Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Article contains inaccuracies

In the Dec. 4 edition of the Sun there was an article about a company that is marketing a shield for EM radiation that comes from smart devices (“Startup wants to save you from your cellphone”). This article contains lots of mistakes that are too numerous to mention in this letter. However, one serious mistake concerns the comments made about microwave ovens.

These ovens are well-shielded to prevent microwave radiation from leaking out of the cavity. The screen across the door window is there as a shield; the door gasket also prevents leakage, and these ovens must meet leakage standards set by the government. In fact, such ovens in public places must be inspected periodically to ensure they are not leaking.

The statement that EM radiation from cellphones damages sperm is open to question (based on numerous other studies that have been done over the past 25 years), but the big mistake here is that the sperm were exposed directly to the EM radiation without the shielding provided by the body where the sperm normally reside.

Finally, the worst mistake is the appalling ignorance (sorry, there is no other word) displayed by the writer and editor of this article when the continuation of the article on page 4 is labeled: “Radioactive shield firm moving to city.” There is nothing radioactive about cellphones or the radiation they emit and nothing radioactive about microwaves, whatever their source.

This type of sensationalistic reporting is apparently designed to scare the public and propagate the irrational fears of radioactivity.

The writer is a certified health physicist.

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