What hazard is created by touching an antenna during a transmission?

When a transmitter is keyed, radio frequency (RF) energy travels through the antenna. Touching the antenna while it is transmitting can cause this high-frequency energy to flow into your skin, resulting in an RF burn. Unlike low-frequency household AC current that can penetrate deeply to cause fatal electrocution or stop the heart, high-frequency RF energy primarily causes localized tissue heating on the surface. Furthermore, RF energy is non-ionizing, meaning it does not have enough energy to strip electrons from atoms. Therefore, it cannot cause radiation poisoning, which is associated with ionizing sources like X-rays or gamma rays.