Ontario school removes Wi-Fi over health concerns
How concerned should we be about having wireless internet connections in our schools? A private school in Ontario is taking no chances.
Last year, I wrote a blog post that looked at whether Wi-Fi should be outlawed in schools. Many people are concerned that the use of wireless equipment in schools is making children sick. Parents and students have reported health issues that they strongly believe are associated to Wi-Fi in schools; some symptoms are mild, others more alarming and some just plain odd:
- Severe headaches
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Memory loss
- Loss of vision
- Loss of feeling in hands
- Heart palpitations
- Eyebrows turning white
Note that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently classified radio frequency electromagnetic fields as “Possibly carcinogenic to humans.” Other agents found in this group (2B) include engine exhaust, lead, coffee and pickled vegetables.
To quote myself from the post I linked to above, “How concerned should you be about the health risks? Are they real or imagined? Should you send your kids to school in a tinfoil hat or maybe even switch them to a school that doesn’t use wireless internet connections? Or is it all rubbish?”
Whatever you may believe, one school in Ontario is taking no chances. Pretty River Academy in Collingwood, Ontario has ripped out their Wi-Fi, replacing it with hard-wired internet connections. In a press release, the principal, Roberta Murray-Hirst, is quoted as saying, “This system turns regular electrical outlets into high-speed internet ports. It’s faster than wireless, and we have no question regarding safety.”
We sent an email to Roberta last week with some questions we had:
1. To what extent was your decision based on health concerns?
2. What research did you use in coming to your decision?
3. To what extent was this decision influenced by parental pressure?
4. What was the cost to retrofit your school with the hard-wired connections?
5. According to the press release, the hard-wired connections work through existing electrical outlets. How does this impact a classroom’s ability to have all computers connected to the Internet simultaneously or is this even a scenario that is relevant to how you use the Internet in class?
6. Did you record an increase of health complaints from students after you had installed your Wi-Fi equipment, and if so, what did those complaints consist of?
Unfortunately, we haven’t heard back from her.
Although no reliable scientific studies have conclusively shown a direct link between Wi-Fi and adverse health effects, a Canadian organization called Safe School Committee believes kids should have access to technology in school, but also believes that Wi-Fi internet connections are a health hazard to children. The organization pushes to have all schools hard-wired, stating that, “Microwave exposure is linked to infertility, erratic heart rates, learning impairment, behavioural changes, leukemia and cancer, especially in children.” The Safe School Committee website offers an abundance of information that’s worth checking out and also encourages you to report any changes you’ve seen in your children’s health since having Wi-Fi installed in their school.
What do you think, Sync readers? Should schools be tearing out their Wi-Fi or is this no more of a health concern than a child eating a pickle? Leave a comment to share your thoughts!
?? I wonder why my comments from yesterday got removed.
Hey Tony, we just went through a server migration and it’s possible your comments were lost in the process. It wasn’t that we censored you :)
Hate to break it to them , but there is really nowhere we can go that we aren’t permeated by radio signals. In fact the Earth itself is a source of radio waves.
[...] http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2011/09/ontario-school-removes-wi-fi-to-protect-the-health-of-its-chil... [...]
I can’t believe that parents have pushed this issue to the point of them removing Wi-Fi from schools… No matter where I am when I pull out my iPhone I have numerous Wi-Fi networks pop up. I guarantee that if you checked these people’s houses there would be multiple Wi-Fi signals floating around. If not, then I guess these kids shouldn’t be able to go to malls, any retail stores, or any suburban area for that matter as they would be inundated with Wi-Fi signals making them sick. When I was a kid I felt sick at school too… then it was blamed on poor ventilation and the fluorescent lighting, but now I realize it was probably just because I didn’t want to be there.
Ignore the issue all you want among cell phone users; but when thousands of children and teens use wifi and get unique effects like this, this is a clue of a interesting unresearched use and potential danger to it unknown before this. It’s not like direct satellite transmissions at similar or even higher frequencies ground level.
There are rumoured reports that radio frequencies above 1 gigahertz have potential problems to at least some since they are able to penetrate deep inside right thru the skin and below it a lot less effect at least theotically.
It is a long term warning if ever full scale free wifi happens all over this country and other nations globally.
What freqs vibes the soul as well if any?
It sounds like the 60′s again. Maybe I should build a(Lead Lined)bomb shelter! People will believe what they read regardless if it is true or not.
I agree – but would add only the ignorant who let fear and innuendo rule their existence, will believe these dangers exist. So sad…
It’s probably perfectly safe; but there seems from this net article that there potential concerns at least needing an explanation to it and similar concerns might happen when UHF normal and other types of wireless after g4.
Check for concentration of hotspot zones in concrete and aluminum built enclosures and check on workarounds around it if possible. Otherwise other solution for now is more realistic at the moment.
I believe that parents tend to over worry about simple matters. As what “Really?!?” said – these parents probably have multiple wifi signals floating around every where their child goes. To cause such a ruckus over wifi in schools is silly, it’s more fear mongering which seems to be quite the fad in Ontario. Thank god I live in Alberta where people are a lot more sane….
It’s far more likely that the symptoms you describe as being seen in the classrooms — headaches, dizziness, nausea, memory loss, vision problems and heart palpitations — are actually caused by the bright neon lights that are used in the majority of classrooms… rather than there being any such likelihood at all that those same symptoms may be caused by the presence of any Wi-fi transmissions.
Well I don’t think that elementary schools need wifi. How many children have devices that require a wifi connection for school. For school being the operative part of that question. I am aware that children have wireless devices. As for the health concerns, I would like to find out when the health complaints started. And eye brows turning white? What is that about, can they really link that to the wifi signal?
Well, Dave, when do you think it will be alright to give our children access to the 21st century, sufficient for them to keep up with the rest of the world? The age at which they learn the best is JK/SK- grade 4. But if you insist on them waiting until their brains are too full of social matters, then they will be doomed to be second class citizens in the world economy. That may be okay with you, but it’s NOT okay for my grandchildren and the world they will inhabit.
I think there are many things that could be causing these symptoms in kids but it seems people want/need to point a finger at something. What about indoor air quality in the schools. Chemical cleaners, old schools with old, outdated materials. There were ceiling tiles with mold on them on one of my son’s classes. It was a huge ordeal to have them removed/replaced. Even then I’m sure the mold was spread around while doing so as the school didn’t seem to think it was an issue.
Overall kids don’t spend as much time outside as they used to and with Wi-fi being so accessible, pretty much everywhere, how can someone even begin to pin this on having it available in the schools? How many homes have Wi-fi now? How many of the people complaining have laptops, or Ipads etc. and are, or can be, connected pretty much anywhere/everywhere? Sure, we want to keep our kids safe but let’s be reasonable.
Further, look at the diet of a lot of these kids with these symptoms. Ask yourself why schools are finding it necessary to have strict nutrition/food policies in place. How many of the packaged products these kids consume have controversial ingredients?
EXACTLY!! Excellent points!
Wifi’s range limit is probably protection enough. Still little mentioned is power transmissions line based broadband interfering with am up to at least half the VHF bandwidth being leaked out to some distance outwards and no, no experimentation was done on a type of wireless done thru these outdoor power transmission lines.
I would suspect air quality and lighting more than EM, but I think the cause is the EM coming from people’s brains, not what is entering their brains…
As others have said, even in most homes kids are subject to all kinds of WiFi. At home I can detect 5 or 6 nearby WiFi devices, and our neighbourhood isn’t particularly dense. Add to that the cordless phones everyone has these days that operate at the same frequencies, plus the wireless game console controllers. Even home thermometers are wireless these days. I don’t here kids complaining about getting sick playing Xbox at home???? Gee, I wonder why there is a difference between school and home!
But you know what, if you believe WiFi is causing a problem, it is causing a problem, even if it isn’t causing a problem. People will talk themselves into being sick if they believe they are exposed to something that will make them sick. In these cases, trying to make sense never makes sense, just pull the stuff out and make people happy.
A follow-up should definitely be made to see if all these symptoms now disappear…somehow I doubt it…
I do not know enough about Wi-Fi and its effects but I do think that it is not needed in schools. What is wrong with hard wire? The only things needing internet access is the computer room where the kids learn and the library. There should be no cell phones in school. For the parents that say their kids need cell phones “in elemetary school” just so they can get a hold of them is ridiculous. If a parent or student has to talk, they can go to the office and use that phone.
Get real people. I know we live in a society that is becoming computeriezed but if there is a concern in schools for WiFi then eliminate it. Did Einstein need WiFi?
“Did Einstein need WiFi?”
I’m sure if he had had access to Wi-Fi and the internet he’d have accomplished even more…(either that, or he’d have done a lot less as he’d be wasting all his time leaving pointless comments on websites and browsing for pron…)
I’m ecstatic to hear that the children are safe and protected now that the school has turned off its Wi-Fi!!
Surely they can weave their way around the other Wi-Fi signals in the area other sources..and the AM/FM radio waves..and the TV Signals..and Cellular and GPS..and the magnetic fields generated by all the power lines (including the ones in the Schools walls)..and…
“Hey honey! Did you remember to dress Little Johnny in his Tin Foil Bubble Wrap??!”
Good job…
If your going to remove wifi make sure you take the mobile devices away from children when they enter the classroom as well.
I really think that children really haven’t changed a whole lot since I was in school. so remove the distractions… Cell phone, Ipods, MP3/MP4 players and whatever else they may bring to school. They should be there to learn not ignore the teachers.
Heart Palpitations? Stop drinking energy drinks.
What about all the other radio signals in the school? Cell Towers, GPS, walkie talkies?
I would like to know whether the parents have removed wifi from their houses and turn of their cell phones when they are near their kids