“A wifi classroom is like the inside of a microwave oven set at very low power. Children are exposed to that wifi radiation six hours every school day, five days a week, and for several months during the year.” –Magda Havas Associate Professor of Environmental and Resource Studies, Trent University, Canada
Have teachers and parents been informed about the potential health risks of Electromagnetic Fields/Radiofrequency/Wi-Fi, (EMF/RF/Wi-Fi) as used to power communication technology?
Why does the Government keep pushing for MORE wireless in classrooms stating that EMF/RF/Wi-Fi is safe, when thousands of research studies conclude otherwise?
Have teachers unions done their research about the health risks of Wi-Fi and cellphones and are they fighting to protect the health of their adult members in the workplace?
What kind of liabilities are school boards prepared to bear, for knowingly putting children under unnecessary and involuntary exposure to an agent classified by the World Health Organisation’s (IARC Team) as a Class 2B Possible Carcinogen?
Above adapted from: http://www.safeinschool.org
Note: In 2011 The World Health Organisation’s IARC team classified Electromagnetic/Radiofrequency/Wi-Fi as a 2B possible carcinogen (WHO IARC Monograph, Volume 102, Part 2 pg 419). This applies to the full range of radiofrequency radiation including that used for Wi-Fi, Communication Masts, iPads, Smart Meters, Computers, 2/3/4/5G, wireless baby monitors, mobile and cordless phones etc. On 11th April 2017 they issued Press Release No. 251 showing a global increase of 13% in childhood cancer incidence over two decades. https://monographs.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mono102.pdf
POTENTIAL ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS OF EMF/RF/WI-FI
People have different tolerances to EMF/RF/Wi-Fi. Typical symptoms for children are headache while using a mobile phone, or “flu-like” symptoms and/or headaches a few weeks after joining a school with Wi-Fi. Other common complaints are fatigue, dizziness, nausea, vertigo, nose bleeds, irritability, tension, visual and auditory distortion, drowsiness, sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, forgetfulness, tachycardis (racing heart rate), hyperactivity, ADD, ADHD and difficulties in concentration. Those who are, or who become electro-hyper-sensitive (EHS), can go on to suffer a wider range of symptoms e.g. infertility, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimers/dementia, neurological diseases etc. EHS stems from a reaction to a toxic environment and is formerly classified as a functional impairment or disability in some countries.
More at: BioInitiative 2012 – Summary for the Public (2014 Supplement) https://www.bioinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/sec01_2012_summary_for_public.pdf
The Guidelines used by the Government have been produced by The International Commission on Non- ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). These guidelines have been described as obsolete by the European Parliament – Doc: A6-0260/2008, No.23. They refer only to short-term exposure (6 minutes) and to thermal effects of Electromagnetic Fields/Radiofrequency/Wi-Fi. They do not address the issue of pregnant women or children. Thousands of research papers by world-renowned independent scientists have demonstrated that adverse health effects from this radiation can occur at levels well below the thermal level i.e. at non-thermal levels. Recently, a group of doctors and scientists in the UK produced International Guidelines on Non-Ionising Radiation that are biologically based and also based upon Europaem EMF Guidelines 2016. We ask the Government to replace the outdated irrelevant ICNIRP standards with IGNIR’S International Guidelines on Non-Ionising Radiation. More at: www.ignir.org
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN IRELAND?
Research Paper: On the Clear Evidence of the Risks to Children from Smartphone and WiFi Radio Frequency Radiation by Professor Tom Butler, University College Cork (2019) https://e9a5d5c6.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/On-the-Clear-Evidence-of-the- Risks-to-Children-from-Smartphone-and-WiFi-Radio-Frequency-Radiation_Final.pdf
Also: Ending the Digital Myth about Electronic Devices in Classrooms, Tom Butler Oct., 2015 https://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/ending-the-digital-myth-about-electronic- devices-in-classrooms-359977.html
School in Greystones, Wicklow: Wi-Fi was installed in 2017. The school has 500 children, 18 classrooms and has had 24 Wi-Fi boxes installed. Each Wi-Fi box has 2 radios (2.4Ghz + 5.00Ghz). The manufacturer of the WiFi boxes recommends installing 10 WiFi boxes in a school with 20 classrooms and with 600 laptops (30 laptops per classroom). The school in Greystones has a total of 30 laptops. Every one of the 18 classrooms had a Wi-Fi box installed in it. Department guidelines state that only classrooms 80sq metres or bigger should have a Wi-Fi box inside the classroom. No classroom in the school in Greystones is larger than 40sq metres. This created a situation where every child in this school sat all day in close proximity to a Wi-Fi box emitting Wi-Fi radiation on two frequencies. One parent, whose school-going children became affected by the WiFi in this school, was requested by the school’s solicitors not to take measurements of the radiation inside the school or its grounds. This is not the first occasion that schools have responded to concern by accessing legal means to prevent parents from measuring the amount of Wi-Fi radiation inside and around the schools their children attend.
Who is liable for Insurance in Schools for illness from EMF/RF/WI-FI?:
Extract from a grandparents letter (Feb 2018) sent to Richard Bruton TD, the then Min for Education, in relation to the new Digital Strategy ICT grant for schools: “Considering the fact that there is a surfeit of wireless electronic equipment already in use {in schools}, am I correct to suppose that much of this expenditure will be on wireless (WiFi) enabled equipment? If this is the case, and in consideration of the fact that I have school-going grandchildren, has the Department of Education arranged for insurance against the negative health effects of wireless radiation. If so, could I see a sample of any insurance policy document for any school covering this technology? If not, can you explain why such insurance has not been acquired? Could I also ask if there is any plan to ask permission from the parents of pupils to introduce wireless equipment into schools.”
Response from Ministers Office: February 2018 “Many thanks for your recent contact with the Minister for Education and Skills, Mr. Richard Bruton regarding the recently announced Digital Strategy ICT grant for schools.
Under the provisions of the Education Act 1998, the school Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school and places a responsibility on Boards of Management to manage schools for the benefit of all students and to provide an appropriate education for each student in the school utilising the resources made available by the State. The onus is on each Board of Management to ensure that all funds are used appropriately and in accordance with Department guidelines and circulars, this includes having appropriate insurance in place.”
THE INSURANCE ISSUE
‘Exclusion (32)’ is applied across the market as standard. The purpose of it is to exclude cover for illnesses caused by Electromagnetic Fields including Radiofrequency/Wi-Fi. Specialists from Emerging Risks teams at leading global reinsurance firms are warning the insurance industry that unforeseen consequences of electromagnetic fields (which includes Radiofrequency/Wi-Fi) could lead to a raft of claims and significant product liability losses in the next 10 years.
See: Collection of reports, white papers and news articles where insurance companies report on the issue of electromagnetic Fields/radiofrequency/Wi-Fi: https://ehtrust.org/key-issues/reports-white-papers-insurance-industry/
Mobile phone firms warning shareholders over devices possible cancer risks but fail to tell customers https://ehtrust.org/top-mobile-phone-firms-warning-shareholders-over-devices-possible-cancer-risks- but-fail-to-tell-customers/
NORTHERN IRELAND
Wi-Fi in Schools – What Do They Know? – Freedom of information requests to and responses from the Education Authority, Northern Ireland:
Wi-Fi in Schools – Risk Assessments for Wireless Technologies
Wi-Fi in Schools – What are the known safe levels of exposure for children?https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/education_authority_northern_ireland?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Wi-Fi&request_date_after=&request_date_before=&commit=Search
TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION, How safe are our children? Thirteenth Annual Lecture 24th May 2018, by DR. SARAH STARKEY to the National Education Union of UK in Belfast, This lecture has not been put up on their website. https://cdn.website-editor.net/2479f24c54de4c7598d60987e3d81157/files/uploaded/NEU_WiFi_in_Schools.pdf
Dr Starkey on YouTube: Official advice on radiofrequency radiation, risk assessment and adverse effects. Site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDOsw_l1bcA
RISK ASSESSMENT FOR SCHOOLS, COLLEGES ETC – Dr. Sarah Starkey
Risk Assessment for radiofrequency radiation exposures in pre-schools, schools, colleges, universities and places of care and residential accommodation for children and young people. Access at: https://www.wirelessriskassessment.org/relevant-documents
Dr Starkey – WRITTEN EVIDENCE RE HEALTH EFFECTS – Early Years Inquiry https://cdn.website-editor.net/2479f24c54de4c7598d60987e3d81157/files/uploaded/Early_Years_Inquiry_
More from Dr. Sarah Starkey at: www.wifiinschools.org.uk
LEGAL
Wireless (Wi-Fi) In School Lawsuits https://ehtrust.org/key-issues/cell-phone-radiation-litigation/
2003: Class Action Complaint on Wireless by Parents to Oak Park Elementary School, Illinois, USA https://www.wired.com/2003/10/parents-sue-school-over-wi-fi/
A PIONEERING ELEMENTARY school district outside Chicago has been sued for installing a wireless computer network, by parents worried that exposure to the network’s radio waves could harm their children.. .The Oak Park Elementary School District set up a wireless network to connect its schools to one another in 1995, long before such networks became wildly popular.
Electrohypersensitivity in school: a mother goes to court – Mobilfunk Newsletter September 10, 2015
A new French law prohibits Wi-Fi “in the areas dedicated to home, to rest and activities of children under three years” and requires that it be turned off in primary schools when not in use. A Montreal lawyer has filed a discrimination complaint against the Public Health Department (DSP) of Montreal and the Quebec government who refuse to give her and her three children reasonable accommodations due to their electrohypersensitivity. According to their doctor, mother and children have developed a severe intolerance to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by antennas and wireless devices such as wireless modems and routers. The mother filed her complaint with the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission on 28 August and is also about to file proceedings in Quebec Superior Court. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/mobilfunk_newsletter/dERq-Ysjt9o
Judge throws out counts against Southboro school in Wi-Fi suit – (The Fay Case) WORCESTER, USA – A federal judge last week threw out most of the counts in a lawsuit brought by a boy and his parents who allege a Southboro private school’s wireless internet was sickening the student. U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman did, however, allow in his decision last Friday one remaining count of retaliation to proceed, keeping the family’s case against the Fay School open. The plaintiff in the dispute, “G,” who is represented by his parents, “Mother” and “Father,” filed the suit against the school two years ago in U.S. District Court in Worcester, when he was 12 years old. The family alleged the school would not sufficiently change its Wi-Fi practices to accommodate G, who the suit claims was being made ill by the internet signal in his classrooms. Central to the family’s case is the existence of a condition known as Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome , which causes symptoms like headaches and nausea when the person afflicted with the ailment is exposed to high levels of electromagnetic radiation. http://www.mysouthborough.com/2017/10/04/telegram-judge-dismisses-multiple-counts-in-fay- school-wifi-suit-charges-proceeding-on-alleged-retaliation/
Expert letter from David O. Carpenter M.D. linked to this case. https://manhattanneighbors.org/wp-content/uploads/Fay-School-Carpenter.pdf
Court ordered to turn off Wi-Fi at a school in Florence, Italy.
The Court of Florence (2018) has ordered the immediate shutdown of Wi-Fi in a school to protect the health of a minor. The order was issued to the school manager of the Botticelli Comprehensive Institute. They have also ordered the Government (Ministers of the Environment and Education) to launch a campaign to advise the public of the health risks from mobile and cordless phones. http://www.emfsa.co.za/ehs/court-ordered-to-turn-off-wi-fi-at-a-school-in-florence/
GENERAL
Wi-Fi in Schools: www.wifiinschools.com
Mum takes her three kids out of school after claiming school WiFi was making them sick https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/wifi-makes-kids-sick-mum-12587349
Mum-of-three in Northern Ireland, says her sons were all struggling in class but the ‘fog lifted’ when they left the school environment. (May 2018).
Father who blames schools Wi-Fi for 12-year-old daughter’s list of 40 symptoms … takes her out of lessons to educate her at home (2019) https://emfcommunity.com/father-who-blames-schools-wi-fi-for-12-year-old-daughters-list-of-40- symptoms-including-rashes-and-itchy-skin-as-he-takes-her-out-of-lessons-to-educate-her-at-home/
School wifi networks ‘could put children’s health at risk’ as grieving mum tells of daughter’s wifi ‘allergy’
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/school-wifi-networks-could-put-12602188 Mum Debra Fry told the story of how her 15-year-old daughter Jenny killed herself after developing wifi “allergy” (May 2018). A leading cancer expert has called for a ban on school wifi networks over fears they could put children’s health at risk. Dr Anthony Miller, an advisor to the World Health Organisation, says pupils could suffer long-term effects from exposure to the radio waves. He warned: “Radiation from mobile phones and other wireless devices can cause changes in DNA and induce cancer in experimental animals. “Children’s skulls are thinner and absorb much more of this radiation. We ignore this at our future peril.”
MORE ON MENTAL HEALTH AND YOUNG PEOPLE
One in five young people in Ireland are now considered to have mental health issues (Report: ‘The Mental Health of Young People in Ireland’ by the Royal College of Surgeons (2013)) https://epubs.rcsi.ie/psychrep/1/ This situation seems to be reflected across the board – one example is the University of Bristol where there has been an upsurge in the number of students committing suicide. It is difficult to verify numbers but thought to be: 1 Sudden Cardiac Arrest and 13 suicides since 2016, eight of these in the past 18 months. An advanced 5G system surrounds Bristol University and is used for trial and test purposes.
The question is – are they linked?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5295525/Eighth-suicide-18-months-Bristol- universities.html
Professor Martin Pall identifies 13 neuropsychiatric effects in his research, including depression and anxiety: Microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produce widespread neuropsychiatric effects including depression. Professor Martin Pall. Summary: Research on “the mechanism of action of microwave EMFs, the role of the VGCCs in the brain, the impact of non-thermal EMFs on the brain, extensive epidemiological studies performed over the past 50 years, and five criteria testing for causality, all collectively show that various non-thermal microwave EMF exposures produce diverse neuropsychiatric effects.
More at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891061815000599
INTERNATIONAL POLICY BRIEFING
Radiofrequency Radiation in Communities and Schools – Actions by Governments, Health Authorities and Schools Worldwide https://ehtrust.org/policy/international-policy-actions-on-wireless/
August 20, 2015 Ronald M. Powell, Ph.D. Message to Public Schools about Wireless Devices:
“If wireless devices, such as Wi-Fi, are used in your schools, then the health of your staff, your teachers, and your students can be at risk. But this problem can be successfully addressed, and with benefit to all.
Background: Wireless devices transmit information using radiofrequency/microwave radiation. The international biomedical research community has been studying the impact of such radiation on biological systems for decades, but more intensely in recent years. The vast majority of the thousands of peer-reviewed research publications of this community, when funded independent of the wireless industries, are finding biological effects of concern. Further, these biological effects occur at levels of radiation far lower than earlier understood. Simply stated, a worldwide health crisis is emerging and is becoming a hallmark of the 21st Century. The international biomedical research community is trying to warn us; but, as a society, we are not yet listening. I hope that this message will help to change that.”
http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.com/2017/04/dr-ronald-powells-letter-to-maryland.html
The Research below may explain the recent rise in Sudden Adult Deaths (Sudden Cardiac Arrest), especially among young and athletic people. Many athletic pitches now have masts erected on them: Radiation from wireless technology affects the blood, the heart, and the autonomic nervous system Dr. Magda Havas WiFi in schools affects student health Students in schools with WiFi are complaining of headaches, difficulty concentrating, weakness, and heart palpitations, prompting their parents to take them to their family doctor and to their pediatric cardiologist to determine the nature of their problem. In one Ontario school district, several students complained of heart problems. A 6-year-old girl had a “musical heart”, and she experienced headaches and dizziness only at school. A 12-year-old boy had tachycardia (rapid heart rate). A 12-year-old girl experienced nausea, vomiting, no fever, insomnia, blurred vision, and tachycardia only at school. A 13-year-old boy had a pounding heart, insomnia, and headaches. His family moved to a different school district, and his symptoms disappeared. In the same area, 4 students had sudden cardiac arrests (SCA) during exercise class within a 2-year period. Two of these students were resuscitated. The annual rate for SCA among young people in Canada is approximately 7 per year; hence, 4 in a small community is unusual. According to Sinatra (13), a cardiologist, Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, which is a disorder of the conduction system of the heart, is present in 1 out of 700 students. In a school district with 50,000 students, as many as 70 may have this generally undiagnosed condition. According to Sinatra (13), when students with WPW syndrome are exercising and are exposed to microwave radiation, the combined stress on the heart can lead to supraventricular tachycardia, thus creating the “perfect storm”. Fortunately, due to the Defibrillator Access Act, schools and other public buildings are installing defibrillators. What they should also be doing is trying to determine what is causing SCA and why students are complaining of headaches and heart palpitations at school. A key question that needs to be asked is, “What role does RF radiation from a school’s WiFi system and from nearby cell phone base stations play in these symptoms?” The effects of microwave radiation on the heart have been known for decades (14). In a 1969 symposium on the biological effects and health implications of microwave radiation, the authors clearly state that, “In the interest of occupational hygiene…researchers have recommended that cardiovascular abnormalities be used as screening criteria to exclude people from occupations involving radio- frequency exposures”. Perhaps students need to be screened at school to ensure that they do not have an underlying heart condition that may be exacerbated with WiFi microwave exposure. According to Drezner et al. (15), out-of-hospital SCA among young people is on the rise in the USA, although doctors do not know the reason. The increasing exposure to electrosmog may be to blame for at least part of this increase. More research is urgently needed in this area. Children are much more sensitive to environmental toxins than are adults, and as such, there should be stricter guidelines for exposure. To date, at least nine countries have issued warnings that children should limit their use of cell phones. These countries include the UK (2000), Germany (2007), France (2008), Russia (2008), India (2008), Belgium (2008), Finland (2009), the USA (2009), and Canada (2012). (All References are contained in the Article itself). https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7520958029.pdf
Letters by Medical Doctors/Public Health Experts to Schools on Wireless Health Risks in Schools https://ehtrust.org/resources-to-share/letters-doctors-wifi-schools/
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs raised their kids tech-free — it should’ve been a red flag. http://uk.businessinsider.com/screen-time-limits-bill-gates-steve-jobs-red-flag-2017-10?r=US&IR=T
Wireless Health Risks: The iPAD
iPADS. and wireless devices are radiofrequency/microwave transmitters. Children are said to be more vulnerable to these as their nervous systems and immune systems are developing at a rapid rate and can be profoundly affected by environmental toxins. Exposure to this radiation can impact brain maturation as noted in research studies. Parents can take steps to minimize exposure to their children such as turning the Device onto Airplane Mode with WiFi Off when not in use. More at: https://ehtrust.org/wireless-and-children-2/
Measuring iPad WiFi Radiation with Wireless Router On/Off, using RF Meter with Sound https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snt2uaQd_Ps
Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health
Professor Martin L. Pall, Washington State University, USA Most arguments that have been made that microwave frequency EMFs may bemuch more damaging to young children have centered on the much smaller skulls and skull thickness in young children, increasing the exposure of their brains to EMFs. However there are other arguments to be made. EMFs have been shown to be particularly active in producing effects on embryonic stem cells. Because such stem cells occur at much higher cell densities in children, with stem cell densities the highest in the fetus and decreasing with increasing age, impacts on young children are likely to be much higher than in adults. The decreased DNA repair and increased DNA damage following EMF exposure strongly suggest that young children may be increasingly susceptible to cancer following such exposures. EMF action on stem cells may also cause young children to be particularly susceptible to disruption of brain development, something that may be relevant to autism causation. These are all very problematic issues and we cannot rule out the possibility that there are other problematic issues as well. Redmayne and Johansson (2015) reviewed the literature showing that there are age-related effects, such that young people are more sensitive to EMF effects. It follows from these various findings that the placement of Wi-Fi into schools around the country may well be a high level threat to the health of our children as well being a threat to teachers and any very sensitive fetuses teachers may be carrying, as well. More info and all References at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935118300355
Parents for Safe Technology
“EMF/RFR from wifi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn, particularly those who are already having problems in the first place.” -Dr. Martha Herbert, Harvard pediatric neurologist. More at: http://www.parentsforsafetechnology.org/school.html
EUROPE:
E.U. Parliamentary Assembly: Recommendation 1863 (2009) – Environment and health: better prevention of environment-related health hazards 2. “Since embryos, foetuses, neonates and children are even more sensitive to environmental factors than adults, the Assembly alerts all governments … to the need to protect or restore a healthy environment and thus guarantee the future of our children and future generations.” http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-EN.asp?fileid=17720&lang=en
European Directive 2013/35/EU – Electromagnetic Fields – “On the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields”):
Article 2 (b) (ii) non-thermal effects – such as stimulation of muscles, nerves or sensory organs. These effects might have a detrimental effect on the mental and physical health of exposed workers. …
Article 8 – Health Surveillance: (1) With the objective of the prevention and the early diagnosis of any adverse health effects due to exposure to electromagnetic fields, appropriate health surveillance shall be carried out … . (2) If any undesired or unexpected health effect is reported by a worker … the employer shall ensure that appropriate medical examinations … is provided … any costs arising shall not be borne by the worker.” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:179:0001:0021:EN:PDF
This Directive transposed into the Irish Statute Book – Ref: S.I. No. 337 of 2016 http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2016/si/337/made/en/pdf
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Resolution 1815 (2011) – The potential dangers of electromagnetic fields and their effect on the environment.
http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=17994
In this resolution the Assembly recommends that member states: “8.1.1. take all reasonable measures to reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields, especially to radiofrequencies from mobile phones, and particularly the exposure to children and young people who seem to be most at risk from head tumours. 8.3.1. (to Ministries of education, environment and health) ‘targeted information campaigns aimed at teachers, parents and children to alert them to the specific risks of early, ill-considered and prolonged use of mobiles and other devices emitting microwaves. 8.3.2. for children in general, and particularly in schools and classrooms, give preference to wired internet connections, and strictly regulate the use of mobile phones by schoolchildren on school premises.”
The Department of Education and Skills, and the Department of Health, hold responsibility for this issue regarding schools and health but the Department for Communication, Climate Action and Environment (Environmental Radiation Policy Section) hold ultimate responsibility for non-ionising radiation EMF/RF/Wi-Fi: Email: radiationpolicy@dccae.gov.ie
IF YOUR SCHOOL HAS ALREADY GOT Wi-Fi INSTALLED, PLEASE CONSIDER REDUCING EMF/RADIOFREQUENCY RADIATION AS PER EU PARLIAMENTARY RESOLUTION 1815 (8.4.3.) BY ADOPTING TWO SIMPLE PRINCIPLES – THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE (only switch on when necessary) AND THE ALARA PRINCIPLE (keep EMF as low as reasonably possible), WITH THE LONGER TERM GOAL OF INSTALLING A SAFER WIRED UP SYSTEM.
Written on behalf of ES-Ireland.com
Electromagnetic Sense Ireland 