A region better known for camembert cheese, lush rolling hills and apples, Normandy has become an unlikely battleground for France's efforts to boost nuclear energy production.

State-controlled energy company EDF is building France's first ever third generation nuclear reactor (termed a European Pressurized Reactor) in the town of Flamanville. And RTE, the electricity transmission network operator, is constructing a new overhead power line in the region. Work on the Flamanville reactor is set to be complete by 2012.

The plans have angered local residents who fear the high-voltage cables could lead to dangerous health and environmental effects.

Jean-Claude Bossard, mayor of the Normandy town of Le Chefresne, represents one of the 64 communities protesting the Contentin-Maine line -- a163-kilometer-long stretch of overhead power lines that will transport electricity from the Flamanville nuclear reactor.

In an area of rolling countryside already plagued by power lines, Bossard said the new lines will have negative effects on the region's agriculture. He has also accused energy officials of trying to cover them up.

"We already have two lines nearby. We already know farmers who have problems," Bossard said. "They're forced to sign a confidentiality agreement. That's to say, they're given assistance with the problems under one condition: that they keep quiet."

Project steamrolling residents' rights?

Bossard also alleged that laws preventing power lines from being built close to houses and farms are being blatantly flouted by the project.

Jean-Marc Perrin, RTE Director of the Contentin-Maine line project, however, dismissed the claim. He emphasized RTE's efforts to reduce the number of communities that will be affected by the project.

"RTE completely respects the laws and construction regulations that apply to this kind of project," Perrin said. "We've been working from a zone of 303 communities since December 2006 to define a surface area that won't involve more than 64 communities. This was achieved progressively through research and at the end of the studies the people were informed about the results. It's a progressive work that consisted of more than 1,400 meetings to arrive at the set path for the lines," he added.

But that hasn't stopped residents from urging the French government to conduct an ecological study of the effects overhead power lines may have on residents' health as well as the consequences for livestock and crops.

The state has refused to conduct costly and time-consuming research, instead offering the region's communities a total of 20 million euros ($30 million) in compensation -- a move Bossard said is confirmation that the project is detrimental to Normandy.

"That's something we find quite intriguing, because on the one hand we're told that there aren't any problems, but on the other hand, they're giving us 20 million euros," Bossard said. "It proves that there really are problems, that RTE and the state are aware of these problems but they think that money can buy everything."

No scientific support for health arguments

France derives roughly 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear energy produced by its more than 50 nuclear reactors. The country is the second largest nuclear power generator in the world behind the United States.

The commercial stakes are high, and safety concerns tend to surface only when nuclear energy hits close to home, according to Christoph Weber, an energy expert at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

"The location in Northern France is obviously quite well-suited to exporting electricity to Belgium or the UK, so I expect there is double motivation for EDF," Weber said. "They likely want to secure domestic production but also increase exports. But looking at the reaction of the locals, we see this NIMBY effect: Nimby, not in my back yard, something that is rather characteristic of modern, western societies. That said, everyone should take these issues seriously."

Weber said that scientific research did not back claims of overhead power lines harming the health of people and animals living in their proximity.

But he said health concerns related to overhead power lines remains a controversial topic.

In a recent report, the World Health Organization said to date, there is no convincing support for a possible association between exposure to electromagnetic fields like those surrounding power lines and the risk of leukemia or any other cancer.

Scientists at the US Health Department say their results suggest a weak association between increasing exposure to electromagnetic fields and an increased risk of childhood leukemia.

Author: Laura Schweiger

Editor: Sonia Phalnikar