Anti-radiation garments may be 'harmful'
By Dong Zhen |
December 20, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ANTI-RADIATION clothing, one of the must-haves for pregnant women in China, could be doing more harm than good, scientists have warned.
Such products came on to the market in the late 1990s and have now grown so dominant most mothers-to-be believe they are essential. They are convinced the garments are "effective" in blocking electromagnetic waves from the multiple electronic devices around them, especially from computers.
But along with the booming sales have been arguments from scientists who say that the clothing has no benefit.
And an investigation by China Central Television has raised questions over whether they might even be more harmful than not wearing them.
It reported that while such clothes were able to block most frontal electromagnetic waves, they would magnify the influence of waves coming from other angles.
While the garment was able to block most radiation from one source, radiation levels became greater inside the maternity garment when there were multiple sources, it said.
Trapped inside
According to the research, pregnant women can absorb some radiation around them and reflect most of it back, but when wearing the protective garment, radiation can become trapped inside.
Chen Feng, a scientist from a laboratory recommended by the Chinese Academy of Sciences to conduct the experiments, said the garments proved effective in blocking 90 percent of electromagnetic waves coming from in front of the body - from computers, for example - but failed to protect people from radiation from any other direction.
"When the electromagnetic waves get inside the garment from other directions, there would be no outlets for them to be dispersed. You are actually exposed to a higher level of radiation influence (compared to others who don't wear such clothes)," Chen told the TV program.
However, in contrast to these findings, many maternity clothing producers claim their products are able to block 99.99 percent of radiation waves from electronic devices.
Despite decade-long growth and a prosperous market, China currently has no industry standard for such so-called protective clothing.
Birth defects
The garments are said to be made from a fiber interwoven with anti-radiation material.
Electromagnetic radiation has been understood to be one of the causes of infant birth defects, but Chinese scientists and professionals are still split in their acceptance of the value of anti-radiation maternity clothes.
While some believe the garments to be effective, others consider the claims a "big lie" woven by manufacturers to build the market.
One of the anti-radiation garments' strongest critics is Fang Zhouzi, China's noted "science cop" famous for exposing pseudoscience and academic fraud.
Anti-radiation garments are not considered essential in Western countries.
"By my understanding, it's not necessary to wear it. But since my mom believed in its function and insisted, I still wore it through my pregnancy days in the office," the mother of a one-year-old told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
Such products came on to the market in the late 1990s and have now grown so dominant most mothers-to-be believe they are essential. They are convinced the garments are "effective" in blocking electromagnetic waves from the multiple electronic devices around them, especially from computers.
But along with the booming sales have been arguments from scientists who say that the clothing has no benefit.
And an investigation by China Central Television has raised questions over whether they might even be more harmful than not wearing them.
It reported that while such clothes were able to block most frontal electromagnetic waves, they would magnify the influence of waves coming from other angles.
While the garment was able to block most radiation from one source, radiation levels became greater inside the maternity garment when there were multiple sources, it said.
Trapped inside
According to the research, pregnant women can absorb some radiation around them and reflect most of it back, but when wearing the protective garment, radiation can become trapped inside.
Chen Feng, a scientist from a laboratory recommended by the Chinese Academy of Sciences to conduct the experiments, said the garments proved effective in blocking 90 percent of electromagnetic waves coming from in front of the body - from computers, for example - but failed to protect people from radiation from any other direction.
"When the electromagnetic waves get inside the garment from other directions, there would be no outlets for them to be dispersed. You are actually exposed to a higher level of radiation influence (compared to others who don't wear such clothes)," Chen told the TV program.
However, in contrast to these findings, many maternity clothing producers claim their products are able to block 99.99 percent of radiation waves from electronic devices.
Despite decade-long growth and a prosperous market, China currently has no industry standard for such so-called protective clothing.
Birth defects
The garments are said to be made from a fiber interwoven with anti-radiation material.
Electromagnetic radiation has been understood to be one of the causes of infant birth defects, but Chinese scientists and professionals are still split in their acceptance of the value of anti-radiation maternity clothes.
While some believe the garments to be effective, others consider the claims a "big lie" woven by manufacturers to build the market.
One of the anti-radiation garments' strongest critics is Fang Zhouzi, China's noted "science cop" famous for exposing pseudoscience and academic fraud.
Anti-radiation garments are not considered essential in Western countries.
"By my understanding, it's not necessary to wear it. But since my mom believed in its function and insisted, I still wore it through my pregnancy days in the office," the mother of a one-year-old told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
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