Do microwave ovens cause cancer?

[K.Snyder]

I've been thinking about this for quite a while due in large part to the fact that with so much of my hearing about cancer I can't help but wonder about new technology mixed with the fact that I've read that micro waves from space are very much cancerous so I ask!

Perhaps someone knowledgeable about the subject could share what they know considering the information I've received from the internet is anywhere from "absolutely not" to "Over extended periods of time as well as illegitimately maintained microwave ovens can be cancerous"!

So,..do microwave ovens cause cancer?

I've not used one knowingly for the past 4 months! I get heckled but at least I prefer to be on the safe side until I find out for sure!

[K.Snyder]

My logic tells me that microwave ovens have only been on the market for about 30 years and considering that 'Some but not all studies suggest that long-term exposure may have a carcinogenic effect." microwave ovens do cause cancer over long periods of extended use. Am I wrong?

Also does

Exposure to microwave radiation can produce cataracts by this mechanism, because the microwave heating denatures proteins in the crystalline lens of the eye (in the same way that heat turns egg whites white and opaque) faster than the lens can be cooled by surrounding structures. The lens and cornea of the eye are especially vulnerable because they contain no blood vessels that can carry away heat. Exposure to heavy doses of microwave radiation (as from an oven that has been tampered with to allow operation even with the door open) can produce heat damage in other tissues as well, up to and including serious burns which may not be immediately evident because of the tendency for microwaves to heat deeper tissues with higher moisture content.

mean that you shouldn't look inside the microwave oven no matter how far away?

Microwave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Bryn Mawr]

You can buy microwave detectors designed to test microwave ovens - run the detector round the outside and over the seals and you'll soon see in any of the little devils are escaping.

No leakage, no cancer.

[Odie]

Originally Posted by K.Snyder

My logic tells me that microwave ovens have only been on the market for about 30 years and considering that 'Some but not all studies suggest that long-term exposure may have a carcinogenic effect." microwave ovens do cause cancer over long periods of extended use. Am I wrong?

Also does mean that you shouldn't look inside the microwave oven no matter how far away?

Microwave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I believe you are to stand away a foot of a microwave when its in operation as the radiation come out the sides and tops.

It's well known it could cause women breast cancer.

[Bryn Mawr]

Originally Posted by Odie

I believe you are to stand away a foot of a microwave when its in operation as the radiation come out the sides and tops.

It's well known it could cause women breast cancer.

There should be no radiation coming out of a microwave oven in good condition - even the window is special lead glass with an earthed metal mesh incorporated into it to stop the microwaves escaping through it.

[spot]

Microwave radiation is non-ionizing. UV light and X-rays and gamma rays are ionizing. Microwaves are less energetic. All they can do to any part of the human body is to heat it. Microwave radiation is less energetic than Infra-red light. The damage to the cornea which you describe says in the text that the damage is because of heating.

Radiation-induced cancers come from ionization, not from heat. Heat from a leaking microwave oven just cooks you if you're too close for too long. Once the temperature of a part of your body goes too high it dies. It's not dying from cancer, it's dying from irreversible burning.

Where have you seen any article which shows an increase in cancer rates associated with microwaves?

[Odie]

Originally Posted by Bryn Mawr

There should be no radiation coming out of a microwave oven in good condition - even the window is special lead glass with an earthed metal mesh incorporated into it to stop the microwaves escaping through it.

it has to come from somewhere, there's been warnings for years.

[spot]

Originally Posted by Odie

it has to come from somewhere, there's been warnings for years.

Those are what are known as broken leaky microwave ovens. Bryn's talking about correctly working microwave ovens. Broken leaky microwave ovens are a health hazard, they can cook the cook. That's why there's warnings about broken leaky microwave ovens.

Cellphones use the same microwaves and don't shield them at all. What cellphones do is to reduce the power they put out to a small enough level that it can't heat the person using the phone enough to damage them.

Cell Phones / Mobile Phones, Cancers and Brain tumors - What Is The Truth? discusses whether those microwaves have been found to cause cancer.

[mikeinie]

I don’t think so, but having said that, I do not put my face up close to it to watch the popcorn pop if you know what I mean.

I use it regularly, but don’t stand very close to it when it is operating.

[YZGI]

Originally Posted by mikeinie

I don’t think so, but having said that, I do not put my face up close to it to watch the popcorn pop if you know what I mean.

I use it regularly, but don’t stand very close to it when it is operating.

I just cover my private bits while staring at egg yolks exploding.