Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Relocation of Electric Power Substation Demanded

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 8 2011 (IPS) - Environmental and social organizations in the Argentine city of Berazategui are calling for the relocation of an electric power substation to a less populated area and legislation on the placement of these facilities. "The project was approved by the courts based on Energy Ministry regulations but there is no legislation that considers the health impact of these facilities," said Vanesa Salgado, a resident of Berazategui, located south of the Argentine capital in the province of Buenos Aires.

According to reports endorsed by the World Health Organization, the transformation of high voltage electricity to lower voltages is a risk factor for the development of childhood leukemia, she told Tierramérica.

Salgado is a member of the Berazategui Forum for the Rights of Children, Adolescents and Youth, one of the organizations that is demanding that the substation be moved out of this central location and that legislation be adopted to protect the population from this type of contamination.