Wi-Fi: Children at risk from 'electronic smog'

[IndianaGreen]

Source: The Independent

Wi-Fi: Children at risk from 'electronic smog'

::: Revealed - radiation threat from new wireless computer networks
::: Teachers demand inquiry to protect a generation of pupils

By Geoffrey Lean, environment editor
Published: 22 April 2007

Britain's top health protection watchdog is pressing for a formal investigation into the hazards of using wireless communication networks in schools amid mounting concern that they may be damaging children's health, 'The Independent on Sunday' can reveal.

Sir William Stewart, the chairman of the Health Protection Agency, wants pupils to be monitored for ill effects from the networks - known as Wi-Fi - which emit radiation and are being installed in classrooms across the nation.

Sir William - who is a former chief scientific adviser to the Government, and has chaired two official inquiries into the hazards of mobile phones - is adding his weight to growing pressure for a similar examination of Wi-Fi, which some scientists fear could cause cancer and premature senility.

Wi-Fi - described by the Department of Education and Skills as a "magical" system that means computers do not have to be connected to telephone lines - is rapidly being taken up inschools, with estimates that more than half of primary schools - and four-fifths of secondary schools - have installed it .

But several European provincial governments have already taken action to ban, or limit, its use in the classroom, and Stowe School has partially removed it after a teacher became ill.


Read more: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2472133.ece

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Has anything about this been published in America? Anyone knows?

[Miss Chybil]

1. After a teacher became ill how?

This is very vague...

[shraby]

2. Same old same old. They thought

at one time radios, electric lights, telephones, televisions all might cause problems. The only problem I can see is trying to pay the monthly bills on these "services".

[MannyGoldstein]

3. Maybe Wi-Fi Is Actually Good For Us

Who knows? Maybe it kills cancerous cells?

[jdadd]

4. wear your tinfoil.....

Tinfoil will keep the Wi-Fi radiation from harming you. :tinfoilhat:

[Gman]

11. Tinfoil has stopped the gamma rays the CIA is bombarding me with

:evilgrin:

[don954]

5. not this crap again

wifi is on 2.4ghz, at an average of power of 100mw or .1W. At 3' the average signal is -60dbm, or, 0.000001 milliwatts. The microwave oven in the cafeteria, which has a 1500W (which is 15 thousand times the power of a wifi unit) 2.4ghz signal, puts out more radiation than any wifi unit could ever possibly generate....

[southerncrone]

6. Finally, an answer for my premature senility!

[merwin]

7. What were we talking about again?

I can't remember...

[originalpckelly]

8. Oh good God, not this shit again.

What do you want people to live in Faraday cages?

[slackmaster]

13. A full Faraday cage is not needed

A good aluminum foil hat will suffice, BUT YOU HAVE TO GROUND IT.

Most people forget to connect the ground.

[MadHound]

9. Well, it is radiation after all,

Who knows, it wouldn't suprise me if this isn't true. Much like the radiation from cell phones and towers could very well be killing off the bees. The question is will humanity be willing to give up such luxuries as cell phones and WiFi in order to live and save the planet, or will they simply chat their way into extinction.

[gravity]

10. I find it disturbing that the Department of Education describes WI-FI as "magical"

[skids]

12. I configure WiFi for a living...

...I do not and would not have a WiFi unit in my house, even though I know, unlike most people, how to secure them.

I also have an earpiece for my cell to keep the unit at a distance from my braincase when I'm not actually carrying it around. I'd prefer not to have a cell at all, but the logistic benefits are undeniable.

While I appreciate that it is a low power signal, I do not trust "the industry" to even-handedly assess the risk potential both for health and for data security. I don't trust them as far as I can spit, frankly, to be responsible with their products.

There is no reason to use this technology in places where wires can be used. That's just being lazy. Doing so crowds the airwaves for devices that really need to use RF. And yes I know there's supposedly "tons of bandwidth" but the fact is these devices get less reliable the more of them are concentrated in a smaller area -- interference happens despite the theory of it. (Not to mention the administrative hassle we who run the systems have of dealing with all the wireless devices random people plug in and fire up on their own.)