London, April 21 : A secret report linking power lines and risk of cancer has raised fresh concern in the ministerial corridors in Britain.

The report urges the Government to ban the building of new houses and schools within 60 metres of overhead high-voltage power cables, as exposure to electromagnetic fields from the electricity grid system may lead to cancer.

A 40-member team of scientists, electricity company bosses, the National Grid, government officials, and campaigners compiled the report, which appears two years after the Health Protection Agency had accepted that there was a weak statistical “association” between prolonged exposure to power fields and childhood leukaemia.

“We urge government to make a clear decision on whether to implement this option or not,” the Daily Mail quoted the report as stating.

The report, which is to be signed off by panel members next week, has sparked conflict amongst experts. Two members of the panel, regulator Ofgem and Scottish & Southern Energy, are understood to have quit.

Some members of the panel are of the opinion that childhood leukaemia is the only adverse health effect where evidence is strong enough for precautionary measures to be considered.

Whereas the second group takes the view highlighted by the California Department of Health Services that electromagnetic fields are “possibly carcinogenic” in terms of childhood leukaemia, and four other risks—adult leukaemia, adult brain tumours, miscarriages and a form of motor neurone disease.

“The advice to government from following this ‘California’ view would therefore be to tend to favour implementing the ‘corridors for new build’ option,” said SAGE, stressing that in this scenario the costs and benefits would be at least comparable.

The panel recommends that the Health Protection Agency should issue more information about how to reduce the impact of exposure to electromagnetic fields.

It will also call for a change to the working of overhead lines to reduce the radius of intense electromagnetic fields. (ANI)