PYLONS JUST 52FT FROM NEW CAMPUS

10 Sunday Mail

What bright spark builds a school this close to a 33,000-volt power line?

Graeme Donohoe A new £25million school is being built next to high- voltage pylons – sparking safety fears from parents and staff.

Our Lady and St Patricks High (OLSP) have been controversially moved to a new site in Dumbarton.

A 33,000- volt power line is approximately 52ft from the building, while a second 132,000volt cable is just over 196ft away.

Parents and teachers are now calling for the power lines to be rerouted or put underground amid concerns they are a cancer hazard.

A 2007 report by Government advisory body Stakeholder Advisory Group on Ex t remely Low Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields (SAGE) found there was evidence living near electricity lines could be linked to childhood leukaemia.

They urged the leaders to ban new buildings within 196ft of overhead cables.

Campaigners against moving OLSP to the Bellmyre site accuse West Dunbartonshire Council of ignoring their concerns when planning permission was rubber-stamped in 2014.

Worried parents Andrew and Clair Muir have considered pulling their daughter Katherine, 14, out of the school.

Actuary Andrew, 58, said: “It’s really worrying. These pylons are too close to the school and this has been flagged up as a leukaemia risk.

“Power cables should be nowhere near children. It’s just not safe to expose them to high-voltage lines.

“The kids should be monitored for radiation and the voltage on these power lines should be continually checked.”

An objection against the OLSP move was lodged by 75 teachers.

General secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association Seamus Searson said: “Serious concerns have been raised around pylons so I’m surprised they’ve