How safe is microwaving. does the radiation cause cancer.?

I can only tell you about the microwaves themself

and not plastics....

If you look at the door of a microwave you will see there is a plate or screen in the glass full of tiny

holes. This is what protects you from the microwave

radiation which is not radiation at all in the accurate sense. but is radio waves which are "radiated" outwards from the inside of the oven compartment, the metal screen keeps them IN....

if your door seals tightly then they don't get out.

radio shack used to sell a detector you could check around the door for leakage. unless your kids have been hanging on the door and have warped it, it probably doesn't "leak"

Microwaves "cook" but do not leave anything residual behind, and they do not affect cellular structure

like gamma radiation does so the cancer risks is

way way lower if any at all.

I was a microwave radar transmitter technician for

years in the Air force and was exposed to millions

times more than what your microwave oven puts out

in terms of power.. I'm now 52 some 30 years later

and have no skin cancers or other ill effects...

personallly I try not to use plastic in the oven

but only glass...........

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A note for FREDIKS10

a light bulb does NOT heat the food in a microwave oven. A magnetron tube does......

the light lets you see whats cooking.

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Supposedly the newer models of microwave ovens have filters which make the possibility for ionizing radiation reaching the cook fairly nonexistent.

However, in court cases where liability is being contested for some cancers "Do you cook with a microwave oven" is one of the first question the victim gets asked.

The action of microwave energy is very specific:

It excites water causing it to boil. This boiling of interstitial water in foodstuffs is what causes cooking.

Unfortunately, it is remotely possible that the water in you could get excited as well causing cell damage. AGAIN, the filters in modern microwaves are highly efficient and in the absence of damaged equipment should pose no problem.

Microwaved food which has been allowed to cool adequately poses no more danger than any other cooked food. It is possible to consume microwaved food before it has completely finished cooking so be sure to let it rest a minute or so before you eat it.

You can pretty much cook anything with a microwave that does not require the characteristics of conventional heat. For example, microwaves do not brown food effectively without special containers and even then the result is not as good as that obtained in an conventional oven.

Raven E had great comments.

There are a growing number of studies that indicate microwaving your food in plastic is a BAD idea...carcinogenic materials leaching into the food. Go for glassware cookware AND covers.

The other precaution is that the older the microwave, the more likely the seals are to leak. The radiation is limited in its reach outside the microwave. The rule-of-thumb I was told is an "arms-length." In other words, while waiting for the food to finish, stand more than an arms' length from the microwave and you are safe.

I took a glass thermometer and moved it around the edges outside of a microwave oven. If microwaves were 'escaping' then the thermometer would have gone up.

I try not to re-heat in any kind of plastics. If I do, -the food only gets warmed, not like boiling where that food can absorb that plastic chemicals.

Just like sunlight, it can either be reflected or absorbed, (or like radio wave, pass thru objects, -like walls). Microwaves penetrate water & fat and excite the molecules to move faster. Hence heat. About 50% of a 'microwave' gets absorbed in the first inch of the food. So it really does not 'cook' from the inside out.

Using stoves as an alternative to microwaves has it's own hazzards. A percentage of people die every year from kitchen fires and un-attentiveness.

ie. You'll get 'burned' either way.

Ok, when other countries in Europe and particularly Russia ban them, then they have severe health risks.

I read an article from Russia where their scientists and health experts did an extensive study on microwaves. The end result was that is consistently became a high risk for Cancer. That's how I learned this.

Plastics contain toxins which are high in carcinogens or cancer causing agents.

Microwaving is fine. Best to use glass that is marked as microwave safe, that way you don't even have to worry about plastic containers and the whole phthalate issue. Be very careful of boiling water though...can be very dangerous!

its fine to microwave... i put the cat in there for like 7 minutes and it didnt get cancer.

It is relatively safe but it is recommended that you do not stand near it when it is running.

microwaving just utilizes a lightbulb to heat up the water molecules in food, there isnt really much radiation, but i dont recommened putting your head into it

Nah....but it will burn you