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Children should not put laptop computers with wi-fi connections on their lap because of the potential health risks, the Government’s leading adviser on mobile phone safety says.
Lawrie Challis gave warning that the effects of wi-fi on children should be monitored, amid growing concern about emissions from such networks.
Professor Challis, chairman of the Mobile Telecommunications Health Research Programme, said that children should keep a safe distance from the embedded antennas on wi-fi-enabled laptops until more research had been carried out.
“With a desktop computer, the transmitter will be in the tower. This might be perhaps 20cm from your leg and the exposure would then be around 1 per cent of that from a mobile phone,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “However, if you put a laptop straight on your lap and were using wi-fi you could be around 2cm from the transmitter and receiving comparable exposure to that from a mobile phone.”
He said that because children were known to be more susceptible to harm from other sources of radiation, extra care should be taken. “Children are much more sensitive than adults to a number of other dangers such as pollutants like lead and UV radiation. So if there should be a problem with mobiles, then it may be a bigger problem for children. Since we advise that children should be discouraged from using mobile phones, we should also discourage children from placing their laptop on their lap when they are using wi-fi.”
A teachers’ union said this week that the Government should look into the potential health risks from radiation from wi-fi networks to staff and children in schools. Philip Parkin, general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers, said: “There needs to be a scientific review of the evidence that’s there and new scientific investigation of the potential effects. There’s a concern the potential health risk of this technology hasn’t been investigated fully.”
The Health Protection Agency published a report in 2005 supporting the need for future research of all new technologies, including wi-fi. It said in a statement: The HPA has always pressed for more research into these new technologies.”
But it added that wi-fi devices ran at a lower power than mobile phones and a person sitting in a wi-fi hot spot for a whole year would receive similar doses of radiation to a person who spent 20 minutes on a mobile phone.
It is estimated that half of primary schools and four fifths of secondaries have installed wi-fi networks. As they only have to transmit a matter of metres, they run at lower power than mobile phone transmitters. But that has not assuaged the fears of some education authorities. In Austria, the local government for Salzburg has warned schools not to install wi-fi and is considering a ban.
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The human body has its own multi frequency internal electromagnetic communication system.(internal EMF
This keeps our internal activity...all the cells... in tune. It is robust it organizes the healing performed continuously as cell die and are replaced and as new growth develops as children grow.
The bodies electomagnetic control system is sensitive to frequencies that are similar to its own but are external man made, not a part of human evolution:. EMF in E smog passes through walls and our body too invading it' s fine tuning with static that disturbs function. This invasion changes DNA changes the cell walls changes, the way the brain functions reducing stability. The research is available on the internet. At www.computer-clear we present a way to strengthen the bodies resistance to this man made noise. Children who use computers need protection. Children smoked not long ago. Tobacco popularity killed many. Will WiFI?. Take the threat seriously.
warren Brodey M.D., Oslo, Norway
when our son's epileptic fits suddenly got worse, we found out that a TETRA basestation mast had been tested on that day 50m from the supermarket where he became unwell. the mast was also only 300m from his school where a young girl who hadn't fitted for years began fitting again, but much worse than before. we had already refused to send our son back to the school, but the girl's mum reintroduced her on separate occasions and she fitted on each before the local authority allowed her home tuition.
some months later at home, we disabled our wi-fi to find that for the first time in 2 years our son went 6 weeks without having a fit.
please don't tell us that TETRA or wi-fi is harmless!
matt, haverfordwest, wales
Tosh.
Philip Andrews, London,
I can't comment on WI-FI, but mobile phone use next to my head gives me a raging headache and nausea the day later. I tell my son to use handsfree and text when possible, as the health concerns with mobile phones are legitimate.
I suspect that mobile phones will be the phalidomide of the next generation.
Sam, Derby , UK
DNA forms globlues nanometers to micrometers across, whilst wi-fis emit radio waves about 20cm in wavelength. So we are talking about trying to sink a ship by varying the tide. Whilst it is hard to be absolutely sure, you'd need pretty strong evidence to convince me of a danger.
Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK
Give me a break. Lets make a disease for it, and lets make a new medication for it. Lets be a little bit more reasonable here. 'Health Risk?' Let's focus on the health problems that really matter instead of posing another health threat.
Cerge, OP FL, USA
It is perhaps more relevant to compare sitting in a classroom with wifi access points(transmitters) on all day in a school with sitting in the main beam from a phone mast.
We are talking of all day whole body exposure not short term exposure directed to the head as with a mobile phone.
The intenstiry of microwave radiation impacting a child from wifi access points will be of the same order of magnitude or more as from the main beam of a nearby phone mast.
Since the Stewart Report S1.42 said
'the beam of greatest RF intensity' from a macrocell base station sited within or near the grounds of a school should not be permitted to fall on any part of the school's grounds or buildings without agreement from the school and parents.
Presumably this means that there should be no wifi in schools either without parents consent?
Surely there must be some ethical guidelines that are being broken here?
Sue, London,