What Household Gadgets Harm Your Health?

Science Fair Project

Akshaya J

V Grade

CA, USA

Statement of the Problem

Many Household gadgets such as cell phones and Wi-Fi

routers use Electro-Magnetic Field (EMF)waves to communicate.

Some studies show that EMF radiation is bad for health. Children

are in more danger of EMF radiation than adults. Children's brains

absorb about 3 times more EMF radiation than adults. Some

countries have banned Wi-Fi and cell phone use in pre-school

classrooms. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the

International Agency for Research on Cancer have labeled EMF

Radiation as a possible cause for cancer. The goal of my project

is to find household devices that can be hazardous for our health.

Health Hazards of EMF Radiations

• Disruption of memory

• Decline of attention

• Diminishing learning and cognitive

abilities

• Increased irritability

• Sleep problems

• Increase in sensitivity to stress

• Increased epileptic readiness

• Brain tumors

• Tumors of acoustical and vestibular

nerves

• (at age 25-30)

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Dementia

• Depressive syndrome

• Other types of degeneration of the

nervous structures of the brain (at age

50 to 60).

•

Long-term effects Short-term effects

Hypothesis

I think Microwaves and Samsung Phones are the worst for our health.

Microwaves use radiation to cook food. Some of that radiation leaks.

Samsung Note 7 wasn’t properly designed so it caught on fire. This

shows that Samsung tends to make poor products. This never happened

to other smartphones that I have heard of. For these reasons I think

Microwaves and Samsung Phones emit too much radiation.

Materials

Acoustimeter (RF Meter)

Smart phones

Moto 4G,

iPhone 5s, 6s+, 7

Samsung S4, S7

Amazon Echo

D-Link Wi-Fi Router

Microwave Oven

Motorola Cordless Phone

Bose Bluetooth Headphones

2’’ Clamp Vise

Procedure

First I put the phone in the experiment in a vise. I put RF

meter 5 cm from each phone. My dad went into another room and first

called the phone. I did not answer it, but let it ring. I then checked how

much the RF meter was reading. I did this 2 more times until I got an

average measurement, and I wrote it down. Next, my dad called the

phone again. This time I answered it. I measured the reading during the

call. I did this 2 more times, and wrote down my average measurement.

I did the Same things for SMS receiving and WhatsApp text receiving.

There were other Household gadgets. I put the IPad mini onto the vise

and got the measurements for loading from 10 cm away. From 30 cm

away, I measured Amazon Echo when you ask it something. From 2 m

away, I measured a D-Link Wi-Fi router. I measured a microwave oven

from 60 cm away. From 5 cm away, I measured a Bose Bluetooth

headphone. I also measured a Motorola cordless phone from a distance

of 5cm away. We put aluminum foil over the Motorola Cordless Phone

to test EMF shielding and took the measurements. For all the

measurements I measured Power Density in W per m2.

EMF Radiation in household gadgets

W

/ m

2

Safe limit-

1000 W / m2

EMF Radiation in Cell Phones

W /

m2

Safe limit-

1000 W / m2

EMF Radiation in Cell Phones

W /

m2

Safe limit-

1000 W / m2

Recommendations

• Do not use Microwave ovens especially when young children are around

• If Microwave Ovens have to be used, put them in a metal cabinet while

using as metal prevents EMF radiation leakage

• Avoid using cordless phones

• When you are in a call, always use speaker mode and hold it away from

your head

• Use smart phones with low radiation levels such as Samsung S4

• Use WhatsApp instead of SMS

• Don’t let your phone ring for long

• Avoid using Bluetooth headsets for young children

• Prefer GSM phones than CDMA phones

Conclusion

I found that Microwave ovens, Motorola cordless phones,

and CDMA phones were the worst in terms of EMF radiation. They

have too much radiation. Surprisingly, SMS mode in general radiates

more than voice call. Also, Samsung phones are better than other

phones. Samsung S4 was the best of all the phones. Microwaves,

have dangerously high radiation levels. Aluminum foil effectively

shielded the EMF radiation. The European Council recommends a

safe limit of 1000 W / m2 . However, many household gadgets went

over the safe limit.

Works Cited Does Your Cell Phone Radiate ? Measuring Cell Phone

Electromagnetic Radiation

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-

projects/project_ideas/Elec_p068.shtml

"Electromagnetic Radiation, Health and Children 2014" talk by

Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe Talk

https://youtu.be/sNFdZVeXw7M

Mobile phone use and health symptoms in children, Aug 2014

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25115529?dopt=Abstract

Government Guidelines on Cell phone use by Children

http://wiredchild.org/government-alias.html

Wi-Fi banned in France

http://www.naturalnews.com/043695_electrosensitivity_wifi_french_gove

rnment.html