{
  "id": "emitters:kitchen-motor-appliance",
  "collection": "emitters",
  "slug": "kitchen-motor-appliance",
  "name": "Electric can opener, mixer and blender",
  "summary": "Small kitchen motors used at arm's length: can openers were the strongest household appliance measured, at 500–1,500 mG (50–150 µT) at 15 cm and 40–300 mG (4–30 µT) at 30 cm, for a few seconds' use.",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "aliases": [
      "can opener EMF",
      "blender EMF",
      "food mixer EMF",
      "kitchen appliance EMF"
    ],
    "category": "elf-magnetic",
    "environment": [
      "home"
    ],
    "bands": [
      {
        "label": "Power frequency",
        "minHz": 50,
        "maxHz": 60
      }
    ],
    "dutyCycle": "Seconds to a couple of minutes; the field exists only while the motor turns.",
    "distanceProfile": [
      {
        "meters": 0.15,
        "value": {
          "quantity": "magnetic-flux-density",
          "unit": "mG",
          "value": 30,
          "max": 1500,
          "basis": "measured",
          "note": "Measured range at 15 cm in the EPA's 1992 survey of 60 Hz appliances, across can openers (500–1,500 mG / 50–150 µT), mixers (30–600 mG / 3–60 µT) and blenders (30–100 mG / 3–10 µT).",
          "sourceIds": [
            "nrc-1997-appliance-fields",
            "epa-1992-appliance-fields"
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "meters": 0.3,
        "value": {
          "quantity": "magnetic-flux-density",
          "unit": "mG",
          "value": 5,
          "max": 300,
          "basis": "measured",
          "note": "Measured range at 30 cm across can openers (40–300 mG / 4–30 µT), mixers (5–100 mG / 0.5–10 µT) and blenders (5–20 mG / 0.5–2 µT).",
          "sourceIds": [
            "nrc-1997-appliance-fields",
            "epa-1992-appliance-fields"
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "mitigations": [
      {
        "action": "Judge these by cumulative time, not peak level: a can opener at 1,500 mG for ten seconds a day contributes less to a daily average than a bedside clock radio at 5 mG all night.",
        "effect": "Time-weighted average, the metric used in the epidemiology, is dominated by long low-level exposures rather than brief peaks.",
        "sourceIds": [
          "who-elf"
        ]
      },
      {
        "action": "Step back or let the appliance run unattended where the design allows.",
        "effect": "The measured range drops by roughly an order of magnitude between 15 cm and 30 cm."
      }
    ],
    "measureWith": [
      "elf-gaussmeter"
    ],
    "related": [
      "emitters:household-background-magnetic",
      "emitters:microwave-oven"
    ],
    "questions": [
      "what-is-a-safe-milligauss-level"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "nrc-1997-appliance-fields",
      "title": "Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields, Table 2-3: magnetic-field strengths of common household appliances",
      "publisher": "National Research Council (US), National Academies Press",
      "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232734/table/ttt00003/",
      "year": 1997,
      "kind": "peer-reviewed",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "epa-1992-appliance-fields",
      "title": "EMF in Your Environment: Magnetic Field Measurements of Everyday Electrical Devices (EPA 402-R-92-008)",
      "publisher": "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air",
      "url": "https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=000005EP.TXT",
      "year": 1992,
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/emitters/kitchen-motor-appliance",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/emitters/kitchen-motor-appliance",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/emitters/kitchen-motor-appliance.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/emitters"
  }
}