12th October 2007

See letter re concerns around the new research into WiFi - it should not be rolled out in Gloucestershire schools untilwe know more

Dear Madam,

The SNJ is right to raise concerns re WiFi. As noted a scientific study linked some Electromagnetic Fields - some caused by WiFi mobile phones and email devices - with an increased risk of cancer (i). It found such devices produced electromagnetic fields thousands of times stronger than levels reported to have caused sleep disorders, headaches, memory and concentration problems and other physical symptoms.

The report raised serious concerns about the long-term health impacts of wireless mobile phone and computer technology, referred to by some in the industry as ‘The 21st Century’s asbestos’.

Mobile communications technology has an essential role to play in modern society - and the ability to use a range of devices brings many social, cultural and economic benefits. But these clear benefits are not worth the sacrifice of our children’s health. We must exercise caution when it comes to the unknown impacts of what the report itself calls ‘an explosion of new devices’.

Green party MEP Dr Caroline Lucas has been concerned by the lack of response from Governments. She has written formally to the European Commission to investigate this study with a view to revising public safety standards regarding radiation levels from sources of day-to-day electromagnetic field exposure. In the meantime we should hold off on installing WiFi devices in schools and the homes of the most vulnerable until we know more.

Michéle Harris, Folly Lane, Stroud

Note:

(i) In August the International BioInitiative Working Group - a renowned group of scientists and public health experts – published a report documenting evidence that some electromagnetic fields are a risk factor in some childhood and adult cancers. The report noted the massive rise in such electromagnetic fields, warning that the current ‘explosion of new sources’ raised ‘serious scientific concerns over the health risks posed by long-term and cumulative exposure’.