EMF Radiation from Power Lines: An Introduction


My interest in EMF radiation and its potentially harmful effects on human health began many years ago when I was still a student in high school.

I recall my physics teacher, a genius and former engineer, delving into the physics of electromagnetic fields. He explained how flowing electricity generates a magnetic field all around it. The stronger the current, the stronger the magnetic field it propagates.

He ended his lecture with a brief mention of power lines, the kind that surround us in our neighborhoods and run throughout our cities.

“Are the magnetic fields produced by powerlines safe?” he asked the class. “Well, as it turns out, they may be, or they may be making us really sick and we just don’t know it.” Talk about a cliffhanger.

Pretty much my high school physics teacher…

That lecture was my wake-up call to the potentially harmful, health-adverse effects of EMF radiation and the start of my journey down this deep rabbit hole.

And so today I will be answering the question my physics teacher glossed over all those years ago—are powerlines safe? And, is the EMF radiation they produce making us sick?

As it turns out, the response to this question isn’t very straightforward, so let’s start at the beginning.

How Powerlines Produce Electromagnetic Fields

Our story begins with a Danish man by the name of Hans Christian Orsted, born in 1777 in Rudkobing, Denmark. The son of a pharmacist, Orsted excelled in physics and went on to study at the university of Copenhagen.

While working as a professor at the university, Orsted came across something rather unusual. He noticed that his compass pointed towards a wire whenever he connected the wire to a battery. From this unusual discovery he went on to theorize that flowing electricity created magnetic fields all around it.

Orsted’s theory proved correct and his findings serve as the foundation of our modern understanding of electromagnetism.

So, what does this have to do with powerlines and your health? We’ll get to all of that in a second, but the important thing to remember is this: Orsted proved that the strength of a magnetic field is proportional to the strength of the electrical current producing it.

In other words, stronger electrical currents produce stronger magnetic fields. Magnetic fields are one component of EMF radiation (the other component is electric fields). It follows, then, that huge currents of electricity produce proportionally huge amounts of EMF radiation.

But just how huge are the EMFs produced by the powerlines you’re likely to find in your neighborhood? Let’s take a look.

How Much EMF Radiation do Powerlines Generate?

Before we get too deep into this question, let’s establish what we mean by the term “radiation” here. The kind of radiation emitted by powerlines is EMF radiation. This kind of radiation is non-ionizing, which is a fancy way of saying that it won’t obliterate the molecules it passes through.

Just because EMF radiation is non-ionizing, that doesn’t mean it’s perfectly safe for your health. In fact, a growing number of studies have shown a strong relationship between EMF exposure from powerlines and the incidence of childhood leukemia.

Other health conditions which have been shown to correlate with EMF exposure include:

  • Disrupted Immune Function
  • Reproduction Issues
  • Oxidative Damage and DNA Repair Failure
  • Disrupted Sleep
  • Affected Brain Performance and Learning Disorders
  • Heart Conditions
  • Brain Tumors
  • Cancer

In the next section, we’ll go over some of the studies that show the dangers of power transmission lines located in residential areas. For now, let’s establish why power transmission lines are particularly common source of EMF exposure.

The giant currents found in power transmission lines produce powerful EMFs. Of course, the EMFs will vary in strength depending on the type of power line. Larger power lines, like the kind that supply entire cities, are likely to have larger currents and, therefore, produce stronger EMFs.

Smaller power lines, like the ones found in suburban neighborhoods, transmit weaker electrical currents and so the EMFs produced by these power lines are generally weaker.

That’s not to say, however, that smaller power transmission lines are safer than their larger counterparts. In fact, smaller power lines may expose you to stronger EMFs if you are in closer proximity to them.

This concept leads us to another aspect of Orsted’s discovery—the strength of the magnetic field produced by an electrical current is strongest at the wire and weakens as you increase the distance between you and the wire.

In simple terms, the EMF of a massive power line 100 yards from your house is weaker than the EMF of a small powerline right in your backyard. The farther you are from the power source, the weaker the EMF radiation you’re exposed to.

How to Measure EMFs Accurately

I wish there was an exact way to calculate just how much EMF radiation a power line produces, but there are simply too many factors involved—like distance, current, insulation, and others—that make it impossible to calculate.

That’s why I recommend everyone invests in a quality EMF meter. A good EMF meter will tell you exactly how much EMF radiation you’re being exposed to from nearby power lines.

One of the best EMF meters out there is the Trifield EMF Meter which you can get here on Amazon. Time and time again this meter ranks as one of the best when it comes to detecting EMF radiation. It is the one that I use and I love it.

Measuring EMF radiation near and in your home with a quality EMF meter is the only accurate way of knowing just how much EMF radiation is making its way into your house.

Ok, so before discussing the health effects of EMF radiation, let’s recap what we’ve learned so far:

  • Orsted discovered in 1820 that a magnetic field is generated by electricity is flowing through a wire.
  • The strength of these magnetic fields is proportional to the strength of the current—the larger the current, the larger the EMF.
  • He also showed that the magnetic field is strongest near the wire and weaker farther away from it.
  • Power transmission lines are a major source of EMFs because they transmit huge currents of electricity through populated areas.
  • The only way to accurately measure the EMFs generated by a power line near your house is by using an EMF meter.

Awesome! Let’s move on to the potential health effects caused by power transmission lines.

Health Effects and Power Lines: What the Science Says

Like I mentioned in the opening of this article, the correlation between EMFs and poor health isn’t perfectly understood. A big reason for this is that science has previously claimed that EMFs are safe so long as they aren’t causing our flesh to heat up.

You see, EMFs are the same type of radiation used by microwave ovens to heat your food. When safety standards were set in the US for acceptable levels of EMF radiation, communication technologies weren’t as common as they are now.

For this reason, scientists were mostly concerned about the heating effect of low-energy EMFs. The paradigm at the time was that EMFs were probably safe so long as they weren’t literally baking your flesh.

Since then, much has changed and we are now bombarded with more low-energy EMFs than ever before. WiFi, smartphones, cell towers, smart meters, and other technologies have all contributed to this onslaught of EMF radiation.

Increasingly, scientists are starting to document a correlation between EMFs and negative health conditions. Some of these conditions include childhood leukemia, depression, and infertility issues.

For the purposes of this article, I would like to focus on one study. The British Medical Journal published a study in 2005 which documented a correlation between living near a power line and the risk of developing childhood Leukemia.

Power Lines and Leukemia—The British Medical Journal Study

According to a paper published in the British Medical Journal, children who live within 200 meters (650 ft.) of a power line have a 69% higher chance of developing leukemia when compared to children who live over 200 meters from a power line.

Meanwhile, the report showed that children living between 200 and 600 meters (2,000 ft.) of a power line were 23% more likely to develop leukemia, when compared with the general population of children.

These numbers are certainly concerning, and scientists are now trying to find out why there is a glaring correlation between proximity to power lines and the likelihood that a child will develop leukemia.

What’s more is that this isn’t the first, or the last, study to show this correlation. Another study published in 2013 showed a similar link between leukemia and living near a power line.

In fact, many doctors and scientists are now saying that cautious parents may want to take steps to limit their child’s exposure to EMF radiation, like the kind produces by power lines.

Source: https://www.bmj.com/content/330/7503/1290

Recommended Products and Conclusion

If you are concerned about your exposure to EMF radiation, then you have to check out these products below:

In conclusion, power lines are a serious source of EMF radiation. While scientists aren’t in complete agreement on the issue, what’s clear is that there is an obvious correlation between proximity to a power line and developing serious health conditions, like leukemia in children.

While you cannot remove all of the EMF radiation from your environment, I believe it would be wise to limit the time you spend around power transmission lines. When you must go around them, try to stay as far away as possible.

As always, I would like to transmit health, positivity, and abundance to you.

Cheers, friends.

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