The mayor of an Italian town called Borgofranco d’lvra has ordered two schools to stop using Wi-Fi because of fears that the electromagnetic waves emitted by routers could damage children’s developing cells. According to Italian newspaper La Stampa, mayor Livio Tola said his decision was a precautionary measure. He said, “We are not able to say for sure whether electromagnetic waves are harmful or not, we read a lot about it on the web and we know that some municipalities have already adopted this measure.”
The elementary and high schools will switch from using wireless internet to cables, which will prevent students from using electronic devices such as tablets, which are commonly used in today’s classrooms. Critics of the mayor’s decision have also pointed out that even if the non-ionizing radiation from Wi-Fi is harmful, children will continue to be exposed to it through cell phones and Wi-Fi at the town’s library and in their homes.
Perhaps mayor Tola is concerned about potential legal issues. French and American courts have both recently dealt with lawsuits involving people who claim to be allergic to Wi-Fi, with a condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). Although EHS is not officially recognized as a medical disorder in most countries, French courts allowed a woman to claim it as disability, which entitles her to an allowance of 800 Euros ($902) per month for three years.
Last year 190 international scientists and engineers appealed to WHO and the United Nations to request stricter standards for EMF exposure. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s stance on electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure is that current research “does not suggest any consistent evidence of adverse health effects from exposure to radiofrequency fields at levels below those that cause tissue heating.” However, WHO also points out that there are gaps in knowledge and the organization is conducting a formal risk assessment of radio frequency fields due in 2016.
Source: HNGN
