When it comes to the risk of carcinogenicity, what many people are most afraid of is radiation. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in the last century and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in recent years have further deepened everyone's fear of radiation.
Will the microwave oven, Wi-Fi, and mobile phone signal around you cause cancer? Many people have a frightening day, like walking on thin ice.
Nowadays, with the rise of 5G networks, the signal is stronger and faster, many people are starting to worry again, and some "evidence" has been found.
Image source: Network
So does 5G have any harmful radiation?
Radiation and radiation protection around you
In our daily life, every moment is exposed to radiation, in the morning, the first rays of sunlight coming in from the window contain ultraviolet rays, which belongs to radiation; mobile phones used every day, microwave ovens for hot meals, high-voltage wires outside the building, etc., will also bring different radiation.
Although the same radiation, but so many types of radiation, the essence behind is not the same, can not be generalized. Carcinogenic? Or is it harmless? You can't see if it's radiation, but more importantly: what kind of radiation it is.
Some of the widely circulated claims, including "microwave oven radiation carcinogenic", "high-voltage tower carcinogenic", "Wi-Fi radiation carcinogenic", etc., are all without scientific basis.
Why is this widely spread without scientific evidence? Because there are many people who are working hard for their own interests.
What some people need is traffic. The more sensational the article, the more everyone is afraid, the better, so that it will increase the forwarding, afraid that the people around them will not know these "life-saving information". Under the threatening headlines, there are many false rumors about radiation.
Some people are in the "radiation protection" business. The more people are afraid of radiation, the more likely they are to buy their products. Radiation hats, clothes, curtains... Everything. Radiation-proof potted plants are even more competitive, and the sales are amazing. Why is the cactus ball protected from radiation because the thorns on the body look like lightning rods?
Of course, the best selling, but also the number of radiation protection maternity clothes. This is one of the most successful marketing gimmicks in recent years. Even if CCTV says it is useless, it still can't resist the big sale of products, and there are many people who say that they don't care about it and will actually come to one piece. It can be seen how deeply rooted the saying that "radiation is harmful".
This is really nothing new. As early as the 1960s, with the popularity of television and computers, people in Europe and the United States began to worry that the radiation of screens would lead to miscarriages in women.
It was only in 1991 that a large study in the New England Journal of Medicine reassured everyone. Scientists followed more than 2,400 women for four years, half of whom worked in front of displays for long periods of time and half of whom were not. Through the comparison of the two sets of data, it was found that women who had been in contact with the monitor for a long time did receive more low-frequency radiation, but there was no evidence that this radiation affected the body, no matter how many hours a week the woman worked in front of the monitor, even during pregnancy, and the miscarriage rate did not differ.
History is always repeating.
Distinguish between truly harmful radiation
It is precisely because of the existence of these propaganda that we have preconceived notions of equating radiation with terrorist incidents. In fact, radiation is a natural phenomenon that is widely present in nature.
Any object with temperature is a source of radiation. Everyone emits radiation, and so do your cats and dogs. It's just that these radiations have no effect on everyone. The vast majority of radiation doesn't actually hurt the human body, so there's no need to worry.
The real risk of carcinogenesis is those special radiations, called "ionizing radiation".
What distinguishes ionizing radiation from non-ionizing radiation is the level of energy. The high energy of ionizing radiation can directly destroy DNA and cause genetic mutations, so it is a carcinogenic risk, rather than the low energy of ionizing radiation, which is not enough to destroy DNA, and there is theoretically no carcinogenic risk.
Guess which mobile phone, microwave oven, high voltage, Wi-Fi, emits ionizing radiation?
Not a single one! All 4 are non-ionizing radiation.
On the left these are low-energy non-ionizing radiation
Image credit: mirion
Non-ionizing radiation is not only theoretically carcinogenic and health-intensive, but also true in real-world research.
For example, to study whether cellphone towers cause cancer, scientists compared cancer rates among workers building and repairing towers with those in general. Conclusion: There is no difference in the probability of cancer. For example, in order to study whether microwave ovens cause cancer, scientists put high-power microwave ovens next to mice and let microwave ovens continue to work. Conclusion: There is no difference in the probability of cancer.
Cell phone radiation is worth saying alone
First of all, tens of thousands of people do die every year because of their mobile phones! But not because of cancer, but because of playing with your phone while driving!
In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified mobile phone signals as "probable carcinogens," causing panic among many people. Some articles on the Internet say that long-term mobile phone calls may cause brain tumors.
What does the truth really look like?
Don't panic.
First of all, "probable carcinogen" does not mean that it is carcinogenic, but it means "some people say that it may be carcinogenic, but it has not been proven so far, and it deserves continued attention". Possible carcinogens are all-encompassing.
Cell phone signals have been described as "probably carcinogenic, mainly because of a Swedish study: if you talk on your phone for more than half an hour a day and stick to it for more than 10 years, the person is slightly more likely to get glioma (a subspecies of brain tumor) than someone who doesn't use a cell phone (from 0.005% to 0.016%).
The scientific community has a lot of objections to this study, mainly because of the imprecise design of the experiment. For example, its data sources are not objective records, but are reported by each person filling out their own forms. But can you really remember exactly how long you've used your phone every day for the past 10 years? Although many scientists don't buy it, but the data is placed there after all, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, in order to be safe, temporarily installed a title of "possible carcinogen" for the mobile phone signal, which means: "Put it first, and then talk about it later when there is more data."
We can look at another, more intuitive counterexample of this study credibility. From 1985 to 2010, in just 25 years, the number of mobile phone owners in the United States soared from 240,000 to 300 million, nearly 1,000 times, but the number of brain tumor patients in the United States has not changed.
Image source: Author Mapping
If cell phone radiation is really carcinogenic, shouldn't we see brain tumors increasing year by year? Not only the United States, but other developed countries in the world, also come to this conclusion.
Therefore, from theory to reality, there is no scientific evidence to support the use of mobile phones to cause cancer, and everyone does not have to be overly nervous.
Where is the real danger of ionizing radiation
The common radiation around is non-ionizing radiation, which does not cause cancer. So which radiation is ionizing radiation and can really cause cancer?
First, nuclear radiation is certainly dangerous. The explosion of a nuclear bomb in Japan during World War II and the leakage of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant directly caused a large number of cancer patients. However, we usually do not have access to nuclear bombs or nuclear waste, and the ionizing radiation that is easy to encounter in real life is mainly the following three categories:
Ultraviolet rays in sunlight
Skin cancer is the most common type of tumor in Europe and the United States, and millions of people are diagnosed with various skin cancers every year. The most important reason is that they have a bad habit - a fanatical love of sunbathing. Ultraviolet rays are ionizing radiation, and long-term exposure to the sun will significantly increase the risk of skin cancer. If you often go to the sea or plateau with strong sunshine, you must pay attention to protection.
Natural radioactive elements
There are many natural radioactive elements in nature, such as radium-226, thorium-232, radon, etc., which are widely present in stone, soil and air, if the home decoration uses natural stone, be sure to look at the test report. Radon is colorless and odorless but radioactive and is particularly prone to accumulation in closed basements. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, after smoking. Therefore, it is important that the room is ventilated. In China, most of the houses are high-rise, so radon gas enrichment is relatively small, but students who have money to live in villas remember to test it.
Medical radiation
X-rays, CT, PET, radiation therapy, etc., all produce ionizing radiation. Of course, the amount of radiation per time is not high, and it will not cause cancer. If you are sick and need to be diagnosed or treated, you should use it because the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. However, healthy people, especially children, must be cautious when doing such examinations, and do not simply think that the physical examination of CT is tall.
All in all, we are surrounded by radiation, the vast majority of which is harmless, non-ionizing radiation. As long as you understand and avoid the real risk of ionizing radiation, such as applying sunscreen, paying attention to indoor ventilation, avoiding unnecessary radioactive tests, etc., there is nothing to worry about.
By the way, 5G networks are also non-ionizing radiation and do not cause cancer. Let's take a closer look at the message time, the leaves have fallen, probably because autumn has arrived.
This article is co-authored by experts
This article is reviewed by experts
Planning and production
Originally issued in: Pineapple Factor" public number | Executive Producer: Feidi
Cover image source: Stand Cool Helo