Alhekail ZO. Electromagnetic radiation from microwave ovens.

Alhekail ZO.

J Radiol Prot 21(3):251-258, 2001

Electromagnetic radiation from microwave ovens in Saudi Arabia was investigated by means of a field measurement survey. The survey was carried out for 106 ovens used in households and restaurants in Riyadh city. Ovens were between 1 month and 14 years old with operating power ranging from 0.5 to 4.4 kW.

One oven was found to leak more than the 5 mW cm(-2) limit specified in the standard. Fifteen other ovens were found to leak 1 mW cm(-2) or more, with the remaining ovens leaking less than that.

Based on the survey result, previous studies and the fast decay of radiated power density with distance from the oven, the conclusion was that user exposure to RF radiation from microwave ovens is much less than the general public exposure limit set by most international standards at 2450 MHz, i.e. 1 mW cm(-2), and that a detrimental effect on health is an unlikely result of exposure to radiation from microwave ovens.