A new product has arrived for expectant mothers who are also stupid, or just don’t know very much about electromagnetic radiation. The product is called “mummywraps” promises to keep the unborn safe in their development from the dangers of “EMF Smog,” a term which you’ll never actually hear from a physicist or radiation safety officer.

The “wraps” have something called “Swisssheild technology,” which looks to be akin to a metal mesh. To be fair, although it’s nothing new, this sort of “sheild” will indeed provide some blocking of RF fields from radio transmitters. However, it won’t do much for ionizing radiation or low-frequency electromagnetic fields. (Not that you generally have to worry about those to begin with)

According to the site:

Electro-Smog, or Electro-Magnetic Radiation (EMR) as it is more commonly known, is a complex and pervasive energy field radiating from both natural sources and from man-made electrical and electronic systems. EMR sources include cosmic rays, x-rays, radar, microwaves, TV and radio stations, cellphones, and all other wireless communication systems. International research has shown that prolonged exposure to EMR can be detrimental to human health, particularly that of unborn children.

Okay, first of all, this product does not appear to be of a type which would offer ANY protection to the wearer from ionizing radiation, such as X-rays or cosmic rays. That shouldn’t be too much of an issue though, as long as the expectant mommy isn’t planning on visiting the Van Allen Belts or having a few CT scans. But what about the remainder of the “electromagnetic smog” which is produced by stuff all around you?

Well, despite a lot of research, and I do mean A LOT, there’s never been any credible evidence that low-energy RF radiation, such as that from cell phones or cordless phones actually causes any major health problems. The reason is basically this: RF radiation can harm tissue by heating it. This is a lot like what happens in a microwave oven. The radio energy causes water or other molecules to vibrate and cells can be damaged or destroyed before the individual even has the chance to feel the heating effects. But this can only happen at high levels, such as standing in front of a big radar dish. Cell phones or Wifi transmitters don’t have anywhere near the energy to produce noticable tissue damage. And because the radiation is not inoizing, like nuclear radiation, it won’t cause mutations or chemical changes in living organisms.

There’s some research which shows that prolonged exposure to high energy RF fields can cause problems other than those ascribed to heating, but this seems to only apply for levels and exposures much higher than consumer produces. Lower frequency EMF fields, like those from home wiring have also never been conclusively shown to cause any problems to humans, and we all live around them all the time. In fact, the energy carried by such fields is quite small in most cases. A few studies showed a very slight increase in cancer rates around high voltage power lines, but when adjusted for income and pollution levels in those areas, the coronation seems to be more coincidental than cause and effect.

And when it comes to aircraft, radar, cell towers or other distant sources, there’s no need to worry because of the inverse square law. Without getting too much into it, the inverse square law means that radiation of any kind drops rapidly in intensity as distance from the source is increased. The intensity is actually logarithmic to distance. What it boils down to is that the exposure you get from a baby monitor next to you is going to be a lot more than that you get from a big cell phone tower located a couple hundred feet away. Sure, it could cause problems if you climbed a nearby high power transmitter, but a stones throw away, you’ll be fine.

It seems that “Emf” and “electromagnetic smog” are the new buzzwords in the world of woo. But it’s been discussed here before, that if you’re that worried about it, there are well established and effective protective garments. They just look a bit silly. Alternatively, aluminum foil will indeed block much of the RF fields, though it’s not as effective for the lower-frequency stuff.

But my suggestion would be to save the $75 on the “mummywraps” and use it to buy some books for reading to the kid once it’s born.

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2007 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Bad Science, Quackery, inverse square. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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