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CNN Live Today

How Safe is Your Old Microwave?

Aired August 27, 2002 - 12:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we are going to talk about something that most of us have in our kitchens: microwave ovens. They are convenient, but are they safe? Well, the data is confusing, but now there may be a way to tell for sure. We are going to bring in our technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg with more on this hot debate.
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: How do you like that pun?

SIEBERG: We will let it go.

PHILLIPS: OK. Now, it is funny because even when I microwave, every time I start it, I always walk away because I think am I getting radiation? What does the FDA say about radiation?

SIEBERG: Well, you know, people are still a little bit paranoid about what is coming out of their microwave, but the FDA has said for a long time -- in fact, for the past 25 to 30 years, the FDA has been looking at microwaves, and they say that they are generally very safe, that they are quite safe, that the amount of radiation that is coming out of those microwaves is very, very small. In fact, the FDA, or the Food and Drug Administration, regulates a certain amount of radiation that can come from a microwave. That is milliwatts per square centimeter. We are talking about a very, very small amount, and much less radiation than would ever be harmful to humans.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about this detector, then, that you have, and does it work? Is it easy?

SIEBERG: Right. Every so often, we look at a high-tech gadget that is out there on the market, and we have got one here today. This is a microwave radiation leak detector, and we have a...

PHILLIPS: Sounds so geeky.

SIEBERG: It does sound a little bit geeky, but it is fairly easy to use, and we have a microwave here. We have got a bagel inside this microwave. And I will...

PHILLIPS: Smells very good, by the way. Can I eat that afterwards?

SIEBERG: Well, we have microwaved it a few times already.

PHILLIPS: OK. It is a little nasty. SIEBERG: It is the most microwaved bagel in the place. This is it right here. It looks very much like a miniature cell phone. This one was supplied to us by the C. Crane Company in California. They run for about $30. You can get them online, or a number of different stores. As I say, we have got something in here right now, so I am going to just go ahead and start it, and as I turn it on, you can see some numbers moving on here. It is calibrating itself, and going through its diagnostics, and then it is going to be measuring these different levels of radiation. If you can see on the screen, the numbers are very, very low. We are seeing .32, .88. Remember, I mentioned five milliwatts per square centimeter, and this number is much, much lower than that. So there are clearly no leaks coming from this microwave, so it is very safe. And as I say, the FDA has set standards for all microwaves that are put out onto the market, so that they have to actually meet this standard, this level of radiation that can come from a microwave.

PHILLIPS: And you mentioned, we can get -- we just walk into any type of store? I mean, are we talking like a Target, or...

SIEBERG: Potentially, certain hardware stores may carry them, or you can get them online. And, as I say, about $30. We did want to point out that we did talk to the FDA, and they say that they are not always reliable, that they are not always accurate in terms of the readings that they give out on these different devices, so people shouldn't think of this as the be all, end all in a way to measure radiation. The FDA recommends that you take a lot of precautions and -- oh, our bagel is done.

PHILLIPS: For the sixth time.

SIEBERG: Right. For the sixth time. It is very done. But definitely take this with a grain of salt, not to take it as the absolute standard for measuring any radiation.

PHILLIPS: OK, but even though it is not the end all, be all, you are saying it is still a good move to get one, because you never know.

SIEBERG: Right. You never know, and what they are potentially used for, at least what the FDA recommends for, is if the microwave has been damaged in some way, if you have dropped it, if somehow something has happened to your microwave, such as the door was bent or broken, there could be a food particle buildup, on the actual microwave, just a basic wear and tear that ends up happening, especially if you have got an older microwave from the past 25 or 30 years, manufacturing defects that may have happened, a broken door or glass that is on the front of it. Those may be some reasons that you want to purchase one of these. But again, use it with some caution, because the FDA says they are not always accurate in terms of their measurements, that the calibration may be off slightly, so just take some caution if you are ever going to use one of these. But it is a good place to start.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. OK, so 25 to 30 -- your microwave can be as old as 30 years, you are saying. SIEBERG: Believe it or not that microwaves are made that old, it is hard to believe that they are that old, but there are microwaves from that time, so if it is that old, you might want to check into it, and again, if it has been damaged.

PHILLIPS: Daniel Sieberg, thank you. You can take the bagel.

SIEBERG: Right. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right. Talk to you later.

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