Voice renews calls for wi-fi inquiry

Tuesday, 15 September 2009 12:00 AM

Voice: the union for education professionals has expressed scepticism about claims in a press statement from the Health Protection Agency that implies there are no health risks for children in using wi-fi [www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1252660053851?p=1231252394302] and renewed its call for a full scientific investigation to establish the facts about the long-term effects of using wi-fi.

General Secretary Philip Parkin said: "Just because a few laptops have been tested and found to have no immediate effects, doesn't mean there might not be long-term effects on developing children.

"In the last two years there has been a great weight of evidence from around the world which suggests that exposure to electromagnetic radiation can have long-term health impacts, particularly on children, and that exposing young children (from birth to 12) to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) can produce changes in cell formation, genetic changes, and potential cancers.

"Exposure levels are only half the story; length of exposure is crucial too. Long exposures at lower intensity levels may be as damaging as high exposure levels for short periods - hence my concern about wireless networks in schools and nurseries.

"The internationally accepted guidelines (ICNIRPS) are out of date and inadequate and relate only relate to the thermal effects of EMR and not to the potential long-term health risks associated with the non-thermal effects.

"In the European Parliament, MEPs are being urged to support a written declaration on the risks of exposure to electromagnetic fields resulting from the use of wireless technology.

"It is a considerable concern that in schools we are installing wi-fi systems and we have no clear evidence that they are safe. My concern is that until they are declared to be safe and proven to be safe we should not be installing them in schools. The difficulty is that once installed in schools, they are switched on constantly. Whether the children are using them or not, they are exposed to that level of radiation.

"Voice is advocating that new wi-fi systems should not be installed in schools, that existing systems should be turned off when not required and that schools should consider whether they really need to use wi-fi, which was developed to facilitate Internet access on the move rather than to be used as a convenient alternative to cables in dedicated IT facilities.

"With such strong opinions on both sides of the argument, serious and sustained scientific research is needed to establish conclusive facts about the potential long-term effects on children.

"When will the authorities in the UK accept that a precautionary approach is the right way to go until the scientists can come to some form of consensus?

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