Introduction
Urbanization and the expansion of cities has led to energy infrastructures (high voltage power transmission system) being placed in the vicinity of residential areas. Their level of risk to human health varies, depending on the intensity of the electromagnetic fields caused by the high voltage transmission system, the duration of radiation, and the distance of the person from them. A higher voltage can definitely create stronger electromagnetic fields, the negative consequences of which can affect humans and even the environment. In general, electric and magnetic fields causes different consequences for human health, which include “effect on neurons”, “effect on the nervous and endocrine systems”, “nervous disorders”, “immunology”, “Effect on fertility and reproduction”, and “cancer”. It is necessary to investigate the severity of these consequences on health in residential areas where the rate of exposure to electromagnetic fields is high. Most countries consider some limits as the standard exposure value according to international standards such as ICNIRP and IEEE. In some countries, policies are in the form of laws, and as a result, their compliance is mandatory, while in other countries, these policies are only recommendations. These rules and recommendations exist in two ways; one is for new construction that requires the amount of exposure to be limited based on maintaining distances, and the other is compliance with exposure standards defined by international organizations such as ICNIRP and IEEE. For exposure to electromagnetic fields, no legal document has been prepared in Iran so far. The only legal document is the one prepared by the trustee of Iran’s electricity supply and distribution to maintain the efficiency of the system during the operation period.

Methods
In this applied study, the library method, interviews with stakeholders, testing of electromagnetic fields, and field visits were used to collect data. Interviews with the stakeholders were used to understand their attitudes and knowledge about the subject and to analyze and draw conclusions from the laboratory results of electromagnetic fields. To interview, 10 people aged 30-60 and exposed to electromagnetic fields for more than 10 hours a day were selected. To measure the emission of electromagnetic fields, 8 points with a distance of less than 40 meters from the electric current conductors were considered. The areas were selected based on the highest probability of the presence of children. The selected areas were residential houses, playgrounds, sports fields, and schools. To develop a program to reduce the risk of exposure to electromagnetic fields on human health, the model proposed by FEMA was used.

Results
According to the reports, the lack of production of specialized content by the country’s health planners, the lack of development of criteria and indicators for possible consequences of the manifestations of modernity and, as a result, the impossibility of risk assessment against other threats have caused the inattention and negligence of people and rulers in Iran about the risk of exposure to electric and magnetic fields. According to the measurements, the electromagnetic field values in closed urban spaces were lower and in open spaces were higher than the recommendations of international standards. It should be mentioned that the system related to the steel or reinforced concrete structure in Iran’s buildings plays the role of Faraday cage in these buildings; this confinement factor is effective in significantly reducing the radiation of electromagnetic fields. On the other hand, not paying attention to the negative consequences of electromagnetic fields in urban open spaces by creating playgrounds, urban furniture and etc. near high-voltage power transmission lines has increased the risk of vulnerability to citizens. Therefore, it is necessary to warn the citizens to avoid long-term presence in open spaces that are exposed to electromagnetic fields, and the city management should also refrain from creating parks and green spaces in the aforementioned areas.

Conclusions
Managing the damage caused by the high voltage power transmission system in Iran requires the adoption of various approaches and procedures, which include policy making, social capacity building, and technical solutions. As a recommended solution, a strategic document as well as a proposal for a bill entitled “reduction of damage caused by electromagnetic fields” should be prepared to be submitted to the Islamic Council of Iran and be implemented in the upstream laws. The draft of the proposed bill consists of 5 articles, including definitions; preparing a zoning map of the intensity of electromagnetic fields at different frequencies in residential areas and updating it in the comprehensive and detailed plan of cities; determining the permissible intensity of electromagnetic fields at different frequencies for different uses (workplace, residential areas, cultural/sports centers, educational/health centers, places for children, etc.); preparing a risk map and complying with the defined standards. The identified stakeholders include the Islamic Council, the Council of Ministers, the Islamic City Council, the Provincial Judicial Council, the Ministry of Energy, municipalities, radio and television, non-governmental organizations, the Ministry of Health, and Scientific and Research Institutions. For strategic planning, to achieve the main goal, an action plan was developed for each of these groups, which included “compilation and updating of health standards based on research”, “compilation of environmental standards”, “approval of the legal bill and reflection in foreign documents”, “increasing the participation of all stakeholders in making decisions to reduce risk”, “increasing the number of people received education and information”, “increasing the participation of stakeholders “, “reducing engineering errors for new developments”, “preparing electromagnetic zoning maps” and “feasibility assessment and application of technical solutions”.

Ethical Considerations

Funding
This article is extracted from a research that was done with the financial support of the Tehran Urban Research and Planning Center.

Authors' contributions
Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, resources: All authors; Writing original draft: Pantea Arjmandi; Funding acquisition, supervision, review & editing: Seyed Oveis Torabi.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements
We thank the support of the Tehran Research and Planning Center, especially Maryam Abhari, Director of the Department of Applied Regional Studies, for making this research possible. It is also necessary to acknowledge the cooperation of the Power Laboratory of University of Tehran, especially Amir Abbas Shaygani Akmal, in the scientific supervision of the problem diagnosis process. It is necessary to thank Seyed Hadi Hosseini, Zanjan University, for providing valuable expert guidance in the process of diagnosing the problem.



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