Microwave Controversy

[Carolyn Tillie]

I've been engaged in a small debate about the health and safety of microwave ovens.

There are a number of anti-microwave sites which about from the amateur experiments here to the more scientific here.

One of the arguments which I am unable to locate on the web is the "fact" that microwave ovens have been outlawed in most non-western countries like Russia, etc. I am hoping that some of our international contributors will weigh in and tell me, do microwave ovens exist in South Africa or South America? How about Europe?

From all I have read (at this point, pretty extensively), I realize there is no definitive scientific proof for or against, but the actual usage in other countries is what is intriguing me (and what you have been told).

Thanks!

[Smithy]

My friends in Tanzania use a microwave, and they wouldn't be without it. Among other things, they use it to microwave those few articles of clothing that can't be ironed, to make sure insect eggs won't hatch in their clothes. They're physicians, by the way, and would probably be clued in if there were a prohibition against microwave ovens there.

Edited to add their non-food use, which is interesting although beside the point.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Smithy (log)

[Dave Hatfield]

How about Europe?

They're all over the place here. You can buy them for nearly nothing here in France.

Personally I won't have one in my kitchen, but that's not for health reasons. I just like to do things the old fashioned way.

[Jenny McClure]

In Britain & Ireland they are fairly common. Mostly used for defrosting. I do remember my Home Economics teacher always screeching at us not to stand in front of it though. She said unless it was checked regularly, that it could send out rays that kills brain cells and for women damages your ovaries. I have no idea where she got this info from, but to this day, the few times I use a microwave I will not stand in front of it will it's on. My husband thinks I'm a nut job. The same teacher also said that if you left an egg beside your cell phone all night it would be cooked the next day. I didn't have a cell at that time. mmmm....maybe I'll have to give it go...wonder what my husband would think about that!

[Behemoth]

Yep, they're all over Germany too. Garbage disposals are illegal here though.

[Smithy]

Yep, they're all over Germany too. Garbage disposals are illegal here though.

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I guess that means I couldn't bring my dog with me to Germany.

[andiesenji]

I know they have them in Hungary because my housekeeper's mum has one. No garbage disposable though. The "edible" garbage is picked up every other day by a service that delivers it to hog farmers.

[Behemoth]

Yep, they're all over Germany too. Garbage disposals are illegal here though.

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I guess that means I couldn't bring my dog with me to Germany.

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Aw.

[miladyinsanity]

I was told by a friend that supposedly one of the reasons why breast cancer is so prevalent is that in most homes, the microwave is just at right height.

I have one, and so do most of my relatives in Malaysia.

[Darcie B]

I was told by a friend that supposedly one of the reasons why breast cancer is so prevalent is that in most homes, the microwave is just at right height.

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I'm happy to report that no one will be getting cancer from microwaves. Microwave radiation is non-ionizing. Only radiation that is ionizing (such as from nuclear weapons and x-rays) has been shown to cause cancer.

How does exposure to “non-ionizing” radiation, such as from microwave ovens, affect breast cancer risk?

Non-ionizing radiations do not possess enough energy to remove electrons from atoms. Examples of non-ionizing radiation are the electromagnetic fields from electrical power lines, radio and television waves, radar, cellular telephones and microwave ovens. The mode of interaction of non-ionizing radiation with the body is much different from the way ionizing radiation interacts. Most importantly, ionizing radiation can directly damage DNA and cellular molecules whereas non-ionizing radiation cannot.

The concern over non-ionizing radiation is related to the heating effects of this type of radiation. Exposure standards are set to keep exposures well below the level that might shock or heat tissue to an unacceptable level. They are thus set to reduce the occurrence of rapidly occurring effects and not effects which require long periods of time to develop such as cancer. While there is overwhelming evidence from human investigations, animal experiments and cellular studies proving that ionizing radiation is a cause of cancer, there is no such evidence for the non-ionizing radiations. There is a world of difference between the radiation from an x-ray machine and the non-ionizing electromagnetic fields from say an electric blanket, and care should be taken not to confuse the two.

This is from the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors at Cornell University. Complete article

[Patrick S]

As I understand it, the only thing microwave frequency radiation is going to do is heat tissue up. And that's not going to happen to tissue outside of the microwave unless 1) the microwave's shielding is defective or broken, and 2) the target tissue is very close to microwave leak.

Edited May 30, 2006 by Patrick S (log)

[Torrilin]

A more likely reason for microwave ovens being uncommon is that they have rather high power usage. So if you're not using them for something important they're a power hog and the electricity could be better used for something else.

Emily

[Patrick S]

Microwave ovens might be power hogs compared to lightbulbs or something, but they are miracles of efficiency compared to regular electric ovens. In fact, nothing else really even comes close. According to this article, the 'energy factor' of microwave ovens is 57.5%, compared to 10.9% for a standard electric oven, energy factor being defined as the fraction of total energy used by the appliance that is actually used to heat food, as opposed to say your oven or your kitchen. As an example of energy used to cook a specific dish, this page estimates that a casserole cooked in the microwave would use about 0.36KWh, while a regular electric oven would use about 2KWh. Of course I prefer my casserole cooked in the oven, but I'm not under any illusions about its energy efficiency.

[Torrilin]

Hrm, didn't know that. Most of my more enviromentally aware chemistry and physics profs strongly recommended using conventional heat sources for reheating food on the ground that a conventional heat source is less of a power hog. They also were huge anti-fans of nuking water to make tea or coffee. *ponders*

Never really thought deeply about it, so it wouldn't surprise me to be wrong.

Emily

[Shalmanese]

Perhaps it's because there are inherent inefficiencies in generating electricty in the first place to be made back into heat.

Microwave: Coal -> electricity -> heat

Gas stove: Gas -> heat

I'm not sure about the specific inefficiencys of either process so I can't plug numbers in but it's a possible hypothesis.

[daves]

Hrm, didn't know that. Most of my more enviromentally aware chemistry and physics profs strongly recommended using conventional heat sources for reheating food on the ground that a conventional heat source is less of a power hog. They also were huge anti-fans of nuking water to make tea or coffee. *ponders*

Never really thought deeply about it, so it wouldn't surprise me to be wrong.

Emily

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Or maybe, just maybe, they're just idiots. Unfortunately, I look back at my academic phase and, in hindsight, see that most are there because they can't survive elsewhere (but there are some clear exceptions). My experience is that the old saying "Those that can, do; those that can't, teach" is more correct than not.

[cathrynapple]

i've heard arguments that microwaves "superheat" the water for tea or coffee. i have never relaly understood what this means, as water generally turns to vapor around 100 degrees C. right? what does superheating even mean?

i lived all over africa before coming to the states and we always had a microwave.

[daves]

info about superheating here.

[Patrick S]

Most of my more enviromentally aware chemistry and physics profs strongly recommended using conventional heat sources for reheating food on the ground that a conventional heat source is less of a power hog.

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If thats true, then its scary how misinformed your physical sciences professors are -- as I pointed out, no conventional electric oven is even close to being as efficient as the microwave, for reasons that should be fairly obvious to someone with a background in physics.

[Arey]

For anyone who's really worried, lead x-ray aprons are available through dental supply catalogues. They're reasonably priced - under $100 - and available in a variety of styles

and fashionable colors so you can color co-ordinate your apron with your kitchen. Everyone has aluminium foil in their kitchen to make their aluminium hat, and nstructions are easily found on the web. For mine, I lined an old kitchen collander with foil and attached a grounding wire to one of the collander's feet.

Edited June 5, 2006 by Arey (log)

[jsolomon]

If thats true, then its scary how misinformed your physical sciences professors are -- as I pointed out, no conventional electric oven is even close to being as efficient as the microwave, for reasons that should be fairly obvious to someone with a background in physics.

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That's true with the absorption of the energy, but the magnetron, the piece that actually creates the microwaves, is not particularly efficient. Nor is it tremendously inefficient. It just lives in a milquetoast world.

But, if those professors were truly worried about the environment, they should live close to campus and walk to work. Because their cars are much worse for the environment by far. Of course, so is their always on internet connection.

[Patrick S]

If thats true, then its scary how misinformed your physical sciences professors are -- as I pointed out, no conventional electric oven is even close to being as efficient as the microwave, for reasons that should be fairly obvious to someone with a background in physics.

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That's true with the absorption of the energy, but the magnetron, the piece that actually creates the microwaves, is not particularly efficient. Nor is it tremendously inefficient. It just lives in a milquetoast world.

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That's true, but I was referring to cooking efficiency, not the efficiency with which magnetrons convert electricity to microwaves. The conversion of electricity into microwave energy is not particularly efficient -- its about 60-70, whereas heating elements in an electric stove convert essentially all of the energy into heat. But for practical purposes (and energy conservation purposes), that's beside the point. What's important is how much energy you have to use to cook something, and in terms of cooking efficiency microwaves beat conventional ovens by a wide margin.

[Jaymes]

I've spent a lot of time in Mexico. Microwaves are very popular there.