Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion releases Report on WiFi and Health

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National media outlets in Canada recently reported that concerned parents believe the WiFi wireless internet technology, currently being deployed in schools, might be damaging their children’s health. A growing population wants the rapid proliferation of this technology to be halted until it is properly tested, especially on children. To address these concerns the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) reviewed the literature related to the health effects of WiFi and released their report last week (September 16, 2010).

This is an important document!

To my knowledge, this is the first time a provincial agency in Ontario has publicly commented and presented data about the health effects of microwave radiation without deferring to Health Canada. In this aspect, the OAHPP report can be viewed as a major victory for citizens of Ontario.

Unlike drugs, which can’t be brought to market without extensive laboratory testing and clinical trials, electronic consumer products are mainly tested for safety against fire and shocks. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) also tests WiFi to ensure that the device’s microwave radiation operates within Industry Canada’s guidelines. And just as drugs can have unwanted, unpleasant, and, in some cases, deadly side-effects, the sideeffects of this technology need to be acknowledged.

Even though WiFi technology has been in use for more than a decade, health research on WiFi is virtually non-existent. Consequently, for this report, the OAHPP relied on cell phone studies and, to a lesser extent, on cell tower studies to extrapolate the possible effects of WiFi radiation.

To read the OAHPP document with my comments as well as several key references including one on cell tower base stations, another on the effects of long-term, low-level pulsed 2.4 GHz microwave radiation (very similar to WiFi); and one on the basis for the thermal guideline, visit .. . www.magdahavas.com.

Dr Magda Havas