The increasing demand for electricity has led humans to a growing exposure to artificial sources of electromagnetic emission, making it essential to determine the intensity of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which is subject to the population of a given area. This Letter proposes an analysis of EMF exposure levels and spatial distribution over the region of the input and power circuits of a 230 kV/60 Hz air-insulated substation. For this, measurement protocols were determined based on current standards and from spatial interpolation methods, a contour map was developed, allowing a complete evaluation of the behaviour and levels of EMF throughout the region. The results obtained indicate that exposure levels in this region are below those recommended by regulatory agencies.

Análise de riscos ocupacionais causados pela poluição eletromagnética na região urbana de Mossoró-Rn Occupational hazard analysis caused by electromagnetic pollution in the urban region of Mossoró-Rn

This study presents the estimation of the electric and magnetic fields level inside a 400 MVA electrical substation. Located in the northeast region of Brazil, the power plant operates with 230 and 69 kV at 60 Hz frequency. The on-site measurements were performed at previously selected locations covering the whole courtyard and followed the international and national regulatory standards. The electrical and magnetic fields 2-D contour maps over the entire courtyard are presented, which allow better visualisation and analysis of the exposure levels around all equipment. By using the GoldenSurfer V.13 tool, eight interpolation methods were applied to predict unsampled locations. The plots were made using the method that best fit the sampled dataset after the cross-validation technique is used. The measurements were taken during six days during a period of 16 h on 741 locations. For this electrical substation, the maps validate the high electric field level close to breakers and switches at 230 kV and high magnetic field close to equipment operating at 69 kV. The comparison between the exposure levels and those established in current guidelines indicate that the electromagnetic environment on this substation is safe for the occupational population as well as for the general public.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Medição e análise de campos eletromagnéticos gerados por rede elétrica de média em 13,8 kv: estudo de caso sobre os níveis de exposição populacional na ufersa Measurement and analysis of 13.8 kv average power grid generated electromagnetic fields: case study on population exposure levels in ufersa