A report by the Citizens for Safe Technology  (C4ST) is warning schools about the potential health impacts of wireless technology in the classroom.

But the Okanagan-Similkameen school district is not taking the report too seriously. Instead, it’s relying on Health Canada for its information.

The C4ST states that a doctor’s group warns that a “widespread public health hazard” is looming because of wireless Internet in schools.

The C4ST says that doctors are treating students who have developed dizziness, nausea, and heart irregularities from all-day exposure to wireless in the classroom.

But School District 53 superintendent Bev Young said Health Canada has determined that low-level exposure to radiofrequency (RF) energy from WiFi equipment is not dangerous to the public.

She confirmed that WiFi exists in all district schools.

“We certainly do keep up on latest research and recommendations and consult Health Canada for information and recommendations,” Young said.

Frank Clegg, CEO of C4ST and former president of Microsoft Canada, has studied the potential health effects of electromagnetic radiation from cell towers, WiFi in schools and “smart meters.”

“There are already children who can’t go to school because of headaches, nausea and heart problems from the wireless systems. Some of these kids have a doctor’s note to prove it,” said Clegg who ran Microsoft Canada for 14 years.

He claimed that Health Canada’s methods are out of date and safety limits are too weak to protect Canadians.

“I worry we have a situation comparable to tobacco where Health Canada will be many years too late to take the appropriate action.”

Clegg said their objective is to convince Industry Canada and Health Canada to change the process of distributing this technology and update their safety standards to acceptable levels.

But Health Canada says parents should not be concerned about WiFi in schools. It states that exposure limits specified in the guidelines are based on thousands of published scientific studies on the health impacts of RF energy. Levels of RF energy emitted from Wi-Fi equipment are typically well below these exposure limits, according to Health Canada.

“There is no convincing scientific evidence that emissions from this equipment are dangerous to school children or to Canadians in general.”

Health Canada’s exposure guidelines are comparable to those in the US and most of Europe, and it updates these guidelines every five to 10 years. However, the agency does recognize the need for long-term studies related to children and wireless devices.
Okanagan-Similkameen school board chair Marieze Tarr said the wireless WFi in the district uses the same frequencies and power levels as home wireless.

She said district WiFi access points are usually on the ceiling or somewhere away from students and staff. She noted that WiFi is usually in the range of .002 to two percent of what is considered dangerous levels.

Tarr said there are a lot of naturally occurring radio waves generated by the sun and solar flares, and humans have survived regardless of this.

“FM radios and television emit more radio waves than WiFi and all of these appliances have been widely used for many years.”
Tarr said youth use cell phones all of the time without too much concern. “Cell phones are typically used right next to the head and a 20- minute conversation on a cell phone will produce more radiation than a year of WiFi exposure.”

Since the district is complying with Canadian laws regarding WiFi, Tarr is not concerned about student exposure in the district.
But the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) strongly supports the use of “wired” Internet connections.

The AAEM executive committee says there is consistent emerging science that shows people, especially children, are affected by the increasing exposure to wireless radiation.

“In a school setting, children are exposed to WiFi for an unprecedented period of time for their entire childhood. Some of these signals will be much more powerful than is received at home,” the AAEM states.

Two years ago the World Health Organization declared non-ionizing radiation from all wireless devices to be a possible carcinogen.

Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle