The dangerous effects of electromagnetic fields from power lines on the human body were first discovered in the 60s of the last century. After careful research into the health status of people who come into close contact with power lines in industrial settings, scientists have discovered alarming facts. Almost all of the examined individuals complained of increased fatigue, irritability, memory and sleep disturbances.
To all of the above symptoms that occur in a person after frequent contact with electromagnetic waves of industrial frequency, one can safely add depression, migraine, disorientation in space, muscle weakness, problems with the cardiovascular system, hypotension, visual impairment, atrophy of color perception, decreased immunity, potency, changes in blood composition, etc. and so on. The list can be continued with a number of physiological disorders and all kinds of diseases.
Very often, people living near power lines experience cancer, serious reproductive dysfunction, as well as the so-called electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome. It is quite scary to hear reports of research by some foreign scientists on the impact of high-voltage power lines on the health of our children. For example, Swedish and Danish researchers discovered that children living at a distance of up to 150 meters from power lines, substations and subways (!) are twice as likely to suffer from leukemia, and almost all of them have nervous system disorders.
In some countries there is such a medical term as electromagnetic allergy. People suffering from it have the opportunity to change their place of residence to another, located as far as possible from sources of electromagnetic radiation. Moreover, all this is officially sponsored by the government! How can the energy sector comment on the possible danger posed by power lines? First of all, they insist that the voltage of the electric current in power lines can be different, and therefore it is necessary to distinguish between safe and dangerous voltage. The range of influence of the magnetic field created by power lines is directly proportional to the power of the line itself. A professional can determine the voltage class of power lines offhand. You too can have this knowledge. Everything is quite simple - you need to pay attention to the number of wires in the bundle (not on the support itself). So: 2 wires - 330 kV 3 wires - 500 kV 4 wires - 750 kV The lower voltage class of the power line is determined by the number of insulators: 3-5 insulators - 35 kV 6-8 insulators - 110 kV 15 insulators - 220 kV.
In order to protect the population from the harmful effects of power lines, there are special standards that define a certain sanitary zone, conditionally starting from the outermost power line wire projected onto the ground. So: Voltage less than 20 kV - 10 m, 35 kV - 15 m, 110 kV - 20 m, 150-220 kV - 25 m, 330 - 500 kV - 30 m, 750 kV - 40 m. For some reason, the above standards apply specifically to Moscow and the Moscow region. Naturally, in accordance with them, plots for development are also allocated. The most interesting thing is that these standards do not take into account the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation, which is sometimes tens and sometimes hundreds of times more dangerous to health!
And now ATTENTION! To prevent the magnetic field from affecting your health, multiply each of the listed indicators by 10... It turns out that the lowest-power power line is harmless only at a distance of 100 meters! Power line wires contain voltage that is in maximum contact with the corona discharge threshold. In bad weather conditions, this discharge releases a cloud of oppositely charged ions into the atmosphere. The electric field created by them, even at a great distance from power lines, can be much greater than the permissible harmless values.
Just recently, a new project of the Moscow government to move some sections of high-voltage power lines underground received the green light. The mayor's office plans to use the vacated area for construction. This is where a logical question arises - will underground power lines be safe for people living above them? Will developers call energy specialists to the area planned for housing construction? Electromagnetic radiation from underground power lines and its impact on the human body, unfortunately, is still poorly understood...
The first to go underground will be the power lines located in the areas of Leninsky Prospect, Mira Avenue and Shchelkovskoe Highway. Next, it is planned to remove the power lines of the North-Eastern Administrative District underground, namely in Northern and Southern Medvedkovo, as well as in Bibirevo and Altufyevo. These territories are already put up for sale and are waiting for their investors. In total, there are more than a hundred power lines and open-type electrical substations in the capital. Potential developers of “power line” lands, and along with them the Moscow government, claim that modern technologies will make it possible to completely isolate electromagnetic radiation. For this purpose, it is planned to use coaxial cables laid in special shielding collectors.
Unfortunately, moving power lines underground is an expensive procedure (costing approximately 1 million euros per 1 km of cable laid), and therefore there is no guarantee that developers will not “save money”. So no one knows whether housing built above power lines will be safe in all respects. Remember, if your house is located very close to power lines (see permissible sanitary standards above), the most correct decision is still to buy a new home located in a safer area!
Our company LLC "Skhid-budkonstruktsiya", Ukraine, is engaged in the production of various metal products, traverses for reinforced concrete supports of power lines, metal structures of steel power transmission line supports.
During operation, power lines create electric and magnetic fields of industrial frequency in the adjacent space. The distance over which electromagnetic fields propagate from line wires reaches tens of meters. The range of propagation of the electromagnetic field depends on the voltage level of the power line (the number indicating the voltage class is in the name of the power line - for example, a 220 kV power line), the higher the voltage, the larger the zone of increased level of the electromagnetic field, while the size of the zone does not change during the operation of the power line.
The propagation range of the magnetic field of a power line depends on the magnitude of the flowing current or on the line load. Since the load on power lines can change repeatedly both during the day and with changing seasons, the size of the zone of increased electromagnetic field levels also changes.
Impact of power lines on human health
Electromagnetic fields of power lines are very strong factors influencing the state of all biological objects falling within the zone of their influence. For example, in the zone of greatest influence of the electric field, near high-voltage power line supports and power line traverses, insects show changes in behavior: for example, bees show increased aggressiveness, anxiety, decreased performance and productivity, and a tendency to lose queens; Beetles, mosquitoes, butterflies and other flying insects exhibit changes in behavioral responses, including a change in the direction of movement towards a lower field level. Plants often develop developmental anomalies - the shapes and sizes of flowers, leaves, stems change, and extra petals appear.
A specific feature of the operation of power lines is associated with the effect on the environment of a complex of biological factors of an electromagnetic nature, including:
Variable electromagnetic potential on the wire;
Electrical leakage currents;
Electrical grounding currents in the soil;
Corona discharge;
Ionizing radiation;
Under the power lines, which extend for many hundreds of kilometers, a large amount of land is allocated, called a “right-of-way.”
The influence of the electromagnetic field on the human body
The human body is affected by prolonged stay in the area of power lines. Short-term irradiation of a few minutes can only affect hypersensitive people or those with certain types of allergies. For example, the work of English scientists in the early 90s is well known, showing that a number of allergy sufferers, when exposed to the electromagnetic field of power lines, develop an epileptic-type reaction in the body. With a long stay (months - years) of a person in the electromagnetic field of power lines, diseases can develop, mainly of the cardiovascular and nervous systems of the human body. In recent years, human cancer has often been cited as a long-term consequence.
The electric field of a power line has the greatest influence on a person wearing shoes that insulate him from the ground. In this case, a potential is induced on a conducting human body isolated from the ground, depending on the ratio of the body’s capacitance to the ground and to the power line wires. The smaller the capacitance to ground (the thicker, for example, the sole of a shoe), the greater the induced potential, which can be several kilovolts and even reach 10 kV.
Based on the design features of the power transmission line (wire sagging), the greatest influence of the electromagnetic field on a person appears in the middle of the span, where the tension for super- and ultra-high voltage lines at the level of human height is 5 - 20 kV/m and higher, depending on the voltage class and design lines.
At power transmission line supports, where the height of the wires is greatest and the shielding effect of the supports is felt, the field strength is the lowest. Since there may be people, animals, and vehicles under the power line wires, there is a need to assess the possible consequences of long-term and short-term stay of people in the power line area, in an electric field of varying strength.
In experiments conducted by many researchers, a clear threshold value of the electromagnetic field strength of power lines was discovered, at which a dramatic change in the reaction of the human body occurs. The value is determined to be 160 kV/m; a lower electromagnetic field strength does not cause any noticeable harm to humans.
The electromagnetic field strength in the areas of 750 kV power transmission line supports at human height is approximately 5-6 times less than dangerous values. The adverse effects of an industrial frequency electric field on the human body serving power transmission line supports and outdoor switchgear substations with voltages of 500 kV and higher have been identified; at voltages of 380 and 220 kV this effect is weakly expressed. But at all voltages, the effect of a high-frequency field on the human body depends on the duration of stay in it.
Based on the research carried out, sanitary standards and rules have been developed, which indicate the minimum permissible distances for the location of residential buildings from stationary emitting objects, such as power line supports. These standards also provide for the maximum permissible (limit) levels of electromagnetic radiation for other energy-hazardous objects. In some cases, bulky metal screens in the form of sheets, nets and other devices are used to protect people.
Sanitary standards for power lines
Studies of the influence of electromagnetic fields of industrial frequency (EMF IF) on humans, carried out in the USSR in the 60-70s, focused mainly on the effect of the electrical component, since no significant effect of the magnetic component was experimentally detected. In the 70s, strict standards were introduced for the population on EP FC, which are still among the most stringent in the world. They are set out in the Sanitary Standards and Rules “Protection of the population from the effects of the electric field created by overhead power lines of alternating current of industrial frequency” No. 2971-84. In accordance with these sanitary standards, all electrical supply facilities are designed and built.
However, at present, numerous studies by scientists in various countries have shown that weak electromagnetic fields (EMF), the power of which is measured in thousandths of a watt, are no less dangerous to humans, and in some cases more dangerous, than electromagnetic radiation from high-power power lines. Scientists explain this by saying that the intensity of weak electromagnetic fields is commensurate with the intensity of radiation from the human body itself, its internal energy, which is formed as a result of the functioning of all systems and organs, including the cellular level. Such low (non-thermal) intensities characterize the emissions from electronic household appliances found in every home today. These are mainly computers, televisions, mobile phones, microwave ovens, etc. They are also sources of so-called harmful substances for humans. man-made EMR, which have the property of accumulating in the human body, thereby disturbing its bioenergetic balance, and, first of all, the so-called. energy information exchange (ENIO). And this, in turn, affects the normal functioning of the main systems of the human body. Numerous studies in the field of the influence of electromagnetic fields on humans have determined that electromagnetic fields have the greatest influence on the nervous, immune, endocrine and reproductive systems of the body. EMF irradiation under conditions of prolonged long-term exposure to a person can lead to the development of long-term consequences for the body, including degenerative processes of the human central nervous system, blood cancer (leukemia), brain tumors, hormonal diseases, etc.
Today it is no secret that the magnetic field is considered the most dangerous to human health, but the maximum permissible value of the magnetic field for the population in Russia and Ukraine is not standardized. There is only one reason - there is no money for research and development of standards. Most of the power transmission line routes in Ukraine were built without taking this danger into account.
Based on mass epidemiological surveys of the population living in conditions of irradiation by magnetic fields of power lines, a magnetic induction flux density of 0.2 - 0.3 µT.
Protection of humans from the adverse effects of electromagnetic fields from power lines
The basic principle of protecting human health from the electromagnetic field of power lines is to establish sanitary protection zones for power lines and reduce the electric field strength in residential buildings and in places where people may stay for a long time by using protective screens.
According to the standards, a person’s stay without protective equipment in an electric field with a voltage of up to 5 kV/m inclusive can be as long as desired. For a 500 kV transmission line, a field strength of 5 kV/m is achieved under wires located at a height of less than 15 m from the ground surface, and a field strength of 10 kV/m is achieved under wires located at a height of less than 8 m.
Under lines in hard-to-reach areas (for example, swamps, mountain slopes), an electric field strength of 20 kV/m is allowed; for uninhabited areas - 15 kV/m, at intersections with roads - 10 kV/m and for populated areas where people may often be under the lines - 5 kV/m. In addition, the permissible voltage at the boundaries of residential buildings is standardized - 1.5 kV/m, while a person’s stay is allowed throughout his life. It should be noted that the indicated field strength values are determined at the level of a person’s head (1.8 m above the ground).
The boundaries of sanitary protection zones for power transmission lines on existing lines are determined by the criterion of electric field strength - 1 kV/m.
For overhead high-voltage power lines (OHVs), sanitary protection zones of power lines are installed on both sides of the projection of the outermost wires of the overhead lines onto the ground. These zones determine the minimum distances to the nearest residential, industrial and non-industrial buildings and structures.
Sanitary zones of power lines according to SN No. 2971-84
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Voltage |
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Sanitary size (security) zone |
2 m | 10 m | 15 m | 20 m | 25 m | 30 m | 40 m |
The placement of ultra-high voltage overhead line supports (750 and 1150 kV) is subject to additional requirements regarding the conditions of exposure to an electric field on a person. Thus, the closest distance from the axis of the designed routes of 750 and 1150 kV overhead power lines to the boundaries of populated areas should, as a rule, be at least 250 and 300 m, respectively.
How to determine the voltage of a power transmission line support? It is best to contact your local energy company, but you can try visually, although this is difficult for a non-specialist:
330 kV - 2 wires on the traverses of power line supports, 500 kV - 3 wires on the traverses of power lines, 750 kV - 4 wires. Below 330 kV, one wire per phase, can only be determined approximately by the number of insulators in the garland: 220 kV 10 -15 pcs., 110 kV 6-8 pcs., 35 kV 3-5 pcs., 10 kV and below - 1 pc. .
Permissible levels of exposure to electric fields
| MPL, kV/m | Electric field irradiation conditions |
| 0,5 | inside residential buildings |
| 1,0 | on the territory of a residential development zone |
| 5,0 | in populated areas outside of residential areas; (land of cities within city limits within the boundaries of their long-term development for 10 years, suburban and green areas, resorts, lands of urban-type settlements within the village features and rural settlements within the boundaries of these settlements) as well as on areas of vegetable gardens and orchards; |
| 10,0 | at the intersection of overhead power lines with automobile roads of categories 1 – IV; |
| 15,0 | in uninhabited areas (undeveloped areas, although often visited by people, accessible by transport, and agricultural land); |
| 20,0 | in hard-to-reach areas (inaccessible to transport and agricultural machinery) and in areas specially fenced off for exclusion of public access. |
Within the sanitary protection zone of overhead lines it is prohibited:
- build residential and public buildings and structures;
- arrange parking areas for all types of transport;
- locate automobile servicing enterprises and oil and petroleum products warehouses;
- carry out operations with fuel, repair machines and mechanisms;
- carry out all kinds of mining, blasting, reclamation work, plant trees, water crops;
- block the entrances and approaches to overhead line supports;
- arrange sports grounds, stadiums, transport stops, and hold any events involving large crowds of people.
Carrying out the necessary measures in the security zone of power lines can only be carried out upon receipt of written permission to carry out work from the enterprise (organization) in charge of these networks. The use of territories located in the power transmission line zone is regulated by the new Rules for the establishment of security zones of electric grid facilities and special conditions for the use of land plots located within the boundaries of such zones.
The territories of sanitary zones of power lines are allowed to be used as agricultural land, but it is recommended to grow crops on them that do not require human manual labor.
If in some areas the electric field strength outside the sanitary protection zone is higher than the maximum permissible 0.5 kV/m inside the building and higher than 1 kV/m in the residential area (in places where people may be present), they must measures should be taken to reduce tensions. To do this, on the roof of a building with a non-metal roof, almost any metal mesh is placed, grounded in at least two points. In buildings with a metal roof, it is enough to ground the roof in at least two points. In personal plots or other places where people are located, the power frequency field strength can be reduced by installing protective screens, for example, reinforced concrete, metal fences, cable screens, trees or shrubs at least 2 m high.
Long-term stay of people for months and years in the area of power lines that emit electromagnetic vibrations and create an electromagnetic field leads to negative changes in the body. This condition causes disturbances in the nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine, reproductive, hematological, and immune systems and increases the risk of developing cancer pathology.
That is why, in order to protect people from the harmful effects of the electromagnetic field along the high-voltage line, the installation of sanitary protection zones is prescribed, the size of which is set taking into account the voltage of the power line.
Are power lines harmful?
In some cases, high-voltage (more than 150 kW) power lines run near residential buildings. This fact is extremely worrying for residents of such areas, so they have a completely natural question: are power lines (power lines) harmful to health?
People's fears are not unfounded. So, if you stay in the area of the electromagnetic field emitted by power lines for a long time, your well-being and health may deteriorate.
High-voltage power lines are harmful to health
The health status of people who come into close contact with power lines in production conditions or who live nearby is approximately the same. People complain of increased fatigue, irritability, memory impairment, sleep disturbances, depression, migraine, disorientation in space, muscle weakness, problems with the cardiovascular system, hypotension, visual impairment, atrophy of color perception, decreased immunity, potency, changes in blood composition.
Life under tension
When choosing real estate, we weigh many factors - the quality of access roads, distance from the city center, development of communications, etc. But when communications in the form of high-voltage power lines (power lines) are located directly overhead, the question arises of how safe it is. And often selling housing next to power lines is a big problem.
In the USSR, the magnetic component of radiation from high-voltage power lines was not taken into account at all in safety standards.
Protection against electromagnetic radiation. Gamma 7
In the 60s, specialists in Russia paid attention to the electromagnetic fields of power lines (PTLs). After long-term and in-depth studies of the health of people who have contact with power lines at work, the results of these studies showed that people who spent a long time in the electromagnetic field more often complained of weakness, irritability, fatigue, weakened memory and sleep disturbances.
What is the impact of power lines on human health?
For those who still don’t really understand what a power line actually is, I’ll say that these are power lines that have enveloped our Earth like a web.
The situation is especially dangerous in modern cities, where you can often see not only a dense network of wires, but also powerful substations for powering nearby areas. And, if in the Soviet Union they even more or less followed human safety standards, now the situation has changed.
How harmful is the power line running near the site to health?
With prolonged stay (months - years) of people in the electromagnetic field of power lines, it can lead to adverse changes in health status, cause changes in the state of the cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine, hematological, reproductive, and immune systems, and also increases the risk of developing cancer pathology.
In order to protect the population from the effects of EMF, sanitary protection zones (SPZ) are established along the high-voltage line route, the size of which depends on the voltage class of the power line.
About the dangers of power lines on the human body
There is a lot of talk about the dangers of high-voltage power lines, and most often in vain. Whatever theories have been put forward about how power lines affect a person, statistics on the incidence of cancer in people living in an area with a nearby high-voltage line, the influence of power lines on brain cells, and even widespread hair loss are associated with closely located high-voltage lines.
Just about health
Thomas Edison, who invented the first incandescent lamp back in 1880, could not imagine how dependent his descendants would be on this invention. Light, TV, radiotelephone, electric stove and kettle, heaters and pumps - can we now do without these familiar things? Power lines have entangled the whole world; invisible energy runs along the wires to the most remote corners of the planet.
Sanitary zone of power lines. The influence of electromagnetic fields on humans
During operation, power lines create electric and magnetic fields of industrial frequency in the adjacent space. The distance over which electromagnetic fields propagate from line wires reaches tens of meters. The range of propagation of the electromagnetic field depends on the voltage level of the power line (the number indicating the voltage class is in the name of the power line - for example, a 220 kV power line), the higher the voltage, the larger the zone of increased level of the electromagnetic field, while the size of the zone does not change during the operation of the power line.
There is a lot of talk about the dangers of high-voltage power lines, and most often in vain. Whatever theories have been put forward about how power lines affect a person, here are statistics on the incidence of cancer of people living in an area with a nearby high-voltage line, and the influence of power lines on brain cells, and even widespread hair loss is associated with closely located high-voltage lines. Let's try to understand this issue and justify what is said but never proven.
So, only two types of radiation can come from power lines, in the form of a static field and alternating waves. In addition to high-voltage lines, the same radiation is produced by electrical wiring and any of the electrical appliances in our houses and apartments. For comparison, let's take one AC outlet with a voltage of 220-240 volts, located a meter from a person, and a power line with a voltage of about 200 kilovolts, located at a distance of 30 meters. The strength of the static field becomes smaller in proportion to the square of the distance, so both radiation sources, the outlet and the power line, have approximately the same effect.
In the case of alternating waves, the attenuation occurs much weaker, since their strength is inversely proportional to the distance from the radiation source, and if we take the same distances as in the previous case, then the equivalent of an outlet located a meter away from us will be a power line with a voltage of 6. 5 kilovolts. Please also note that in our home there is not just one outlet, but also meters of electrical wiring, a refrigerator, a TV, a computer, and a bunch of other electrical appliances, and their radiation will be much stronger.
It is impossible to say that high-voltage power lines have any harmful effects on the human body. The fact is that this issue has never been fully studied. In theory, the only thing that a nearby power line can cause in the body is resonance of internal organs. However, the industrial frequency of the current is 50 Hz, and there is no such frequency in the human body; lower frequencies influence us. However, people who work with high voltage, including high-voltage power lines, have noted that they experience chronic fatigue syndrome, irritability, and weakened immunity. It is quite possible that the listed symptoms are due to the fact that work with high voltages requires constant composure and attentiveness, in contrast to other jobs, when increased attention is required only periodically.
The issue of the dangers of power lines will remain unstudied for a very long time, and the point is not that there are people for whom it is important that this information remains sealed, although this may well be the case, the point is that Each person has a very different perception of both electromagnetic fields and static radiation from high-voltage lines. In some countries there is even the concept of “electrical allergy”.
People who are especially sensitive to radiation from electrical appliances and high-voltage lines have the right to move to a greater distance from passing power lines. By the way, all costs and search for housing are borne by the government. In our country, the maximum money was spent on was to develop standards according to which high-voltage lines are installed. Residential buildings should be located no closer than 10 meters for a line of 35 kilovolts, 50 meters for 110-220 kilovolts and 100 meters for 330 kilovolts and above. The distance is calculated from the outermost wire to the wall of a residential building.
Another interesting fact: living next door in the same house, two people of the same age can experience different effects from power lines passing nearby. For one it will have a depressing effect, while for another, on the contrary, it will feel a surge of vigor and strength.
It turns out that indeed high-voltage power lines affect people differently. Perhaps this is precisely what is slowing down research in this area? Although it is quite possible that in reality there is no powerful influence at all, and in both the first and second cases it is simply self-persuasion.
At the moment, there is no evidence that power lines are harmful to humans, however, nothing has been written about their harmlessness. Indeed, what is known for certain is that they have a certain effect on the human body, but how detrimentally it affects us remains a mystery.
However, supporters of the opinion that high-voltage lines destroy the human body annually publish dry mortality statistics in areas where powerful power lines run. Sanitary services, in turn, claim that high-voltage power lines are harmless and provide physical calculations. If you look at this problem sensibly, without giving preference to one side or the other, then you can draw certain conclusions. For example, a drop of water cannot kill a person, but if it methodically drips on his head, then very soon the person goes crazy.
If you spend your whole life under the support of a power line of 330 kilovolts, then naturally there will be a very significant effect of its radiation on your body, but if you are constantly away from power lines and only periodically come into contact with the radiation emitted by them, then you will not see any changes in your body notice.
That is why, if possible, try to get out of the city, at least occasionally, because our cities have long become a kind of energy cesspools, where electromagnetic, static and many other types of energy fields intertwine. In some places, influencing each other, they weaken, in others, overlapping, they intensify many times and no longer meet sanitary standards at all. It is virtually impossible to protect yourself from them, but giving your body a break from their effects is available to almost everyone.
High voltage power lines cause concern for people living near them. Many people notice that after being under power lines for a long time, their health worsens.
There is an opinion that harmful electromagnetic waves change brain cells, disrupt the functioning of the entire body and even cause cancer. But is it really harmful to live next to power lines and what is the opinion of experts on this matter?
Danger of power lines: myth or reality?
High-voltage lines, as well as electrical appliances and wiring, emit 2 types of radiation - alternating waves and static fields. For example, you can take an outlet with a voltage of 220 to 240 volts, located 1 meter from a person, and a power line with a voltage of 200 kilovolts, installed 30 meters from a residential building.
The strength of the static field decreases with distance. Therefore, an outlet and a power line will have approximately the same impact on people.
Regarding alternating waves, they attenuate less, because their strength is directly proportional to the distance from the energy source. If we take similar distances, then the equivalent of an outlet will be a power line with a voltage of 6.5 kilovolts.
Moreover, in an apartment, in a country house or in an office space there are many sockets installed, there is also electrical wiring and various devices that operate on current. Taken together, their radiation is much more harmful to humans than the waves emanating from power lines.
There is no information that 100% confirms that living near a high-voltage line is dangerous. This topic has not been fully explored. But there is an opinion that for people living near power lines, the latter causes disruption in the functioning of internal organs. But the frequency of industrial current is 50 Hz, and the human body is affected by frequencies that are much lower.
But people working with high voltage noted that after a long stay near power lines, they still experienced harmful effects. Most people experienced the following symptoms:
- constant malaise;
- weakened immunity;
- nervousness.
This is probably due to the complexity of the profession, which requires high concentration and constant composure. Scientists note that each person has a different degree of perception of strong electric and magnetic fields and static radiation from power lines.
The painful condition caused by the negative effects of power lines is called “electrical allergy.” In some countries, a person with such a disease has the right to move to an area far from power lines. Moreover, financial expenses and search for housing are carried out by government agencies.
Thus, single people living in a house located next to power lines may be subject to their negative impact to varying degrees. One person will constantly feel the effects of the harmful effects of power lines, while the health of another will remain unchanged.
What could be the consequences of living next to a high-voltage line?
Presumably, a power line located where a dacha, apartment, office or other premises where people are often located can cause damage to their health. The danger of harmful radiation is the appearance of chronic fatigue syndrome in humans, weakened immunity and increased irritability.
Indirect evidence of this is the results of studies conducted at the Karolinska Institute in the USA. Scientists have found that prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields increases the risk of developing cancer, heart and vascular diseases, impairs reproductive function and contributes to depression.
Researchers were able to study the theory of harm from power lines thanks to the participation in the experiment of several thousand people whose lives pass near high-voltage lines. Although the exact reasons for the negative effects of electromagnetic fields could not be determined.
But scientists suggest that power lines ionize dust particles hovering near them, and then penetrating into a person’s lungs. In the respiratory organs, ions charge the cells, which disrupts their function.
Of course, if you spend a long time in a place where there is a high-voltage line, every person will learn about its harmful effects. This “unfavorable neighborhood” increases the likelihood of cancer and disrupts the functioning of many body systems:
- nervous;
- sexual;
- immune;
- endocrine;
- hematological;
- cardiovascular.
Harmful power lines are especially dangerous for pregnant women, children, allergy sufferers, and people with central nervous system diseases and immunodeficiencies. This is confirmed by reviews of people who have worked in the area of electromagnetic radiation for more than a year.
They noted that they developed severe headaches, hypertension and deteriorated vision. And young men who have not previously had heart problems often have a heart attack.
How do you know if power lines pose a health hazard?
How can a person living near high-voltage lines independently determine the degree of influence of electromagnetic fields on the body? It was said above that the transmission distance of the harmful magnetic field is determined by the power of the power line.
Knowing the necessary information, even from the wires, you can approximately determine the voltage class of the power line. This will tell you the number of wires in the “bundle” (phase). So, where there are 4 wires the power is 750 kilowatts, 3 - 500 kV, 2 - 330 kV, 1 - less than 330 kV.
To establish the class, you need to know the number of insulators in the garland. 220 VK - 10-15 pieces, 35 kV - 3-5 pieces, 110 kV - 6-8 pieces, 10 kV - 1 insulator.
To protect people from the effects of magnetic fields, referring to the power of power lines, sanitary protection zones are installed with the projection of the far wire. Below is a list indicating the power line voltage and the zone size in meters:
- 750 kV – 40 m;
- 300-500 kV – 30 m;
- 150-220 kV – 25 m;
- 110 kV – 20 m;
- 35 kV – 15 m;
- up to 20 kV – 10 m.
However, in this table, standards are established for Moscow. But in a number of cases, it is precisely this regulation that is used when allocating sites for development.
Although the sanitary standards described above were determined without taking into account the influence of the magnetic field. But today all over the world they are talking about their even greater harm than from electrical radiation. But in Russia and the countries of the former CIS there is no such thing as the level of magnetic fields and it is not standardized at all.
Therefore, before buying a dacha, house or apartment near power lines, it is worth inviting an ecologist to conduct a study. Experts will carry out an inspection and give an official, legally confirmed opinion. Also in large cities such as Moscow, you can use the services of specialists from the Association of Independent Laboratories, who will conduct a professional environmental assessment.
For those who want to completely protect themselves from the negative effects of magnetic fields, researchers recommend increasing the sanitary protection zone norm tenfold. So, 100 meters is enough so that the human body is not exposed to the influence of weak power lines. And if real estate that is falling apart near high-voltage lines has already been purchased, and there is no way to sell it, then you definitely need to call specialists who can determine the degree of potential danger.
Although to this day there is no official data regarding the safety of power lines, their negative impact cannot be denied. After all, the majority of people living or working near power lines noted that their health is getting worse every year. Therefore, those who are often exposed to electromagnetic radiation need to periodically relax in environmentally friendly areas - outside the city, in the forest, in the mountains or at sea.