To think there is no radiation damage to my toddler

[lovinbeingmum]

Had a couple of friends over last night. The talk turned to warming food, milk etc for the kids. I said I use the microwave and three horrified faces turned around to look at me. Seems the microwave should be avoided for little ones. There's bound to be some harm. So, well.... What do you guys do?

FYI, the kids in question range from 1.5-5 years.

I always warmed up bottles of milk in the microwave. As long as you give it a good shake to get rid of any hot spots I can't see how it's any more danger than that. I also use it to warm up / defrost lots of other food that my dc's eat.

Mind you I started off well. Dh works in a nuclear power station and so did I when I was pregnant with dd1. She's probably immune to radiation by now.

With the greatest respect, are they all first timers sleep deprived whackjobs I know I believed some pretty crazy non-existent shit with number 1. The poor husband was not allowed to touch, kiss, cuddle the baby after eating peanuts until he'd brushed his teeth and washed his hands. No, noone in the family on either side has a nut allergy. I felt so sorry for my husband, I'd finally allowed him to stop the rigmarole when #1 was just over a year and I fell pregnant again!

BPA leaks out of plastic, that's what I think will happen . Unless of course they are BPA free-to save me the hassle of checking I simply use a glass jug, it's simple.

BUt are the bottles BPA free? I would never heat a plastic bottle with BPA in it. In fact, I don't buy anything with BPA in it.

Microwave ovens unless they have been fiddled with are safe in terms of radiation safety to babys, small children and pets as long as you do not stick the child / animal inside the oven.

Also the evidence to suggest that bisphenol A based plastic is dangerous is very weak, to my mind there has been a modern day lynching of this compound and all the plastics made from it. At the core of a lynching is a general disregard for fair play / due process and the general attitude of "why let facts get in the way of a good story".

Bisphenol A is an artifical estrogen, but it is rather weak and very little if any bisphenol A can be leached from epoxy plastics.

Blimey, I thought you'd sent the dc into the asteroid belt! [stars]

As Cookingmonster said it is the risk of hot spots that means you 'shouldn't' use a microwave for heating milk.

Not all radiation is bad.
We all absorbs some every day.

Your baby would receive a higher dose on a long haul flight or if you lived in Abredeen

ipad

at ipadquietly.

Do not send your toddler into the Van Allen belt. There is actual radiation there.

Complete utter and unadulterated bollocks.

Aberdeen isn't a radon hotspot. Banchory and Ballater (in the Shire) are higher risk areas.

You're a bit stuffed if you live in mid and south Devon or Cornwall though. And between Banbury and Corby.

Another reason to avoid Bedruthan Sands

Is it true that the level of radiation in the ground in some parts of Cornwall is so high that you're not allowed to dig down into it? I heard that you can't build a house and put a cellar in. Is that right or is that complete rubbish?

I have worked with radiation and there is something important to note, ionizing radiation is known to damage DNA by forming ions and radicals in living tissue. Ionizing radiation is alpha particles, beta particles, neutrons, protons, gamma rays and x-rays. Sources include radon in the air, radon daughters stuck onto smoke particles, gamma rays from the rocks, x-rays sources used at the dentist, mamogram machines etc.

Non ionizing radiation is all radiation which can not form ions / radicals in living tissue, this includes UV light, normal light, infra-red, microwaves and radiowaves. While the UV light can damage DNA by a different mechanism the others can not cause the DNA damage which can result in cancer.

Please stop confusing microwaves with X-rays and "nuclear" radiation.

By the way Aberdeen is an area with a high natural background of gamma emitters in the rock, the rock however lacks cracks and the radon is not mobile in it so the radon level in the air at Aberdeen is very low.

The cornwall radon is an interesting one, I know that an underground place of work is covered by the 1999 Ionizing Radiation Regulations (The current UK law on radiation at work), so if you pay someone to work in your basement in Cornwall it might break the law, also paying the local builder to work on digging your basement might give you a problem with the radiation law.

I am unsure if what you choose to do in your own time matters for the UK radiation law, I think you would need to consult a lawyer to get the answer. But you could make a perfectly safe basement in cornwall, you would need to paint the walls with normal paint. You can also use a polythene damp proofing membrane to stop radon migrating through a cement or concrete product. I would also suggest adding ventillation to the basement to stop the radon building up there.

If you read a basic university book on radioactivity such as this one( www.amazon.com/Radioactivity-Ionizing-Radiation-Nuclear-Energy/dp/807302053X) you will read how to radon proof a home.

Loons! I've never used my microwave as much as I did when DCs were tiny. I had a microwave steriliser, bottles were heated in the microwave and when weaning I used to use the microwave to defrost and then heat their little portions of batch cooked mush I had made!

Have name changed. I am professionally qualified to advise on the safe and legal use of ionising radiation.

The Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 only apply to businesses. You are free to do whatever you want with ionising radiation in your own home, and believe me, some people do . I suppose if you injured someone, it would be a police matter though.

As others have said, there is a very important distinction between non ionising radiation such as microwaves and ionising radiation such as X-rays and radon. The clue is in the name - non ionising radiation does not have enough energy to ionise atoms and damage DNA.

Microwaves ovens are totally safe, providing they are in good condition. There is no residual 'radiation' in anything that has been heated, although the point about hot spots is perfectly valid.

If you want to buy a property in a radon affected area, or undertake structural changes, you are advised to check the radon level, and put in protective measures if necessary. Cellars are a particular risk, because radon is more dense than air, so builds up below ground level.

For homeowners, this is only advisory, and it is sometimes quite hard to get people to understand the very real risk. I have a very woo friend who lives in Devon and despite worrying about all sorts of other weird and wonderful things, she has absolutely no worry about radon . Lots of info about radon here.

Anyone who runs any business in a radon affected area, such as the famed Bedruthan Steps, needs to measure the radon concentration and then take action to reduce the concentration if it is above an action level.

A homeowner employing a builder would not be responsible for the builder's radiation dose because they are engaging a subcontractor, not employing them. The builder would be his/her own employer, but I suppose that if you were a builder who specialised in cellar conversions in Devon and Cornwall, you might have to consider the radon dose that you and your employees received, but it might be OK, because the ventilation could be good while the work is being carried out.

The microwave oven will cause no harm whatever to the food.

BUT you should take care that the seal around the door is not damaged or covered in food, because it must make electrical contact all round. Otherwise it will leak microwaves that could cause harm to a child, particularly to its eyes. Just to be really sure I would not let a child put its face close to the oven while it is operating.

There are various protection methods you can use for properties in radon affected areas, which are generally pretty effective at preventing the build up of radon gas. New properties in radon affected areas will need to incorporate these measures under the building regs, and guidance us available from the BRE.

Well, there's some good, sciency explanations on this thread which make the matter perfectly clear. Microwave ovens are not dangerous unless they are leaking.

I do always make sure my children stand well back if they are watching food cook in the microwave. I once heard a nasty story about a woman who cooked her eye by pressing her face up to the glass of a leaky microwave.

I have a friend who had a very old microwave from the 1980s. He used to stand at arms length to set the timer and then run away to another room whilst it was microwaving stuff as he was convinced it leaked.

greenbananas you are very sensible.
'Cooking' of the eye sounds extreme, but repeated exposure of a young eye to microwaves could lead to cataracts - either immediately or at a much younger age than usual.

I had this discussion with DH about the length of time you needed to "rest" food after heating.

DH was convinced that's the reason for the entire worlds ills - not faitin the required four minutes for your prawn biryani.

I defeated him with logic (you would see a dramatic increase in mouth cancers if this was really the case) felt good mumsnet - it felt good

MIL still has a very old microwave from the 80s. She cooks almost everything in it. We offered to buy them one for xmas but so far they've not managed to find one the same size.

I was taught at university that one of the concerns about microwaving formula was the conversion of trans-amino acids to synthetic cis isomers. As no one knows exactly what this means for amino acid metabolism it is considered good advice not to microwave milk for babies.

Have you got a Credible link for that ridgy?

Snopes seems to think its a myth and I would agree as you would need a chemical reaction or ionisation to convert between isomers and all microwave ovens do is make water molecules jiggle about and generate friction which causes heating.

I agree the wrong isomers may be dangerous in living systems as that was the cause of the phalidomide disaster but can't see how it is relevant here. Also millions of people have been microwaving baby products for about 30 years and there are no official contraindications.