This whole while, Sergio had been keeping his mom in Italy updated with the happenings -- calls nearly twice a day. She was happy for us but told us that maybe we should check into those electrical wires she spied from the photos...
Of course we had noticed them the first time but they kind of disappeared into the scenery for us after while. And they seemed far enough away. I didn't really give it much thought after mentally noting their existence. So, Sergio did extensive online research and discovered that there were definitely potential dangers in being close. The towers might be far but the wires themselves came maybe 200-300 feet away from the deck. Hmmm... Unfortunately, Electromagnetic Field (EMF) is not regulated in the United States. Because of this, much of the info we found online could be categorized into the "conspiracy theory" set of research. BUT, it is highly regulated in parts of Europe, Australia, and other developed parts of the world. So even though the scant U.S. based studies we found gave us very little to go on, there were very specific distances and levels that were considered "safe" in the rest of the world.
We were getting really worried. Like really, really worried. The scariest potential issues that could develop from living with high EMF levels is childhood leukemia. It affects children the most because their bodies are still forming, cells and DNA still so malleable. Before we called our agent, we decided to buy a meter and test it ourselves. We would use our current house, and my parents' house to compare. If the readings seemed high, we would let our agent know, and call in a professional to test the house with real equipment. We looked at the contract and EMF is listed as one of the reasons we could cancel the escrow.
So, the lowest measured EMF reading in the study that linked EMF to leukemia was 2.0. Our meter measured about 1.4. Not great but maybe ok still??? We really didn't want to lose this house so we thought...maybe we could move in, put in some work, and then sell it in a couple years. But do we call in the professional? Yes. Maybe? I think we were just afraid of what we were pretty sure we were going to learn. We tested our current house, and then my mom's. They were both in the 0.03 range. Basically zilch. The next day, Sunday, we drove up to take another reading. This time, it hit 2.0. We called our agent.
We explained the situation and she immediately thought we should back out. But we decided to call in the professional. Maybe they would have more insight. She set it up for the next morning, Monday. I had to go to work but the three of them would all meet at the house. He had a fancy, professional meter, of course. Well, his reading was way above ours. The moment she saw the reading, our agent was immediately on her phone, making arrangements for us to back out.
Back to square one.
SIGH. We totally dodged a bullet though and we are grateful and relieved. Let's take one last long look at the view beneath the wires. I mean, really. This in the middle of the city. How could we not fall in love, right?
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