the state.
Scarato presented her research to a full crowd at Duesterbeck's Brewing outside of Elkhorn Tuesday night, which is right in the path of the proposed 190-mile long BECI Project from Midcontinent Grid Solutions.
Scarato showed the crowd a variety of studies which linked electromagnetic field activity near power lines to ailments such as childhood leukemia and miscarriages.
"People are organizing and they need information," said Scarato, who is the director of the wireless & electromagnetic field program at Environmental Health Sciences. "They need all sides of the issue and to understand that there are scientists saying their health is on the line."
The concerns about the BECI Project have intensified since it was revealed last month, with several local governments passing resolutions opposing the power line plan.
"If that thing gets approved to go by our neighbor's woods, the first thing we're doing is selling our house," said Dale Helgeson of nearby Richmond, one of the first towns to pass an anti-BECI Project resolution.
Helgeson attended Scarato's talk because he is fearful for what the power lines could do to the environment.
"We watch wildlife where we live. They're going to leave," Helgeson said. "They're not going to want to be around those magnetic fields."
Scarato, who is from Maryland, will continue to show her research throughout the BECI Project corridor in Wisconsin this month.
"I think local communities should have a say on what goes on in their community," Scarato said. "We just need to do the right thing and make sure people are safe."
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