I am on a wireless network right now writing this post, while my wife and my in-laws watch a movie to the left of me in the living room--also on wifi. My children and dog are sleeping down the hallway, but are exposed to the wifi rays, as are my sister in-law and her husband in the apartment below, the former of whom is two months pregnant.
This is the average technological set up for most homes in Ontario: computers, internet t.v., smart t.v., wifi networks, cell phones, laptops, tablets. But it doesn't end in the home--there are always 'smart schools'.
A growing phenomenon in education is ubiquitous wireless networks, and in many private schools it is not uncommon for computer to student ratios being at least 3-1.
Is this safe? Do wifi environments effect our health? And if so, how?
Canadians 4 Safe Technology's Frank Clegg on Canada AM, July 10, 2014
Enter Frank Clegg: former President of Microsoft Canada, for fifteen years, now heading up a non-profit organization called C4ST (Canadians For Smart Technology). In an article for Vitality Magazine, Frank Clegg calls wifi and the microwave radiation such networks emit, called EMRs (Electro-magnetic radiation) an "invisible threat." Here are some striking quotes from that article:
"Since 2011, governments around the world have alerted their populations to approach wireless devices with caution. In Belgium, it will soon be illegal to sell or market “kiddie-phones,” mobile phones that are specially designed for children. "
"In France, the government “recommends limiting the population’s exposure to radiofrequencies – in particular from mobile phones – especially for children and intensive users."
"In India, both the State of Rajasthan and the City of Mumbai have passed laws prohibiting the placement of cellular antennae on the roofs of hospitals and schools and in playgrounds because they are hazardous to life."
But what is the link between wifi and health ailments? One of the issues is called "electrosensitivity" that is related to over-exposure to radiation. Electrosensitivity is not an allergy like those you're born with, rather it develops over time the more you are exposed to radiation. With wifi becoming more ubiquitous in our world--from routers in almost every urban public place to the growing number of cellular towers--more people are complaining of effects of electrosensivity. In Austria in 2012, the Austrian Medical Association listed the following symptoms as guidelines for diagnosing illness caused by EMRs:
"Sleep problems, fatigue, exhaustion, lack of energy, restlessness, heart palpitations, blood pressure problems, muscle and joint pain, headaches, depression, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, anxiety, urinary urgency, anomia (difficulty finding words), dizziness, tinnitus and sensations of pressure in the head and the ears, tightness in chest, hyperactivity, irritability, noise sensitivity, burning sensation in the eyes and skin conditions."
Peter Mansbridge, CBC News: Wifi Health Risks at Schools
Another major issue with EMR exposure is the impact on children, especially new born babies and foetuses. Another Austrian study concluded that exposing babies and young children to EMRs increases their risk of developmental complications in the future.
In grade-school children, exposure to such radiation has shown, based on MRI research, a decrease in brain activity that, ironically, shows that while wifi networks are put in schools to enhance education, they are actually thwarting it. In fact there is research showing that wifi networks are causing ADHD and increased learning disorders.
Here are some other risks of EMR exposure:
1. Reduction of brain activity in females
2. Neutralization of sperm
3. Possible impact on fertility
4. Provokes cardiac stress
5. Possible link to tumour development
So what can you do to keep yourself and your loved ones at less risk of over-exposure to EMRs? The following tips will help you:
1. Keep your cellphone away from your head: use headphones and keep it out of your pocket. If you have to carry it around in your pocket, then put it on airplane mode.
2. Do not have your cellphone next to your head, on the dresser or end table, while you're sleeping. Again, if you must, for alarm purposes etc, then keep it on airplane mode.
3. Children should not be on or near cellular and wifi devices, such as cellphones and tablets--and they should not be used as toys.
4. Forward your phone to your landline when you are at home.
5. Unplug your wireless router at home both when you're not using it and when you're going to bed.
6. Keep babies cribs away from wireless routers and do not expose them at all to wifi.
7. If you are so inclined, you can also get involved with Canadians 4 Safe Technology and participate in raising awareness of the dangers of over-exposure to wifi and EMR.
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