I work in a large kitchen with a lot of large microwave ovens. one of the waiters brought a meter to work and showed how the m'wave ovens put out a lot of energy outside of the oven even when they were turned off, and much more when running. is it possible to build something that i could put in my pocket or wear that would protect me, or nullify that microwave energy around me as i work.

Thank You,
Frank

 

.... is it possible to build something that i could put in my pocket or wear that would protect me, or nullify that microwave energy around me as i work.??

In a word ...NO ... you have to tackle the problem at source , maybe the oven doors do not close perfectly , explore around the door area with the meter ...

Put distance between you and the ovens , tuck them away in the corner of the kitchen

Make sure you are not unduly worrying ...some meters are VERY sensitive , and will always detect something. I'm not sure how a turned off oven could still be emitting ... you maybe detecting phone radiation etc...

 

Have you investigated why there is so much RF when the ovens are off?
Are you sure the testing device is not a hoax?

 

And how much radiation is there from other electric gizmos in the kitchen?

 

Yes wrap yourself in tinfoil create a Human Faraday Shield...

It's probably an hoax...

 

Frank;

Microwaves are designed with multiple safety features and should not have any issues. There will always be a very small amount of energy leakage but as long as it remains at a low level it will not be a problem. Measuring this energy requires a special device, I doubt that the waiter would have access to a meter.
A couple of things you should know: (1) RF energy follows the inverse square law. That is, the energy decreases at the square of the distance. If you double the distance from the oven the energy goes down to one quarter of the value at the first point. Unless you spend all your time leaning against the oven it is probably not an issue. (2) The microwave doesn't release any energy when off, other than minimal power to keep the electronics operating. You get more energy from the lights in the room.
If the interface surfaces of the door and the mating area of the oven are not clean it may increase the leakage a small amount. Just make sure you clean the oven adequately.
If you are still concerned, find a qualified repair service (not a waiter) to test the oven.

I am a former microwave oven engineer, I worked for Sharp Electronics and Litton Microwave Cooking Products in the 1980's.

 

I work in a large kitchen with a lot of large microwave ovens. one of the waiters brought a meter to work and showed how the m'wave ovens put out a lot of energy outside of the oven even when they were turned off, and much more when running. is it possible to build something that i could put in my pocket or wear that would protect me, or nullify that microwave energy around me as i work.

Thank You,
Frank

You are smart to be concerned about your environment and to ask questions about potential dangers in your environment.

Your first line of protection can be education.

When you say “…one of the waiters brought a meter to work and showed how the m'wave ovens put out a lot of energy outside of the oven even when they were turned off, and much more when running.”…I am wondering, “How could a microwave oven produce microwaves without any power?” and “What was the meter measuring?”.

To begin with, you can perform a couple of simple searches, like…

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

What are microwaves?

Can exposure to microwaves harm me?

How can I measure microwave radiation?

 

If you need to worry, worry about real work related dangers.
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/kitchen-hazards-kitchen-safety-40195.html

 

I am doing some studying and found that microwaves are Radio Frequency waves. I also find that there is a device called a RF jammer. How would I build this device aimed at microwaves?

 

A jammer creates "noise" radio waves that overwhelm a radio receiver to prevent it from extracting information from the signal. It doesn't change the level of RF energy. The only way to shield from RF is to get inside a Faraday cage. That is impractical.

Unless there is physical damage to the microwave oven there is no danger. You are exposed to more RF energy just walking around outside. You are actually immersed in RF every where you go and it does no harm.

Tell that waiter to take his device and stick it!

 

I am doing some studying and found that microwaves are Radio Frequency waves. I also find that there is a device called a RF jammer. How would I build this device aimed at microwaves?

Don't even think about RF countermeasures. First, it's illegal, second it won't work to eliminate EM energy, only mask it from direct detection by adding another EM energy source that actually might be dangerous.

The ovens are shielded and the shielded door has a RF choke formed by the air gap between the door and frame designed to stop the specific range of energy the oven produces.

This gap can be modified.

 

Unplug the "offending" microwave and see if the level of radiation changes. Microwave ovens that are not running cannot radiate.

Ken

 

There's a lot of concerns with leaking microwave energy. As you know, it's a radiated energy that can cook cells, heat water and such. With every technology there's a counter technology. For instance; sound canceling headphones. They work by producing the exact opposite sound wave at the same exact amplitude. One wave peak is canceled by the equal but opposite wave troth. Canceling the background radiation will be a very difficult task, should you take that approach.

Wrapping one self in tin foil works to block radiation from reaching the skin. Trouble with that is your eyes need to be exposed so you can see what you're doing. So even that's not a great solution, not unless you don't mind your eyeballs being cooked like chicken eggs.

The BEST way to prevent harmful microwave energy is to make sure the machine is in good working order. The screen that you can see the food through has holes smaller than the wavelength of the microwave energy, therefor it can not escape. However, if the door does not properly close, energy can leak through the openings. Good news / bad news: Good news is that microwave energy is directional. In other words it travels in straight lines, or "Line Of Sight". Bad news is that it can be reflected from metal surfaces. If you have your back to a leaking oven and standing in front of a stainless steel conventional oven - you can receive radiation on both sides.

However, it's not always easy to spot a bad oven. I've attached this very short video to help you identify at least one sign the oven may be defective:

 

Was the meter......a ghost detector?

 

OK, all seriousness aside: I am not convinced your workmate had a legitimate detector. And if it IS a legitimate detector then the user might not know how to properly calibrate it or may be taking measurements incorrectly.

When it comes to radiated energy there are three ways to defend yourself. Time, Distance and Shielding. Limit your exposure, keep your distance, and use shielding to prevent radiated energy from reaching you. That's actually legitimate. I'm not being silly or stupid as some may say. But in Radiation Safety Training, this is one of the first things they teach you. Limit your exposure, stay as far away as possible and shield the source.

The bottom line: Without knowing more about the ovens in use and their state of disrepair - I don't think there's much danger to you. But if someone was yanking your chain - call OSHA. Let THEM investigate whether the ovens are working properly. And if there IS a large amount of radiated energy in the kitchen then let THEM determine the source and mandate a remedy to the problem. Then start looking for another job because the boss is going to be cheezed that you inflicted OSHA on them.

OSHA stands for Occupational Safety & Health Administration. They're some serious chit! They can close down a business if it's deemed the business does not meet OSHA guidelines.

 

Note that this is not ionizing radiation and doesn't cause cell damage like ionizing radiation.
Ionizing radiation includes x-rays and gamma rays. It causes cell damage.
Non-ionizing radiation includes microwaves, cell phone RF, infrared, light, etc. All it will do is warm you up a little if you get too much. Note that sun light also include ultraviolet which can cause cell damage.

 

Before reacting to something, you should first understand it. Understand what his detector is telling you. How much energy is it detecting (actual numbers and units), and on which frequencies? Without that info you actually have nothing useful.

 

So we place a cellular phone beside our heads, inches from our brain and chat on it. Yet, we worry about some insignificant microwave energy leakage? Microwave ovens operate in about the 2.45 GHz frequency range and cell phones I believe still use an 800 MHz band, maybe around 860 MHz and also about a 1.9 GHz band.

You want to check a microwave door seal for leakage? Use scotch tape and tape a NE2 lamp to the end of a wooden ice cream stick. Run the microwave and run the NE2 lamp around the door seal. Does the bulb glow?

That or go out and buy a suitable microwave diode (not the kind in a microwave oven) and build a simple common field strength meter. Matter of fact here you go. You can get as simple and inexpensive as you wish or go high end. You can also buy yourself an entire wardrobe of RFI and EMI protective clothing.

Ron

 

The cheapest method of checking for microwave leakage is a grape on the end of a toothpick.

Slowly move the grape around the door edge while the microwave is energised.

If the grape becomes warm, then you may have excessive leakage.

 

The cheapest method of checking for microwave leakage is a grape on the end of a toothpick.

Slowly move the grape around the door edge while the microwave is energised.

If the grape becomes warm, then you may have excessive leakage.

I like that! The grape is full of water making it sort of ideal.

Ron