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Ask HN: How worried should I be about electromagnetic radiation in my home?

5 points by pc2g4d ↗ HN
I just watched the somewhat concerning documentary "Take Back Your Power" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZTiT9ZSg3Q ) and was left with some questions.

I'm very sympathetic to the privacy concerns people have regarding "smart meters". They clearly can be abused to provide high-resolution data on energy usage in a household, which could allow estimation of number of people residing, when they're home or away, what appliances they're using, etc. with the same lack of accountability that all data collection in the United States is subject to.

The health concerns, though, I have no real skill at evaluating. People in the movie claim that some smart meters use the electrical wiring in the home as a large antenna, and thus create large amounts of radio frequency radiation when transmitting, leading to numerous health problems. There are also claims about the cancer risk of nearby cell towers and of EMF radiation in general.

Unlike information technology, the physical effects of radio waves are not my area of expertise. Are these concerns well-placed, or is this mere fear-mongering? Should I go buy an EMF meter and inspect my home? (I was looking at this: https://www.amazon.com/Meterk-Electromagnetic-Radiation-Detector-Dosimeter/dp/B0754VVW4W/ref=sr_1_3 )

4 comments

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PaulHoule
If you talk on a cell phone all day and hold it a centimeter from your head maybe you deposit enough energy into your head to raise the temperature by a degree or two.

Being addicted to Facebook or mid-core games probably does more damage to your brain though. Driving or walking while distracted on your phone poses more danger to your body, and the bodies of others.

Nothing in the home has that combination of high power and proximity to the body so I wouldn't worry about it. The "high frequency" data recording might be a million or so times more than checking it once a month (if your utility can be bothered to even do that) but it still maybe 8 bits of data per second and shouldn't take much power to get back to the tower.

I think fear of smart meters is just the next fad now that anti-vaxxers are on the run.

Odenwaelder
I have a PhD in radiation biophysics. I’m not worried at all. Current research suggests that electromagnetic radiation from WiFi and other sources are nothing to be particularly concerned about, the measured effects on a cellular level are barely significant, if at all. Also, we don’t see a rise in brain or testicular cancers since cellphones emerged.

I’d be more concerned about environmental hazards such as fine dust in larger cities.

tim44
Devil's advocate, how long have we been measuring cancer, cell phones for any conclusion? an instant? how young are the methods and data. How pervasive are things that we might measure wifi person vs non-wifi person objectively enough? Considering nothing counts for the wifi moment and all experiments and experiences flawed, how much data are you comfortable passing through your loved ones monthly? ;)