do smoke alarms cause cancer? - Cancer Message Board

son1981 · 04-23-2009, 12:14 AM

a friend of mine told me not to put a smoke alarm in my room because it can cause cancer from the radio activity

Is this true? geez u would think that these things are suppose to save our lives not end them

Seraph · 04-23-2009, 02:51 AM

Choices, choices..might I have a chance of getting cancer one day, or will I die of smoke inhalation in my bed tonight? HMMmmmmm!...that's a hard one..Sera.

SamQKitty · 04-24-2009, 01:14 PM

Where on earth do these rumors get started?

Well sure...I guess nearly anything COULD cause cancer...in fact, life causes cancer! If you never go anywhere (especially not out in the sun), and never get exposed to ANY environmental toxin (many of which are naturally present) and live in a hermetically sealed environment that's made with all non-toxic materials, you probably won't get cancer. But even then, it's no guarantee.

I wasn't aware that there's radioactivity in smoke alarms but, even if there is, the amount would have to be extremely small, just based on the size of the components in a smoke alarm. There's radioactivity all around us...in rocks, it can seep up from the ground into houses, in sun exposure, etc. I wouldn't worry about the small amount that may be in a smoke alarm.

A better point, though, is that the smoke alarm is not supposed to be in the room where you sleep but rather just outside it, so presumably it's warning would give you a chance to escape BEFORE the smoke starts seeping into your room.

Ruth

janewhite1 · 04-24-2009, 04:43 PM

If you had the radioactive part of 100 smoke alarms right in your pocket all the time, that would be bad. Having one or two in your house does not significantly add to the radiation everyone is exposed to just from living in the solar system.

Don't eat it, though.

esker · 04-24-2009, 05:19 PM

You can get photoelectric detectors that do not have any radioactivity at all. They are more expensive, but they are also better at detecting smoke.

The radioactivity from an ionization type dectector can only travel a few centimeters and does not penetrate skin. You would have to consume it, and then prevent it from leaving your body before you would have any risk of cancer.