By: MarkJ - 24 April, 2007 (9:26 AM)
The Health Protection Agency (HPA), specifically its chairman Sir William Stewart, has joined others in calling for a full investigation into the alleged dangers of
Wi-Fi signals:
The call follows news that the Department for Education and Skills is to equip more schools with
Wi-Fi systems to help children improve their computer skills.
Stewart has chaired two studies into the health effects of mobile phone use, reporting in 2005 that there was no clear proof that mobile phone radiation affected children's brains, but advising that the precautionary principle should apply.
There is no evidence that
Wi-Fi can have harmful effects when used as specified, but Stewart is reportedly concerned that children are more at risk since they have thinner skulls and nervous systems which are still developing.
The
VNUNet item notes that Stewart's calls have also been joined by those of Philip Parkin, general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT). But are they really dangerous or is this merely another case of collective paranoia and scaremongering? Just as with mobile phones, nobody really knows.
We have no compunction about using
Wi-Fi ourselves and have never had any problems, but that doesn’t mean to say it’s perfectly safe.
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