microwave radiation

we keep vitamins and med in the cabinet rite next to the microwave ,, and lots of times my sara p uts my daily vitamin box for the week on top of the microwave ,,, kinda thinkin that is not a good idea for daily exposure ,,. microwaves ,, but perhaps I think too much ,,. what do you fellas think ? ,, is there a health risk ?

do microwave ovens leak microwaves? Bill

(quoted from post at 16:52:40 01/25/16) we keep vitamins and med in the cabinet rite next to the microwave ,, and lots of times my sara p uts my daily vitamin box for the week on top of the microwave ,,, kinda thinkin that is not a good idea for daily exposure ,,. microwaves ,, but perhaps I think too much ,,. what do you fellas think ? ,, is there a health risk ?

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It's kind of like the song says; "I've been smoking them all my life, and I ain't dead yet." I think you worry too much.

Only thing I would worry about would be the heat, if that area tends to get warm.

If they are going to leak radiation it will be around the door seal. The continuous steel box shields everything and the holes in the door screen are sized to block the radiation. If you changed the power or frequency then all that changes. Your pills are fine.

Microwaves don't "store up".
They are like a light bulb that when it is shut off leaves no residual light laying about.
There may be some potential for stray radiation from a microwave to cause heat in your pills - which could cause early deterioration but even that would be Very remote.

I know if you have a pacemaker they don't recommend standing in front while operating, but I'm sure some are a lot better than others.

Once again I typed before researching, and I can't edit! They don't say anything about microwaves affecting pacemakers anymore, When my FIL had one 30 years ago it was a concern.

Wouldn't worry I had to take a 2 day course on radiation for the garbage business im no expert by no means but thier is small percentage of radiation everywhere so they say! But someone being exposed to enough to harm you is ver very slim chance you or I ever will we have radiation detectors at work and the only thing so far I seen that has set them off is adult diapers from the hospital! And thats so small of amount it wont hurt you! One thing they told us to watch for and I have yet to see one they were made long before my time is a RED exit sigh with white lettering instead of the ones now that are white and have red lettering! Maybe some of you older guys remember that type of exit sighn! But once again I would worry about you pills!

Completely different kind of radiation in a hospital or nuclear power plant.
Read about alpha, gamma and X radiation.

Yes, microwaves can leak from ovens BUT that is close to being a caveat that nothing is perfect. The allowable leakage is for all intents and purposes "0".

Since the microwaves originate from a single emitter, the intensity drops off fairly quickly. If we consider the generator to be a point source, then the drop off is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Simply, if you double the distance, the radiation intensity drops to 1/4. So, given the extremely small theoretical leakage, the inherent shielding of the cabinet/box/container, and the distance, you can consider the exposure to be "0".

Microwave radiation is not close to the wavelength of gamma or x-ray radiation. Neutron, alpha, and beta are particulate forms and not even close to microwaves.

The EXIT sign concern was due to the use of tritium which is a radioactive form of hydrogen, as is H gas or H2O. In EXIT signs, the tritium was in gaseous form to interact with a fluorer inside glass tubes. The Betas emitted by the tritium excited the fluorer which de-excited by emission of visible light. In my professional opinion, this threat was horrendously overblown.

Although not as confident as the other facts, I suspect strongly that the microwave concern with pacemakers is more focused on electromagnetic radiation.

So, I suggest you should be more concerned with dying in a stampede of badgers than being done in by meds affected by your oven. And, yes, heat is a greater issue.

The adult diapers is no surprise. In the medical world, there are 2 issues; first radiation exposure is so much less important than the immediate health consequences that got your there. So, the total quantity of radioactive materials are significantly larger than in the occupational world. Second, in my experience, the medical personnel tend to 'dumb down' the topic and so greatly simplify it. I can't begin to count the number of times I have dealt with medical personnel that had incorrect details. The regulations are pretty forgiving for medical exposures and significant quantities can be released via sanitary sewage or trash.

Anyone seen the episode of "Everyone Loves Raymond"? When they started the micro-wave oven the three guys in the room covered their privates.

WOW I know you know what you are talking about. When we repair commercial units at work, "they have FOUR magnetrons" We use a little plastic wand that has four NE2 neon tubes cast into it. If it is in the cavity it glows like crazy, but out side it better NOT show any sign of glow. They have tons of shielding. Ever put a light bulb in a micro wave? Try it some time. Another neat thing is take a green grape. Almost cut it in half so you end up with a hinge between the two halfs. Now put it in the nuke. You will get a light show cause it acts kinda like an antenna. Fun fun. Oh NEVER put a raw egg on HI in there! You most likely will buy a new microwave.

We had an engineer called 'pop tart' because he put a foil wrapped pop tart in the microwave to heat it up. Impressive. Even more impressive when he tried it a second time!!

As others have said, it's just radio waves.

They operate around the same frequency of a modern cell phone, or a wireless router - give or take a few megahertz.

What sets them apart from cell phones or routers is their power.

Your cell phone could cook a potato too if you tuned it up to transmit more powerfully and focused those radio waves into a smaller area.

The effects of radio waves on human beings is always being debated, but overall it's considered safe, within reason.

I'm not sure I'd place a sleeping baby on top of a running microwave, but I wouldn't hesitate to store medication there.