The mandatory topics may make it difficult, but I would still like to focus this blog on the common fears and misconceptions the general population has about nuclear sciences and radiation. I've liked the idea of this blog from the beginning, I just left it by the wayside. The first topic is on cancer risks; so, here we go.
A lot of things have evidence showing that they cause cancer [1]. However, more importantly for this blog, a lot of things don't cause cancer. [2]
Here's some things that I have personally heard people express cancer concerns over,
- Cell phones
- Power lines
- Computers
- Stereos
- Bananas
- Microwaves
This last one, microwaves, is especially important to me, because I love microwaves. As a busy college student, a microwave is just about the most important component to my diet. I'll cook a couple huge meals over the weekend, and then bam, microwavable leftovers for the weekend.
Anyway, as for what they have to do with cancer--or rather, what they don't. Let me be clear, a microwave--just like an oven, stove, or toaster--can be a dangerous implement. It can burn you (more specifically, boil you) if you manage to operate it with the door open, or with a severely damaged Faraday cage (the little black grid pattern across the glass viewing window in the door). But what it won't do is give you cancer.
Yes, a microwave uses radiation to vibrate water molecules in food, increasing their kinetic energy which results in an increase in temperature (which is really cool). But as it turns out, there are two kinds of radiation: ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing radiation is radiation that is above the energy threshold to cause damage to human DNA, damage that is believed to have a direct link to cancer in humans and other animals. [3] What a microwave uses is non-ionizing radiation, or radiation below this energy threshold. Enough to energize your water molecules (again, that is dangerous and should not be toyed with) but not enough to give you cancer. Or your food cancer, for that matter.
[1] http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk
[2] http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/myths
[3] http://www.physicscentral.com/explore/action/radiationandhumans.cfm
This is really interesting. I recently did some research into the cell phone aspect of this. What I found was that while cellphone RF is to low of energy to cause heating of the human tissue, it does affect the way the brain cells work. And there was a study done on mice, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17705642, that showed no effect on cancer growth when exposed to 900 MHz frequency. There are a ton more studies going on as of now and it will be very interesting what they find.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.consumerreports.org/cro/smartphones/cell-phone-radiation
DeleteThis is the website where I began my search.
The World Health Organization, and especially the International EMF Project, are disseminating valuable information which help increase public confidence and acceptance. When media announcements come forth regarding new (often unconfirmed) scientific studies, this leads to uncertain feelings and perceptions that there might be undiscovered hazards involved with non-ionizing EM radiation.
Deletehttp://www.who.int/peh-emf/project/EMF_Project/en/
Pretty neat that the first microwave oven is credited with being put out commercially in 1967, 50 years later people are still concerned that their kitchen appliance is giving them cancer from it's radiation. Something to be said for pervasive social constructs. This may be down to the tinfoil hats for government brain control level of theory but that's the stuff we're hoping to address and dismiss through hot, radioactive FACTS.
ReplyDelete