Me & my better half considering buying a house in a lovely residential suburbian gated village in Bangkok. Wide roads between the houses and even a small man made pond in the vicinity.

Across the road, maybe 10 m there's a mounted transformer. Neighbors house in the picture, they're on the same side of the pole.

I googled and some oil cooled transformers are known to cause cancer but such systems have supposedly been replaced by improved technology in transformers in residential areas in the west.

I know google is my friend but I'm also valuing input from humans.
The concern being radiation and health hazards. I know there's other dangers mobile radiation etc etc, but I'm addressing the potential health hazards of the emissions of these particular transformers at the moment.
Has anyone got any input or thoughts on this?   grateful for any thoughts

 

Edited November 14, 20205 yr by WhereIsMyRyeBread

You can get a EMF tester for <$20; maybe other people can advise you on which kind, what to look out for etc.

Just now, onebir said:

You can get a EMF tester for <$20; maybe other people can advise you on which kind, what to look out for etc.

ah yea..nice, I may just do that, thank you for the link and speedy reply

Old timey oil filled transformers used PCB's as a cooling/insulating fluid.  That's what causes cancer, but only if it's no longer sealed in the transformer.  Occasionally, transformers do leak or blow up and spew their die-electric fluid, but it's pretty easy to avoid contact.  And most transformers made in the past few decades have been PCB free, though someone else should be along soon with more details for Thailand.  Besides which, there are worse things very common to Thai construction and electrical installs.  But that's a whole 'nother thread.

 

EMF's at the 50 hz range aren't suspected to cause cancer as far as I know, otherwise you'd get it from your home wiring and appliances.  It's not as strong as the current in the transformer, but it's much closer- so the effects would be more profound by the inverse square rule.

 

Which leaves the aesthetics of having a transformer so close.  Along with a possible irritating hum for a transformer that's not in top condition.  Or a crackle for one in a very humid environment.  (I had both from transformers near my Asoke apartment in BKK, but not too irritating from 25 meters away)   Those are personal preference issues and not a cancer thing.

 

Edited November 14, 20205 yr by impulse

People have been living with electricity for well over 100 years. I know it seems as if many posters on here have some form of mental disease it is unlikely that it comes from a "domestic" step-down transformer. 

 

I can see no downside from buying a house with a transformer outside in the street. It has to be somewhere. Many upcountry residents have to install their own transformer just so they can have an electricity supply.  

I'd be more concerned about the flying kangaroo.

 

5 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I know it seems as if many posters on here have some form of mental disease

Hi.

10 hours ago, WhereIsMyRyeBread said:

The concern being radiation and health hazards.

the frequency that transformer operates at is too low to be cause for concern and it is too far away. 

i would be far more concerned about cellphone towers, especially the ones you see mounted directly on top of office buildings. they can have microwave links that use high power to tie cell sites together. 

2 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

the frequency that transformer operates at is too low to be cause for concern and it is too far away. 

i would be far more concerned about cellphone towers, especially the ones you see mounted directly on top of office buildings. they can have microwave links that use high power to tie cell sites together. 

Thanks for the reply, out in Pathumthani they readily put mobile phone towers on the roof of residential apartment blocks as well.

 

10 hours ago, impulse said:

Old timey oil filled transformers used PCB's as a cooling/insulating fluid.  That's what causes cancer, but only if it's no longer sealed in the transformer.  Occasionally, transformers do leak or blow up and spew their die-electric fluid, but it's pretty easy to avoid contact.  And most transformers made in the past few decades have been PCB free, though someone else should be along soon with more details for Thailand.  Besides which, there are worse things very common to Thai construction and electrical installs.  But that's a whole 'nother thread.

 

EMF's at the 50 hz range aren't suspected to cause cancer as far as I know, otherwise you'd get it from your home wiring and appliances.  It's not as strong as the current in the transformer, but it's much closer- so the effects would be more profound by the inverse square rule.

 

Which leaves the aesthetics of having a transformer so close.  Along with a possible irritating hum for a transformer that's not in top condition.  Or a crackle for one in a very humid environment.  (I had both from transformers near my Asoke apartment in BKK, but not too irritating from 25 meters away)   Those are personal preference issues and not a cancer thing.

 

 Thanks for this kind reply, I appreciate the details