Do Power Lines Emit EMFs? Here's What You Need To Know

Among the things some people worry about is living near power lines. Not just because of the obvious danger if a live wire were to break and fall into a yard or on a house, but because they're concerned that electromagnetic fields radiating from the lines could affect a person's health. Not all that different from that big myth about cell phones causing cancer, really.

We're not talking about corona discharge, the source of that annoying buzzing sound that sometimes comes from power lines. EMF emissions are a normal result of electric charges and the act of an electrical current simply moving through devices, and the stronger the current the more intense the EMF.

Power lines do emit EMFs. They have no choice, because that's just what happens when you deal with electrical currents, and carrying electrical currents is the entire point of a power line. Heck, even the cables we use to charge our phones and other electronic devices generate EMFs.

It's always best to consider any power lines you see as dangerous. Maintaining a safe distance is the best way to avoid a potentially fatal shock, and this also works for EMFs, as their range is limited. Just not spending a lot of time around power lines also helps to limit exposure, but EMFs aren't a portent of doom. You shouldn't curl up in a pile of live wires for a nap every day or anything like that, but when people express concerns about EMFs coming from a power line, they're more likely actually thinking about EMR — that is, electromagnetic radiation.

Electromagnetic fields do emit EMR — which isn't as scary as it sounds because even visible light is a kind of EMR – but there's a very important distinction here. The kind of EMR that causes direct harm to cells in your body is "ionizing" radiation (a kind of radiation used in TSA scanners), which can dislodge electrons from around an atom in a process called ionization. The kind of EMR that power lines give off is "non-ionizing," which means it won't disrupt those electrons.

It's still not a good idea to stay too close to EMR sources like power lines for too long, as even non-ionizing radiation can cause damage in major doses. But simply walking by power lines every now and then is fine. Even if it's a little closer than you're used to.