R v. Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte Duddridge

This was an application for judicial review of the decision of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for declining to issue regulations to the National Grid Company and other license holders under the Electricity Act 1989 to restrict the electromagnetic fields from electric cables which were being laid or were to be laid as part of the national grid. The application was brought on behalf of 3 children who lived in the area where the National Grid Company was laying a new high voltage underground cable. The applicants alleged that the non-ionizing radiation which would be emitted from these new cables when commissioned would enter their homes and schools and expose them to a risk of developing leukemia. They required the Secretary of State to issue regulations which would remove any such risk by restricting the level of electromagnetic fields. There was no evidence of possible risk to the health of those exposed to such fields. The court decided that Community Law did not impose upon member states an immediate obligation to apply the precautionary principle in considering legislation relating to the environment or human health. The applicants had therefore failed to show any grounds for challenging the decision of the Secretary of State not to issue regulations.