Old power project still flawed
For the second time in five years, the Council of State has rejected as illegal a government decision approving an environmental impact study for three high-voltage power lines controversially running through the area of Kryoneri, a small town in northern Attica. The project was completed three and a half years ago. In a ruling published yesterday, Greece’s highest administrative court noted that experts on the effects of electromagnetic radiation on human health should have participated in the study. In 1997, the court had rejected the initial decision approving the study, as it had not contained the minister of health’s signature alongside that of the minister of the environment, town planning and public works. The power lines were completed in 1998, despite staunch opposition from Kryoneri residents who feared radiation could damage their health. Riot police were called in to disperse protestors and allow electricity board workers to put up pylons to carry the lines. Earlier that year, the same court dismissed the residents’ claims, arguing that the power lines would save Athens from blackouts.
