Today I would like to share a personal experience. Last week while my mom was cooking, my aunt started talking about fridge magnets. She said they cause cancer. She read it on the Internet. It seemed a bit strange to me so I decided to inform myself. I found this article:
“Decorative Refrigerator Magnets – DANGER!
Several researchers from Princeton University have discovered something terrifying!
For several months, they were feeding two groups of mice: the first group with food stored in a refrigerator, and the second group with food stored in a refrigerator as well but with several decorative magnets on the door.
The aim of this experiment was to see how electromagnetic radiation (that which comes out of decorative door magnets) affects food. Surprisingly, rigorous clinical studies indicated that the group of mice that ate the “irradiated” food were up to 87% more likely to develop cancer than the other group of mice.
Inexplicably, no government or health associations/institutions have ruled on the matter. However, and just in case, it is advisable to remove any decorative magnet from the refrigerator, and keep it away from any food.
Please pass this information on to your contacts.”
To refute this theory, I found the following information:
Static magnetic fields, such as fridge magnets, do not act on molecules.
When the magnet sticks to the metal, almost all the lines of force go through the magnetic material of the door. So, it can hardly affect the materials inside the refrigerator. The gate itself acts as a shield.
Magnets attached to an appliance can somehow affect the consumption of this appliance. In addition, the electromagnetic field of the refrigerator motor is also confined in a metal casing that acts as a magnetic shield.
Even in the most suspicious case of microwaves, the electromagnetic field, which here acts on food, cannot affect its chemical composition. It is an alternating electromagnetic field, whose frequency can make molecules vibrate (producing heat). But that frequency IS NOT the one that can move the atoms inside the molecules, and therefore cannot change their chemical composition making them carcinogenic.
I always read these types of articles all over the web, and like this time, I always try to do my own research to find the veracity of the information. So my friends, this time you are safe. You can still see your favorite magnet every time you open your fridge.