Ah, sweet, sweet protection!
How soon before lawyers latch onto this to use in cases where kids are charged with whatever. “WiFi made me do it!”
Wi-Fi: Children at risk from ‘electronic smog’
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.
If WiFi can damage your cells, then we should be terrified of lightbulbs. Visible light penetrates much deeper and with a lot more energy than your wifi router or cell phone.
…amid mounting concern that they may be damaging children’s health, …
Then again, they may not be damaging children’s health. They may just be creating fat kids instead.
Hell, everything (that’s everything) emits radiation. The only question is what wavelength it is and the total emitted power.
ooh – scary – RADIATION! – only physicists would call what a wireless router puts out radiation (and people trying to scare folks off using) – most folks would call it radio waves or “the internet” …. Remember children, sleep in your tinfoil sheets, so if the radiation comes to get you while you’re sleeping, you’ll be safe. Radiation is what comes from nuclear bombs. And we don’t teach you to duck and cover anymore. Stay off the inter-tubes, stay healthy!
I would welcome a study like this — as long as it is independent of any health advocacy groups or cell phone corporations.
The effect of our MASSIVE increase in RF everywhere — especially high frequency — is a legitimate health issue.
Maybe all the RF is completely benign but I don’t think anyone can declare so with any sort of science backing them.
Jess said >>The only question is what wavelength it is and the total emitted power.
You forgot the other key factor: length of exposure.
That’s where the big unknown comes from, right?
Clearly we humans are resistant to brief exposure to even fairly high doses or radiation — but what are the effect of high frequence, low level radiation right next to your brain for hours a day, year-after-year like some people use their cell phones?
When my cell phone is not near my brain, it is in my pocket near my testes. (am I sharing too much?) It’s at lower level of RF, I know, but it is there hour on end. Is this safe? I don’t think anyone know.
I say we need some independent studies.
Sorry for the third post.
Please don’t call me alarmist. I’m really not.
For example, I’m not worried about power lines.
But I am a Ham radio operator and we are trained to be careful with RF exposure from portables. It was even on the tests I had to take. For example, we were encouraged to use external antennas in our cars so the steel in the roof shielded the RF.
But then cell phones became big business and suddenly RF is as benign as a light mist.
I have my doubts. My mind isn’t made up. But I have my doubts.
#5
If that were actually the case, there would actually be a visible increase in health issues through the 20th century that could be correlated with the exponentially increasing use of the RF band of the EM spectrum. The fact is, most of the “cell phone tumor” and “powerline cancer” concept is fearmongering by those who don’t understand how electromagnetic energy works. To start doing destabilizing damage to biomatter, its frequency has to be above the visible spectrum. (yes, microwaves can harm, but through oscillation of water, not direct damage)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Electromagnetic-Spectrum.png
I hope these kids don’t have televisions, wireless phones, or god forbid cellphones. I also, for the sake of the CHILDREN, hope they don’t go outside ever where they will be bombarded by RADIATION from a gigantic nuclear furnace! The horror!
Well, at least this explains why I haven’t been able to piss since I installed my Linksys, huh?
#7, Comment by Greg Allen — 4/22/2007 @ 8:57 pm
But I am a Ham radio operator and we are trained to be careful with RF exposure from portables.
Greg, guess I won’t have to ditch my watch and MP3 player just yet. Yea!
Unfortunately, my city ruled against my tower request, so no more ham for me (at present). Where would we be without ham operators? Since 1959, W5-GNK, out.