Health and safety impacts (PR1)

Vattenfall actively strives to take the initiative in detecting serious hazards that pose a risk to customers, especially with respect to incorrect use. For example, in Poland Vattenfall promotes use of district heating instead of water heated in individual, hazardous old systems based on gas boilers.

Power lines, like any electrical device, generate electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Concerns have been raised about whether electricity could be hazardous to people’s health, and whether EMFs could cause cancer or any other disease. Over the past thirty years considerable effort has been dedicated to investigating this issue. The research is ongoing, and there is a range of divergent views. However, the balance of scientific evidence to date suggests that normal levels of EMFs do not cause diseases. Vattenfall actively monitors related international scientific work in this field and complies with the international industry standard set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection as well as any related national regulatory requirements. Vattenfall contributes to the collaborative research undertaken by Elforsk (the Swedish Electrical Utilities R&D company).