Microwave burn

This article is about injury from direct microwave The layers of the body can be approximated as a thin layer
exposure. For other microwave-oven related injuries, of epidermis, dermis, adipose tissue (subcutaneous fat),
see Microwave oven#Hazards.
and muscle tissue. At dozens of gigahertz, the radiation
is absorbed in the top fraction to top few millimeters of
skin. Muscle tissue is a much more ecient absorber
Microwave burns are burn injuries caused by thermal eects of microwave radiation absorbed in a living than fat, so at lower frequencies that can penetrate sufciently deep, most energy gets deposited there. In a
organism.
homogeneous medium, the energy/depth dependence is
In comparison with radiation burns caused by ionizing ra- an exponential curve with the exponent depending on the
diation, where the dominant mechanism of tissue damage frequency and tissue. For 2.5 GHz, the rst millimeter
is internal cell damage caused by free radicals, the pri- of muscle tissue absorbs 11% of the heat energy, the rst
mary damage mechanism of microwave radiation is ther- two millimeters together absorb 20%. For lower frequenmal, by dielectric heating.
cies, the attenuation factors are much lower, the achievMicrowave damage can manifest with a delay; pain and/or able heating depths are higher, and the temperature gra[2][5]
signs of skin damage can show some time after microwave dient within the tissue is lower.
exposure.[1]

2 Tissue damage

Frequency vs depth

The depth of penetration depends on the frequency of the

microwaves and the tissue type. The Active Denial System (pain ray) is a less-lethal directed energy weapon
that employs a microwave beam at 95 GHz; a two-second
burst of the 95 GHz focused beam heats the skin to a temperature of 130 F (54 C) at a depth of 1/64th of an inch
(0.4 mm) and is claimed to cause skin pain without lasting
damage. Conversely, lower frequencies penetrate deeper;
at 5.8 GHz the depth most of the energy is dissipated in
the rst millimeter of the skin; the 2.45 GHz frequency
microwaves commonly used in microwave ovens can deliver energy deeper into the tissue; the generally accepted
value is 17 mm for muscle tissue.[2]

The tissue damage depends primarily on the absorbed energy and the tissue sensitivity; it is a function of the microwave power density (which depends on the distance
from the source and its power output), frequency, absorption rate in the given tissue, and the tissue sensitivity.
Tissues with high water (resp. electrolyte) content show
higher microwave absorption.

The microwave absorption is directed by the dielectric

constant of the tissue. At 2.5 GHz, this ranges from about
5 for adipose tissue to about 56 for the cardiac muscle. As
the speed of electromagnetic waves is proportional to the
reciprocial value of the square root of the dielectric constant, the resulting wavelength in the tissue can drop to
a fraction of the wavelength in air; e.g. at 10 GHz the
wavelength can drop from 3 cm to about 3.4 mm.[4]

slower than of muscle tissue. Frequencies in millimeter

wave range are absorbed in the topmost layer of skin, rich
on thermal sensors. At lower frequencies, between 110
GHz, most of the energy is however absorbed in deeper
layers; the threshold for cellular injury there lies at 42 C
while the pain threshold is at 45 C, so a subjective perception may not be a reliable indicator of a harmful level
of exposure at those frequencies.[6]

The degree of the tissue damage depends on both the

achieved temperature and the length of exposure. For
short times, higher temperatures can be tolerated.

The damage can be spread over a large area, when the

source is a relatively distant energy radiator, or a very
small (though possibly deep) area, when the body comes
As lower frequencies penetrate deeper into the tissue, and to a direct contact with the source (e.g. a wire or a conas there are only few nerve endings in deeper-located nector pin).[3]
parts of the body, the eects of the radio frequency waves The epidermis has high electrical resistance for lower
(and the damage caused) may not be immediately no- frequencies; at higher frequencies, the energy penetrates
ticeable. The lower frequencies at high power densities through by capacitive coupling. Damage to epidermis has
present a signicant risk. The human body acts as a low extent unless the epidermis is very moist. The charbroadband antenna, with a number of resonation frequen- acteristic depth for lower-frequency microwave injury is
cies dictated by its size and position.[3]
about 1 cm. The heating rate of adipose tissue is much

2.1

Skin

Exposure to frequencies common in domestic and industrial sources rarely leads to signicant skin damage;
in such cases, the damage tends to be limited to upper
limbs. Signicant injury with erythema, blisters, pain,
nerve damage and tissue necrosis can occur even with exposures as short as 23 seconds. Due to the deep penetration of these frequencies, the skin may be minimally
aected and show no signs of damage, while muscles,
nerves, and blood vessels may be signicantly damaged.
Sensory nerves are particularly sensitive to such damage;
cases of persistent neuritis and compression neuropathy
were reported after signicant microwave exposures.[7]

2.2

Muscle and fat tissue

Microwave burns show some similarities with electrical

burns, as the tissue damage is deep instead of just supercial. Adipose tissue shows less degree of damage than
muscles and other water-rich tissues. (In contrast, radiant
heat, contact burns and chemical burns damage subcutaneous adipose tissue to higher extent than deeper muscle
tissue.) Full-thickness biopsy of the area between burned
and unburned skin shows layers of more and less damaged tissue (tissue sparing), layers of undamaged fat
between damaged muscles; a pattern that is not present in
conventional thermal or chemical burns. Cells subjected
to electrical burns show microscopic nuclear streaming on
histology examination; this feature is not present with microwave burns. Microwaves also deposit more energy to
areas with low blood supply and to tissue interfaces.[1][8]

INJURY CASES

conjuctiva (as e.g. anterior segment keratitis or iritis).[7]

Cataracts were observed at several workers exposed to radiofrequency radiation, but in some of the cases the cause
was unrelated to the RF exposure and in the other cases
the evidence was incomplete or inconclusive.[9] Some
sources however mention incidence of microwave-related
injuries of ocular lens and retina[12] and the possibility
of thermal eects to cause cataracts or focal tissue burns
(incl. keratitis).[13]
For the near eld 2.45 GHz frequency, the minimum
power density to cause cataracts in rabbits was found to
be 150 mW/cm2 for 100 minutes; a retrolental temperature of 41 C was necessary to be achieved. When
the eye temperature was kept low by external cooling,
cataracts were not produced by higher eld intensities;
that supports the hypothesis of a thermal mechanism being involved.[14]

2.4 Nerves
Sensory nerves are particularly sensitive to microwave
damage. Cases of persistent neuritis and compression
neuropathy were reported after signicant microwave
exposures.[7]
When the temperature of the brain is raised to or above
42 C, the bloodbrain barrier permeability increases.[14]
A neuropathy due to peripheral nerve lesion, without visible external burns, can occur when the nerve is subjected
to microwaves of sucient power density. The damage
mechanism is believed to be thermal. Radiofrequency
waves and ultrasound can be used for temporary blocking
of peripheral nerves during neurosurgical operations.[15]

Hot spots may be formed in the tissue, with a consequent

higher absorption of microwave energy and even higher
temperature achieved, with localized necrosis of the af- 2.5 Other tissues
fected tissue following.[9] Sometimes, the aected tissue
can even be charred.[10]
The thermal eects of microwaves can cause testicular
Muscle tissue destruction can lead to myoglobinuria, with degeneration and lower sperm count.[13]
renal failure following in severe cases; this is similar Pulmonary burn can be present when lungs are exposed;
to burns from electric current. Urinalysis and serum chest x-ray is used for diagnosing.[11]
CPK, BUN and creatine tests are used to check for this
Exposure of abdomen may lead to bowel obstruction due
condition.[11]
to stenosis of the aected bowel; at and upright abdominal x-ray is used to check for this condition.[11]

2.3

Eyes

Cases of severe conjunctivitis were reported after technicians looked into powered waveguides.[5]

3 Injury cases

Microwave-induced cataracts are reported in scattered

and isolated partially documented cases, but these are insucient for establishing a causal relationship of higher
than only conjectural validity; while it is possible to
cause a cataract by exposure to microwaves, the required
intensities would cause brain death. Experiments on
rabbits and dogs, mostly in the UHF range of frequencies,
shown that the ocular eects are conned to eyelids and

3.1 Infants and microwave ovens

There are several cases of child abuse where an infant or
child has been placed in a microwave oven. The typical
feature of such injuries are well-dened burns on the skin
nearest to the microwave emitter, and histology examination shows higher damage extent in tissues with high content of water (e.g. muscles) than in tissues with less water

3.2

Adults and microwave ovens

(e.g. adipose tissue).[16]

One such case involved a teenage babysitter who admitted to having placed a child in the microwave oven for
approximately sixty seconds. The child suered a third
degree burn to the back, measuring 5 inches x 6 inches.
The babysitter later took the child to the emergency department, where multiple skin grafts were placed on the
back. There were no signs of lasting emotional, cognitive
or physical eects. CT scan of the head was normal, and
there were no cataracts.[1]
Another case involved a ve-week-old female infant that
had multiple full-thickness burns totaling 11% of the
body surface area. The mother claimed the infant had
been near a microwave oven, but not inside it. The infant
survived but required amputations of parts of one leg and
one hand.[1]
Also, there have been three alleged infant deaths caused
by microwave ovens.[17][18][19][20] In all these cases, the
babies were placed within microwaves and died of subsequent injuries.

3.2

Adults and microwave ovens

A case of nerve damage by an exposure to radiation

from a malfunctioning 600 watt microwave oven, operated for ve seconds with the door open, with both
arms and hands exposed, was reported. During exposure, there was a pulsating, burning sensation in all ngers. Erythema appeared on the back sides of both hands
and arms. Four years later, denervation of median nerve,
ulnar nerve, and radial nerve in both arms was shown on
an electromyography test.[1][21]
The rst microwave oven injury was reported in 1973.
Two women operated a microwave oven in a department
store snack bar. After several years, the oven showed a
malfunction manifesting by burning the food. The rst
woman noticed burning sensations in her ngers and very
little pain or tenderness when nearby to the operating
oven. A small lesion appeared on her left index nger,
near the base of the ngernail. In the next four weeks,
three ngers of her right hand became aected as well.
Transverse ridging and deformations close to the nail
base appeared on her ngernails. After ve months since
the initial symptoms, she visited a doctor; the examination found no abnormalities other than the nails. Topical
steroid cream used over six weeks led to gradual improvement. The second woman experienced nail deformation
at the same time as the rst one, with the same clinical
ndings. The oven was returned to the manufacturer before the involvement of the doctor, and the amount of
leakage could not be assessed.[21]

3
on. During retrieval of the dish, she inserted two thirds of
her bare forearms into the oven, for a total time of about
ve seconds. The oven was still operating. She felt hot
pulsating sensation and burning in ngers and ngernails
and a sensation of needles over the exposed areas. Jabbing pain, swelling, and red-orange discoloration of dorsal sides of both hands and forearms appeared shortly afterwards. The next day she sought medical help. Since
then, she has undergone treatment with oral and topical
cortisone, Grenz rays, ultrasound, and later acupuncture,
without relief. Symptoms persisted, including high sensitivity to radiant heat (sun, desk lamp, etc.) and growing
intolerance to pressure of clothes and to touch in hands
and forearms. Neurological examinations in 1980 and
1981 did not yield a denite diagnosis. Neuronal latencies were within norm. Electromyography discovered
denervation in the median nerve, ulnar nerve, and radial
nerve on both arms. Severe reduction of number of sweat
glands in the nger pulps, in comparison with a random
control, was also found. The injury was determined to be
caused by the full power of the magnetron; the pulsating
sensation was caused either by the stirrer (a mechanical
mirror distributing the microwave beam across the oven
space to prevent formation of hot and cold spots), or by
the arterial pulsation in combination with increased nerve
sensitivity. Damage to the A beta bers, A delta bers,
and group C nerve bers was the cause of the burning
sensation. The increased hypersensitivity to radiant heat
is caused by the damage to the A beta, A delta, and polymodal nociceptors (the group C bers); this damage is induced by a single-time overheating of the skin to 48.5-50
C, and the resulting sensitivity persists for a long time.
Degeneration of the alpha motor neurons is also caused
by the exposure to heat and radiation. Most of the major nerve trunks were not aected. Damage to the A
beta bers (located in the skin), discovered by the twopoint discrimination test, is permanent; the Pacinian corpuscles, Meissner corpuscles, and Merkel nerve endings,
which degenerated after denervation, do not regenerate.
The sympathetic nervous system was involved as well; the
reduction in active sweat glands was caused by destruction of their innervation, the initial edema and reddening
was also caused by sympathetic nerve damage.[22]

In 1983, a 35-year-old male was heating a sandwich in

a microwave oven at work. After opening the door, the
magnetron did not shut o and his right hand was exposed
to microwave radiation as he retrieved the sandwich. After exposure, his hand was pale and cold; 30 minutes later
the man presented himself to a doctor, with paresthesia in
all ngers and the hand still pale and cold. An Allens test
showed a return to normal color after 60 seconds (normal is 5 seconds). By 60 minutes after exposure the hand
was normal again, and the patient was discharged without
treatment. A week later there was no paresthesia, motor
[21]
On July 29, 1977, H.F., a 51-year-old teacher, was at- weakness nor sensory decit.
tempting to remove a casserole dish from her new 600watt microwave oven. The oven signaled the end of the
heating cycle, but the light and the cooking blower were

3.3

5 PERCEPTION THRESHOLDS

Other

in a second. Special devices designed or modied for this

purpose have to be used; use of kitchen-grade microwave
An engineer replaced a woodpecker-damaged feed horn ovens is condemned.[28]
of a high-power microwave antenna, a 15-meter dish at
an Earth station of a television network, using a cherry
picker. After nishing, he sent his technician to power up
the transmitter, and attempted to lower the cherry picker 5 Perception thresholds
down. The engine failed and the engineer was stuck next
to the antenna, outside of its main lobe but well within Safety limits exist for microwave exposure. The U.S.
the rst sidelobe. The technician, unaware that the engi- Occupational Safety and Health Administration denes
neer was still close to the antenna, powered it up. The energy density limit for exposure periods of 0.1 hours or
engineer was exposed to an intense microwave eld for more to 10 mW/cm2 ; for shorter periods the limit is 1
about three minutes, until the error was realized. There mW-hr/cm2 with limited excursions above 10 mW/cm2 .
were no immediate symptoms; the next morning the en- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standard
gineer detected blood and solid matter in his urine, and for microwave oven leakage puts limit to 5 mW/cm2 at 2
visited a doctor, who found blood in stool and massive inches from the ovens surface.[24]
bowel adhesions. The engineers medical problems lasted
For 5.8 GHz, exposure to 30 mW/cm2 causes increase of
for many years.[23]
facial skin temperature by 0.48 C, corneal surface heats
by 0.7 C, and the temperature of retina is estimated to
increase by 0.08-0.03 C.[9]

Medical uses

Dielectric heating (diathermy) is used in medicine; the

frequencies used typically lie in the ultrasonic, shortwave,
and microwave ranges. Careless application, especially
when the patient has implanted metal conductors (e.g.
cardiostimulator leads), can cause burns of skin and
deeper tissues and even death.[24]
Microwave damage to tissues can be intentionally exploited as a therapeutic technique, e.g. radiofrequency
ablation and radiofrequency lesioning.
Controlled
destruction of tissue is performed for treatment of
arrhythmia.[25] Microwave coagulation can be used for
some kinds of surgeries, e.g., stopping bleeding after a
severe liver injury.[26]

Exposure of skin to microwaves can be perceived as a sensation of heat or pain. Due to lower penetration of higher
frequencies, perception threshold is lower for higher frequencies as more energy is dissipated closer to the body
surface. When the entire face is exposed to 10 GHz microwaves, the feeling of heat is evoked at energy densities of 4-6 mW/cm2 for 5 or more seconds, or about 10
mW/cm2 for a half second. Experiments on six volunteers exposed to 2.45 GHz microwaves shown perception
thresholds on forearm skin to be at the average of 25-29
mW/cm2 , ranging from 15.40 to 44.25 mW/cm2 . The
sensation was indistinguishable from heat delivered by infrared radiation, though the infrared radiation required
about ve times lower energy density. Pain threshold for
3 GHz was demonstrated to range from 0.83-3.1 W/cm2
for 9.5 cm2 of exposed area, depending on length of the
exposure; other source says the dependence is not directly
on the power density and exposure length, but primarily
on the critical skin temperature.[9]

Microwave heating seems to cause more damage to

bacteria than equivalent thermal-only heating.[27] However food reheated in a microwave oven typically reaches
lower temperature than classically reheated, therefore
pathogens are more likely to survive.
Microwave energy can be focused by metal objects in the
Microwave heating of blood, e.g. for transfusion, vicinity of the body or when implanted. Such focusing
is contraindicated, as it can cause hemolysis and and resultant increased heating can signicantly lower the
perception, pain and damage thresholds. Metal-framed
hyperkalemia.[8]
glasses perturb microwave elds between 2-12 GHz; inMicrowave heating is one of the methods for inducing dividual components were found to be resonant between
hyperthermia for hyperthermia therapy.
1.4 to 3.75 GHz.[9]
High-energy microwaves are used in neurobiology experiments to kill small laboratory animals (mice, rats) in order to x brain metabolites without the loss of anatomical
integrity of the tissue. The instruments used are designed
to focus most of the power to the animals head. The
unconsciousness and death is nearly instant, occurring in
less than one second, and the method is the most ecient
one to x brain tissue chemical activity. A 2.45 GHz,
6.5 kW source will heat the brain of a 30 g mouse to 90
C in about 325 milliseconds; a 915 MHz, 25 kW source
will heat the brain of a 300 g rat to the same temperature

A security guard with a metal plate in his leg experienced

heating of the plate when patrolling near tropospheric
scatter transmitter antennas; he had to be removed from
their vicinity.
In the 30300 GHz band, dry clothing may serve as an
impedance transformer, facilitating more ecient energy
coupling to the underlying skin.[5]
Pulsed microwave radiation can be perceived by some
workers as a phenomenon called "microwave hearing";
the irradiated personnel perceive auditory sensations of

5
clicking or buzzing. The cause is thought to be thermoelastic expansion of portions of auditory apparatus.[13] The
auditory system response occurs at least from 200 MHz
to at least 3 GHz. In the tests, repetition rate of 50 Hz
was used, with pulse width between 10-70 microseconds.
The perceived loudness was found to be linked to the peak
power density instead of average power density. At 1.245
GHz, the peak power density for perception was below
80 mW/cm2 . The generally accepted mechanism is rapid
(but minuscule, in the range of 105 C) heating of brain
by each pulse, and the resulting pressure wave traveling
through skull to cochlea.[5]

Other concerns

Some vacuum tubes present in microwave installations

tend to generate bremsstrahlung x-rays. Magnetrons
and especially hydrogen thyratrons tend to be the worst
oenders.[29]

Low-level exposure

As the energy of radio frequency waves and microwaves is

insucient to directly disrupt individual chemical bonds
in small or stable molecules, the eects are considered
limited to thermal. Energy densities that are not sucient
to overheat the tissues are not shown to cause lasting damage. To clarify, the deep-red lightbulb in a black-andwhite photographic darkroom produces a higher-energy
form of radiation than microwaves. Like a microwave,
this lightbulb can burn, particularly if touched, but the
burn is only possible due to too much heat. A study
of 20,000 radar technicians of the US Navy, who were
chronically exposed to high levels of microwave radiation, did not detect increased incidence of cancer. Recent
epidemiologic evidence also led to the consensus that exposure to electromagnetic elds, e.g. along power lines,
did not raise incidence of leukemia or other cancers.[30]

Myths

[2] http://books.google.com/books?id=
1yu3mqPdpBwC&pg=SA16-PA4&dq=
microwave+power+density"+tissue+damage&lr=&num=50&as_brr=3&cd=
[3] Radar for Technicians: Installation, Maintenance, and Repair - Frederick L. Gould - Google Boeken
[4] Noninvasive Instrumentation and Measurement in Medical Diagnosis - Robert B. Northrop - Google Boeken
[5] RF and Microwave Radiation Safety Handbook - Ronald
Kitchen - Google Boeken
[6] Biological and Medical Aspects of Electromagnetic Fields
- Google Boeken
[7] Clinical Environmental Health and Toxic Exposures Google Boeken
[8] Electrical Injuries: Engineering, Medical, and Legal Aspects - Robert E. Nabours, Raymond M. Fish, Paul F. Hill
- Google Boeken
[9] Radio-Frequency and ELF Electromagnetic Energies: A
Handbook for Health ... - R. Timothy Hitchcock - Google
Boeken

[10] http://books.google.com/books?id=
UmQATCaVbxwC&pg=PA47&
dq=microwave+burns"&lr=&num=50&as_brr=3&cd=9#v=onepage&q=%22
[11] Medical and Bioengineering Aspects of Electrical Injuries
- Raymond M. Fish, Leslie Alexander Geddes, Charles F.
Babbs - Google Boeken
[12] Fitness For Work: The Medical Aspects - Google Boeken
[13] Preventing Occupational Disease and Injury - Google
Boeken
[14] Advances in Electromagnetic Fields in Living Systems Google Boeken
[15] Neuropathies - Google Boeken
[16] Sudden Death in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence Roger W. Byard - Google Boeken
[17] "'Microwave baby' mother charged. BBC News. 200612-08. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
[18] US baby 'murdered in microwave'". BBC News. 200611-28. Retrieved 2007-05-23.

A common myth among radar and microwave communi- [19] Wasted and Basted. Snopes. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
cation workers is that the exposure of the genital area to [20] Mother accused of putting baby in microwave faces
microwaves renders a man sterile for about a day. The
trial. Daily Mail (London). 2012-02-22.
power density necessary for this eect is however su[21] Handbook of Electrical Hazards and Accidents - Google
cient to also cause permanent damage.[23]
Boeken

References

[1] Page 87-89 in: Children and Injuries. Author: Joe L.

Frost. ISBN 0-913875-96-1, ISBN 978-0-913875-96-4

[22] Fleck H (April 1983). Microwave oven burn. Bull N

Y Acad Med 59 (3): 3137. PMC 1911632. PMID
6573221.
[23] Microwave & Wireless Communications Technology Joseph J. Carr - Google Boeken

[24] Safety and Health for Engineers - Roger L. Brauer Google Boeken
[25] New Arrhythmia Technologies - Google Boeken
[26] Surgical treatment of liver injury with microwave tissue
coagulation: an experimental study
[27] Handbook of Microwave Technology for Food Application - Ashim K. Datta - Google Boeken
[28] The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research: A
Survey of Scientic and ... - Bernard E. Rollin - Google
Boeken
[29] http://www.colloquium.fr/06IRPA/CDROM/docs/
P-364.pdfw
[30] Rubins Pathology: Clinicopathologic Foundations of
Medicine - Google Boeken

REFERENCES

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