Will transmission and transformation facilities generate electromagnetic radiation?
Urban substations are usually step-down substations used for power supply and distribution. The site selection of substations must balance the two important factors of load distribution and power supply radius while meeting the requirements of power quality. In layman's terms, areas with high population density also have high load density, especially in urban center areas where high power supply quality and reliability are required. The load density is generally high, which requires the construction of more substations.
In addition, to prevent major power outages, China's power industry also needs to moderately advance its development and prioritize safety. The fundamental characteristics of the power industry, long engineering construction cycles, and demand for system operation backup require that the development of electricity must be moderately advanced. If the development of electricity lags behind, it will become a bottleneck that restricts economic and social development and the improvement of people's living standards.
The power system is a system closely connected by devices of different voltage levels. It must adhere to unified planning and construction, eliminate hidden dangers from the source, improve the safety and quality of power grid construction, and resist natural disasters.
But please rest assured that power transmission and transformation facilities will not generate electromagnetic radiation, let alone ionizing radiation (nuclear radiation).
The term "electromagnetic radiation" originates from the discipline of high-frequency electromagnetic theory, referring to the physical phenomenon of energy emission and propagation in space in the form of electromagnetic waves. The frequency used in power transmission and transformation facilities is 50Hz, which belongs to extremely low frequency. The energy of power transmission and transformation facilities actually propagates along the wire and does not have the characteristic of "emitting" to the surrounding area. The electric and magnetic fields that exist within a few hundred meters around it exist separately and do not propagate outward in mutual transformation, which means they do not have electromagnetic wave characteristics.
After years of research, the International Association for Non Ionizing Radiation Protection explicitly stated in 2010 that describing low-frequency electromagnetic fields in the environment as "electromagnetic radiation" is misleading because it can lead to erroneous associations with nuclear radiation health risks, leading to public misunderstandings and panic.
At the same time, power transmission and transformation facilities do not belong to large-scale electromagnetic radiation facilities. In GB8702-2014 "Limits for Electromagnetic Environment Control" and HJ 24-2014 "Technical Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment - Power Transmission and Transformation Engineering", the term "electromagnetic environment" is officially used for power transmission and transformation engineering, rather than "electromagnetic radiation".
