Electrical grid
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a time when technologies are developing rapidly, we are increasingly dependent on electricity to undertake our activity, both at an individual level and in companies, industries, cities, etc. In order for the electric supply to reach all these points, an infrastructure is required, the electricity grid, which consists of numerous elements all connected to each other.
Power lines, sub-stations, transformer sub-stations, etc. These are some of the elements of the grid that we all see around us. But the lack of knowledge that often exists about how they work raises doubts about whether the radiation emitted by these facilities is harmful to health or has negative effects on people.
We need to analyse this statement to see if there is any truth to it.
Frequency of power grids
Does an electrical sub-station or a low-, medium- or high-voltage line have harmful effects on our health if we are exposed to the radiation they emit?
To answer these questions, we need to know the characteristics of the fields that are generated when an electric current flows through the elements that make up the grid, mainly the frequency of the waves emitted by the electricity grids.
Electromagnetic radiation is present in different forms in our daily environment, from lights at home, to household appliances or when using your mobile phone. The central issue lies in the intensity of this radiation and its possible impact on people when they are continuously exposed to it in the long term.
Types of Radiation
- Electricity transmission lines with frequencies from 0 Hz to 50 Hz.
- Radio, TV, mobile phones, microwaves and satellites in the range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz.
- Sunlight, ultraviolet, X-rays, and radioactive sources from 3000 THz to 30 EHz.
Hz = Number of waves per second.
Magnetic fields and all the waves in our vicinity at any given time travel through the air at a specific frequency (Hz). This frequency is the number of times the wave passes, and the higher the frequency, the faster the wave travels.
For example, the frequency used for a radio signal to reach us is not the same as the one used to make internet available on your mobile phone. In the latter case, a higher frequency will be needed for fast and accurate navigation.
The frequency with which electricity travels through wires is 50 hertz. Regardless of whether the power level is high or low, the frequency of the electricity will also never exceed the limits established in the Official State Gazette in Royal Decree 337/2014. This Decree approves the Regulation on technical conditions and guarantees of safety in high-voltage electrical installations.
Does radiation from electrical networks cause health problems?
The WHO carried out the International EMF Project with the aim of resolving citizens' concerns about the possible harmful effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields. In this same project, it was concluded that exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields generated by the power grid does not have any harmful effect on health.
As indicated by Red Eléctrica de España, now called REDEIA, in an overview of the electric and magnetic fields generated by high-voltage electrical installations, the international scientific community agrees that exposure to the industrial frequency electric and magnetic fields generated by high-voltage electricity installations does not pose a risk to public health.
The scientific explanation is that electrical installations generate low-frequency electromagnetic fields (50 Hz or 60 Hz in USA and parts of Japan).
Another situation that often gives cause for concern among the population is related to the sound generated by the electricity grid. This noise is related to the power of the network, so it is not an indicator of a health hazard.
