Amateur Radio Antennas and Radiation

My neighbors’ family members asked me about my antennas. After I explained that they are Amateur Radio Antennas I could see the fear in their eyes.
The very first question I was asked about was, “Will the antennas cause cancer and our hair to fall out?”

If there is a word guaranteed to cause apprehension, it is “radiation”. Amateur Radio uses the word in a much broader sense--radiation pattern, feed line radiation, antennas radiate--and that can be confusing to the layman. It is true that radio frequency energy is a form of radiation, but it is far different from the radiation used for cancer treatment or emitted by radio active materials.
Radiation from antennas is not the same as ionizing radiation from radioactivity. Radio frequencies are not nearly high enough for a photon of radio energy to cause an electron to leave the atom (ionize) as discussed when talking about ionospheric propagation. That is the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation of which radios waves are the latter type.
Before radio ways can be considered ionizing, their frequency would have to be increased far beyond microwaves, through visible light and on the upper reaches of the ultraviolet and x-ray spectrum. The radiation from radioactivity is carried by atomic particles such as the nucleus of a helium atom (alpha radiation), an electron (beta radiation), neutrons, or gamma-ray photons with frequencies even higher than ex-rays. These are billions of time more energetic than the radio waves cause by Amateur Radio Operators.
Biologic (athermal) effects such as genetic damage have never been observed at amateur frequencies and power levels. That requires the energy of ionizing radiation. The only demonstrating hazard from exposure to RF energy is heating (thermal effects) and that occurs only in very strong fields. RF “burns” are caused by touching conducting surfaces that have a high RF voltage present and are a very localized instance of heating that carries no more risk than thermal burns from hot objects.

So, if you are ever approached by a neighbor or some local authority this would be your best explanation to give.
Not only is it true but they will walk away scratching their heads.