Magnetic field-induced currents in the human body in proximity of power lines

Abstract

Electric currents induced due to 60 Hz magnetic fields in a human body placed in close proximity to various high voltage transmission lines are computed. A realistic model of the human body from the anatomical and electrical point of view with resolution of 1.3 cm for the body and 0.665 cm for the head is used. The computations are performed using the impedance method. Three representative configurations of high voltage transmission lines, namely 500 kV, 138 kV and 25 kV are analyzed. The results indicate that the maximum current densities of the order of 0.2 /spl mu/A/cm/sup 2/ can be induced in a lineman working on a 500 kV line (0.5 m away from closest conductors). A good correlation can be seen between the computed magnetic field in the location of the human body and the induced current densities. The induced currents computed here and estimated from measured magnetic fields in various power line environments are compared to those for typical home and office exposures, including appliances.