FIELD TESTING OF MICROWAVE OVENS
Office of Training, Division of Electronic Products · 1972
The 1972 FDA manual provides field testing procedures for microwave ovens and identifies three approved survey instruments.
Plain English Summary
Interlock testing requires at least two operable safety interlocks and the oven should turn off before leakage exceeds 5 mW/cm² during slow door opening. Closed-door leakage measurements use a standard water load of 275 ml in a 600 ml beaker and the probe is moved along the door crack at no faster than one inch per second. Ovens manufactured after October 6, 1971 must bear a DHEW certification label showing compliance with 42 CFR Part 78.
Why This Matters
Survey instruments are prepared by checking battery charge, probe function, and zeroing the meter in a radiation-free area before use. The meter response switch uses a fast setting to locate maximum leakage and a slow setting with a three-second response time for compliance measurements. A warning notes that Narda probes can be damaged by power densities exceeding their intended capacities.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 20 mW/cm²
Exposure Context
This study used 20 mW/cm² for radio frequency:
- 2,000Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 33.3Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Show BibTeX
@article{field_testing_of_microwave_ovens_g4414,
author = {Office of Training and Division of Electronic Products},
title = {FIELD TESTING OF MICROWAVE OVENS},
year = {1972},
}