Residents of one of the neighborhoods in Migdal HaEmek are trying to cope with the unusual morbidity of the disease • Suspicion: Air pollution or a power line are the causes • Israel Electric Corporation: “Options for reducing magnetic field levels around the line were examined”
“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but it’s very unusual”: The abnormal cancer morbidity, which far exceeds the national average in a small, pastoral alley in the Nof HaEmek neighborhood of Migdal HaEmek, keeps its residents asleep. There are seven semi-detached houses on each side of the alley, and in recent years cancer has affected about half of the families living there.
“Out of 14 families living in this row, only in three families none of the boys had cancer. My daughter is also still coping with the disease,” Y. says, as she moves house after house with her finger. “My brother, who lives at the beginning of the street, also contracted the disease and his wife had already died of cancer. On the other side and on the next street there are a lot of patients, but less than our line. Another brother of mine used to live on the next street and had already died of the disease.”
“Eight years ago, I contracted colon cancer and he also had the same disease,” Yossi Nawi added, pointing to his friend Herzl Hamo. “I got sick two years ago and I still suffer from it,” Hamo added. “A lot of people on this side of the street got cancer and there are quite a few on my side too. My wife passed away three months ago from the disease and recently another neighbor of mine had cancer,” added Moshe Filderman, who lives across the street. “I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but it’s very unusual.”
It is unclear what caused the unusual cancer morbidity in the alley. However, the residents suspect air pollution coming from the factories of the nearby industrial zone and/or the high voltage line that crosses the street at a distance of 15 meters from their homes, contrary to safety regulations according to which the minimum distance between the line and residential buildings should not be less than 20 meters. Below the upper voltage line, there is a small grassy surface with benches inviting passersby to sit in the shade of the trees. About a year ago, a playground was supposed to be built under the upper voltage line.
The budgets have already been approved, but the municipality canceled the plans. “They have already started building it, they have already prepared the asphalt surface that you see, they have done the paths, but they stopped construction in the middle and did not put playgrounds,” the residents said. “A few years ago there were swings here, but they were taken down too. Probably for the same reason.”
Yoni, his wife and their children have been renting an alley for two years. The pastoral location and the quality population made them interested in buying a house. “Before signing the contract, we ordered a radiation test. After I saw the report, my eyes darkened. There’s no way in the world we’ll stay in this house,” Yoni says. “I don’t let the children play outside below the high voltage line either. The surveyor said that it was very dangerous for children because the values there are very high. I’d rather they play from behind.”
The radiation test conducted by Daria Health Engineers was performed last August in the early afternoon (not during peak consumption hours) and indicated deviations from the recommended radiation threshold. The radiation threshold recommended by the Ministry of Environmental Protection is an average of 2 milligauss per year if radiation exposure is 4 hours a day and 5 days a week. The results of the examination showed that in the facades of the houses, the radiation exceeded the recommended threshold by up to 7 times and stood at 14.3 milligauss.
“There is no doubt that there is a problem there, but the bigger problem will be in two or three years because electricity consumption is only increasing. The more consumption there is, the greater the radiation,” explains Daniel Schwartzberg, owner of Daria Health Engineers. “What’s even more problematic is that an upper voltage line has to maintain a minimum distance of 20 meters from residential buildings, and that’s only in terms of electrical safety.
In terms of radiation safety, the minimum distance is at least 50 m. There are very few places in Israel where such a reality exists. I know of such cases in Ashkelon, Hadera, Rosh HaAyin, and there was also a struggle in the Geha Road area, following which they moved an upper voltage line to the middle of the road to keep it away from the residential buildings. There are solutions to this, but they cost a lot of money. The line can be buried underground, and there are places like Rosh HaAyin that have done active shielding – pillars that generate counter-electricity that causes radiation to be canceled.”
The IEC said in response: “The electricity line is part of the national electricity transmission system that was established many years ago by law and in an open area. Over the years, the houses in the neighborhood approached the line in accordance with the regulations that allowed them to approach within 10 meters of the line outlines. Following inquiries received by the company, options for reducing magnetic field levels around the line were examined, and actions will soon be taken that are expected to reduce magnetic field levels. It should be noted that the World Health Organization has determined that there is no evidence of any effects resulting from prolonged stay in magnetic fields.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection said in response: “The Ministry of Environmental Protection acts in accordance with the precautionary principle, and acts to reduce exposure to non-ionizing radiation to a minimum. The Ministry is in constant contact with the Israel Electric Corporation on all matters related to reducing exposure to radiation emitted from electrical sweets, and instructed it to deal with the issue as early as 2016. The ministry instructed the electric company to plant the line or remove the wires from the houses with an additional arm on poles – actions that would lead to a reduction in the level of exposure.
It should be noted that the upper voltage line is old (established in 1958), when the area was open, and over the years houses were built near it. The ministry will insist that the plan be fully implemented, in accordance with the guidelines given by the ministry.”