{
  "id": "questions:how-far-should-i-live-from-a-power-line",
  "collection": "questions",
  "slug": "how-far-should-i-live-from-a-power-line",
  "name": "How far should you live from a power line?",
  "summary": "Fields usually reach background at 30–60 m; precautionary policy targets are 0.4–1 µT, and a 24-hour log beats any distance rule.",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "question": "What is a safe distance from a high-voltage power line?",
    "answer": "Magnetic fields beneath a loaded transmission line typically fall from tens of milligauss at the conductors to residential background by roughly 30–60 m, depending on current, conductor height and phase arrangement. No jurisdiction sets a health-based setback; the Netherlands uses a 0.4 µT policy target for new lines and Switzerland applies a 1 µT installation value at sensitive locations, both precautionary rather than effect-based. Because line loading changes hourly, a 24-hour log at the property is worth more than any distance rule.",
    "cluster": "distances",
    "aliases": [
      "safe distance from power lines",
      "how close to pylon is safe"
    ],
    "related": [
      "emitters:transmission-line",
      "limits:ch-onir-power-lines",
      "protocols:elf-magnetic-survey"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "niehs-emf",
      "title": "Electric and Magnetic Fields",
      "publisher": "National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences",
      "url": "https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf",
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "ch-onir",
      "title": "Ordinance relating to Protection from Non-Ionising Radiation (ONIR / NISV, SR 814.710)",
      "publisher": "Swiss Confederation",
      "url": "https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2000/38/en",
      "year": 2000,
      "kind": "regulation",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "who-elf",
      "title": "Electromagnetic fields and public health: exposure to extremely low frequency fields",
      "publisher": "World Health Organization",
      "url": "https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/radiation-and-health/non-ionizing/exposure",
      "year": 2007,
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/questions/how-far-should-i-live-from-a-power-line",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/questions/how-far-should-i-live-from-a-power-line",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/questions/how-far-should-i-live-from-a-power-line.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/questions"
  }
}