Radiation check on school Wi-Fi links

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Worried

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#13671 23-May-2007 08:25

Radiation check on school Wi-Fi links
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10441276

Would like your comments. Is this the case for Woosh? Are there any studies overseas or in NZ to study the radiation levels of Woosh wireless? I would like to know as I have a 10 month old baby at home.

freitasm

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#71813 23-May-2007 08:36

This is about wi-fi, Woosh uses a technology that is similar to cellular...

freitasm

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#71818 23-May-2007 09:09

Right, expanding on my previous answer. Two months ago schools in England asked for tests - same as local NZ schools now. Back then a study was commissioned and now there's the conclusion that EMF from wi-fi networks is harmless to human beings (Health Fears Surrounding Wifi Unfounded,Wi-Fi Health Fears Are Unproven).

It appears NZ schools are only two months late, and why spend time and money on some studies that have already been concluded on the other side of the world?

sp1tf1re

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#72289 26-May-2007 13:02

It's a bit of media-induced hysteria. I think people get confused between general EMF and RF and make the assumption low power RF is then harmful to humans. There may be some rare circumstances with a super sensitive person walking into a concentrated beam of wi-fi gets a tingling sensation on their skin, that's been reported in the media few times and used to suggest wi-fi is harmful.

Never mind the use of the word 'radiation' which has the connotation of nuclear radiation.

It's interesting looking for research to try and get an answer, there's jack all. There's a small amount of ambiguous research, generally there needs to be a torrent of unanimous papers published before something is considered 'proven' (never mind then convincing politicians to do something about it).

I think the good news is if it was a serious problem, then there would currently be a pandemic of mysterious illnesses in the developed world.

I think the power of a woosh antenna is low enough that it can be generally classified as safe in the same way that if some idiot who spends 10 hours a day on a cellphone for 10 years and ends up with a brain tumour doesn't mean cellphones are unsafe. I wouldn't mount the booster antenna on your babies cot is the point here :)

clinty

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#958757 29-Dec-2013 19:30

Hi,

Had the mods unlock this thread (even though its 6 years old) as it seemed relevant.

TVNZ had a report tonight that two fathers had "succeeded" in having Wifi removed from a school due to the possibility of radiation causing cancer

http://tvnz.co.nz/technology-news/manawatu-fathers-win-school-wi-fi-battle-5787916

Reading the report it looks like the board surveyed the parents, and due to a majority asking for it to be removed, removed it from the junior school. They point out they removed it due to parents not wanting it, rather than any specific health concerns - they still have it in the senior school

It appears there are no links to the studies quoted, so am interested in everyone's views/opinions/information on this:

1) Have new studies shown any link between WiFi and cancer?
2) As a parent ( i am not) are you concerned by the proliferation of wifi in schools?
3) I know members of geekzone are involved with schools and their IT systems - How would/Would you allay fears about this with your school/parents?

Cheers
Clint

edit: Fixed URL

webwat

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#961602 5-Jan-2014 19:01

Had one question (from an IT teacher) about whether our earthed steel network cabinet had "radiation". Got her to do some research on Wikipedia, and a note there about background radiation was especially relevant — that calmed more nerves than me just laughing and saying its all safe...

Time to find a new industry!

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#961630 5-Jan-2014 21:16

i wonder if that father feeds his kids sausages

Talkiet

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#961633 5-Jan-2014 21:20

webwat: Had one question (from an IT teacher) about whether our earthed steel network cabinet had "radiation". Got her to do some research on Wikipedia, and a note there about background radiation was especially relevant — that calmed more nerves than me just laughing and saying its all safe...

"Tell them and they'll forget,
show them and they'll remember...
INVOLVE them and they'll understand"

Well done.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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Batman

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#961642 5-Jan-2014 21:56

hmm something occurred to me - i wonder if wine left in wine cellars for a long time is more expensive from all the basement radiation it has absorbed?

hamish225

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#961679 6-Jan-2014 02:48

when i see stuff like this it just irritates me. wifi in schools is an amazing learning tool.

all these parents are doing is making school harder for these kids and possibly their lives. if they arent exposed to it at a young age while their brains are still good at absorbing lots of information, it will be harder for them to catch up to their peers later on in life and could result in them having lesser paying jobs than everyone else. /rant

*Insert big spe*dtest result here*

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#961692 6-Jan-2014 03:42

nothing new. just another distraction in my news box, put it in the vaccines and fluoride basket.

linw

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#961766 6-Jan-2014 09:59

I've got one of those baskets, too, joker!

After quite a few decades I can still remember our psychology tutor at Canty Uni, in the first lab session, making us all write out 100 times, "Two things happening at the same time implies nothing about causality". Not a bad thing to keep remembering but VERY hard to convince others.

I also get fed up with the 'authorities' and newspapers asking people who have been involved in a bad event what should be done to prevent something or other happening again. They are the last people to ask given their emotional involvement. Invariably, it involves restricting the lives of the rest of us with absolutely no evidence of efficacy.

End of rant!!

nathan

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#961787 6-Jan-2014 10:40

maybe they should turn the lights off and teach in the dark too

As a general rule, the only radiation to be worried about is ultraviolet and higher frequencies - the right-hand side of this chart:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EM_Spectrum_Properties_edit.svg

Anything to the left of UV will make you uncomfortably warm before it becomes a health hazard.

Radio, including wi-fi of course, is at the opposite end of that spectrum, far below the visible light range. The output of those wi-fi transmitters is tiny in comparison to the hundreds of watts of visible light being transmitted throughout your building.

old3eyes

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#962006 6-Jan-2014 17:01

This hysteria about WiFi in schools reminds me of the people about 15 years ago trying to get cell towers banned within about 5Km of a school.. In Telecom we were told that we weren't allowed to use the word "cell phone" to customers and we had to use the term "025 mobile phone" after the hysterical bad press in the media..

Regards,

Old3eyes