Were Wi-Fi Standards Updated in 2013 or 20 Years Ago?

ROCKVILLE — A few parents at a Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education meeting said they worried that wireless computers and devices with wireless Internet was gradually impeding the health of students.

Read some excerpts from the article.. "David Carpenter is a former county resident and a general physician who served on committees with scientists who performed research about the effects of radio frequency radiation.

He wrote a letter to members of MCPS management in November encouraging them not to have the school system connected to the Internet wirelessly. Carpenter also is the director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany.

“It’s appropriate that every child have access to the Internet, but the problem is when it’s wireless access to the Internet, there is exposure to radio frequencies,” said Carpenter.

MCPS spokesperson Derek Turner said MCPS follows guidelines set by the Federal Communications Commission. One of the repeated concerns of parents who testified at the meeting and said the standard was 20 years old.  Turner said the guideline had been updated in 2013. "

So were the guidelines updated in 2013 or 20 years ago? That is the question.  Read more at http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/newsx/local/item/3154-parents-worry-wi-fi-could-harm-students

GTCO-ATL Non-Consent Form for WI-Fi in the Classroom

Concerned about the announcement of 24/7 wi-fi in your child's classroom?  Use this non-consent form to complete and send to school.  It may or may not stop the wi-fi from coming, but it will force your school's administration to make a note of your concerns now, before it is installed, and can protect you in the event that your child does experience any side effects down the road that you believe the school should be liable for in court.

We hope it will help open the conversation so that you will learn exactly how they plan to use the wi-fi, how they plan to protect your private information, where the routers will be installed in the school house and how much the technology staff actually knows about the potential for health effects on the children.  If they know the risks, then what do they plan to do in the event your child is one of the ones who is determined to be electro-sensitive?  

And, if you think that netbooks will solve the problems in DeKalb County, take a look at what is happening in Detroit.  When will our schools start modeling themselves after the best ones in the country, instead of the worst?

GTCO-ATL Non-Consent Form for Wi-Fi in the Classroom by Get the Cell Out - Atlanta Chapter

BioInitiative 2012 Report: New, Urgent Warnings About Wireless and EMF Public Health Risks

BioInitiative 2012 Report*: new urgent warnings on wireless and EMF public health risks

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(click headline for full summary)

A new updated BioInitiative 2012 Report says that evidence for risks to health has substantially increased since 2007 from electromagnetic fields (EMF) and wireless technologies (radio-frequency radiation).

The report reviews more than 1,800 new scientific studies and includes 29 independent science and medical experts from around the world.

AT PARTICULAR RISK:

• Cell phone users
• Parents-to-be
• Young children and 
• Pregnant women

Summary of Key Scientific Evidence:

• Evidence for Damage to Sperm and Reproduction
• Evidence that Children are More Vulnerable
• Evidence for Fetal and Neonatal Effects
• Evidence for Effects on Autism (Autism Spectrum Disorders)
• Evidence for Electrohypersensitivity
• Evidence for Effects from Cell Tower-Level RFR Exposures
• Evidence for Effects on the Blood-brain Barrier
• Evidence for Effects on Brain Tumors
• Evidence for Effects on Genes (Genotoxicity)
• Evidence for Effects on the Nervous System (Neurotoxicity)
• Evidence for Effects on Cancer (Childhood Leukemia, Adult Cancers)
• Melatonin, Breast Cancer and Alzheimer's Disease
• Stress, Stress Proteins and DNA as a Fractal Antenna
• Effects of Weak-Field Interactions on Non-Linear Biological Oscillators and Synchronized Neural Activity
• Cell and cordless phones linked to cancer

Lennart Hardell, MD at Orebro University, Sweden says,

"There is a consistent pattern of increased risk for glioma (a malignant brain tumor) and acoustic neuroma with use of mobile and cordless phones." 

He further states:

"Epidemiological evidence shows that radiofrequency should be classified as a human carcinogen. The existing FCC/IEE and ICNIRP public safety limits and reference levels are not adequate to protect public health."

Reproductive Damage
A dozen new studies link cell phone radiation to sperm damage. Even a cell phone in the pocket or on a belt may harm sperm DNA, result in misshapen sperm, and impair fertility in men. Laptop computers with wireless internet connections can damage DNA in sperm.

Link to Autism 
Based on strong evidence for vulnerable biology in autism, EMF/RFR can plausibly increase autism risk and symptoms.  "While we aggressively investigate the links between autism disorders and wireless technologies, we should minimize wireless and EMF exposures for people with autism disorders, children of all ages, people planning a baby, and during pregnancy," says Martha Herbert, MD, PhD.

Vulnerability in Pregnant Women
Wireless devices such as phones and laptops used by pregnant women may alter brain development of the fetus. This has been linked in both animal and human studies to hyperactivity, learning and behavior problems.

Children Must Be Protected

There is good evidence to suggest that many toxic exposures to the fetus and very young child have especially detrimental consequences depending on when they occur during critical phases of growth and development (time windows of critical development), where such exposures may lay the seeds of health harm that develops even decades later. Existing FCC and ICNIRP public safety limits seem to be not sufficiently protective of public health, in particular for the young (embryo, fetus, neonate, very young child).

The Presidential Cancer Panel (2010) found that children ‘are at special risk due to their smaller body mass and rapid physical development, both of which magnify their vulnerability to known carcinogens, including radiation.‘

The American Academy of Pediatrics, in a letter to Congressman Dennis Kucinich dated 12 December 2012 states:

“Children are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures, including cell phone radiation. The differences in bone density and the amount of fluid in a child’s brain compared to an adult’s brain could allow children to absorb greater quantities of RF energy deeper into their brains than adults. It is essential that any new standards for cell phones or other wireless devices be based on protecting the youngest and most vulnerable populations to ensure they are safeguarded through their lifetimes.”

More evidence than we need

 "The last five years worth of new scientific studies tell us the situation is much worse than in 2007 and yet people around the world have so much more daily exposure than even five years ago. Exposures are linked to a variety of adverse health outcomes that may have significant public health consequences."  

"There is now much more evidence of risks to health affecting billions of people world-wide. The status quo is not acceptable in light of the evidence for harm."  

               --  David O. Carpenter, MD, co-editor Bioinitiative 2012 Report

This study covers:  EMF from power lines, electrical wiring, appliances and hand-held devices; and from wireless technologies (cell and cordless phones, cell towers, 'smart meters', WI-FI, wireless laptops, wireless routers, baby monitors, and other electronic devices).

Health topics include:  damage to DNA and genes, effects on memory, learning, behavior, attention, sleep disruption, cancer and neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease.

New safety standards are urgently needed for protection against EMF and wireless exposures that now appear everywhere in daily life.

The report conclusion advises that a new precautionary limit of 0.003 u/Wcm2 based on mobile base station-level studies is justified, and consideration for chronic exposures would further reduce that limit ten fold.

We hold their future in our hands

Acknowledgements for the report go to the "many independent scientists, researchers and experts who have labored, some for decades - many of whom are no longer with us - to bring this body of science into the public arena."  

Cindy Sage, Co-Editor of the report extends gratitude to her husband and family and "to Avery, Drake, Ford, Jenner, Luke, Solei, and all the children whose trusting faces remind us that we hold their future in our hands."  


*  The BioInitiative 2012 Report has been prepared by 29 authors from ten countries,  ten holding medical degrees (MDs), 21 PhDs, and three MsC, MA or MPHs.  Among the authors are three former presidents of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, and five full members of BEMS.  One distinguished author is the Chair of the Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation.   Another is a Senior Advisor to the European Environmental Agency. Read more here.

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EMF Safety Network

p:  707-824-0824

e:  emfsafe@sonic.net 

w: www.emfsafetynetwork.org

Get the Cell Out - Atlanta

e:  sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com

w:  www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org

Parents Challenge Wi-Fi at Canadian Schools

Click headline for full text and video  September 8, 2010:  Children in Canada are reporting health effects from wi-fi in their classrooms.  Parents are challenging the school systems and demanding that it be removed.

Mary Garofalo of "16:9 The Bigger Picture" reports in this investigative piece on W-Fi in Canadian schools:



Removing the wi-fi is nearly as large of an expense as having it installed in the first place, but across Canada, schools are choosing to do so based on the growing concerns of their citizens and based on the trend in other countries.




 

What’s happening in other countries?

Sept. 2007 -  Germany (global headquarters of T-mobile) warns its citizens to avoid Wi-Fi for health reasons

April 2009 - France removes Wi-Fi from primary schools in the city of Herouville St. Clair, due to health risks

April 2009 - Teachers in UK call for immediate dismantling of Wi-Fi in schools due to health risks

Why can't DeKalb County, GA, and other U.S. school systems

learn from the examples in other countries

instead of repeating the same costly mistakes?

More recently, in February 2012, the Ontario English Catholic Teacher Association issued a position paper on wi-fi in schools.  It states wi-fi may present health risks and safety hazards.

If you agree that wireless technology is a convenience and not a necessity

worth putting our children and our neighborhoods in harm's way,

here is what you can do:

1.) Sign the GTCO-ATL petition:  www.thepetitionsite.com/1/GTCO-ATL. Your name can remain annoymous online and your contact information will not be shared with anyone.

2.)  Write to DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis at ceo@dekalbcountyga.gov and ask that he follow the recommendation of the Board of Commissioners and DENY any permits for cell towers on school grounds for T-mobile or the Board of Education.  Ask that T-mobile follow the ordinances already in place, just like any other company would have to do when submitting an application.

3.)  Write to the Georgia Governor using this form:  http://gov.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,165937316_166563415,00.html.  State that  you would like for him to VETO HB 1299 which is an attempt by lobbyists to trick the voting population in our county into approving (or stating they favor) something that is currently not allowed in Dekalb County. 

Want to do more?  Here are some other suggestions:

1.)  Bring this subject up in conversations with family and friends so they can learn about the dangers and take precautions when using cell phones and wireless devices, esp. near children.  Ask them to please vote on July 31 and to vote NO on any questions related to placing towers on school grounds.  Ask that they register to vote now, show up to vote on July 31, and vote AGAINST any incumbant who said "Yes" to cell towers.

2.)  Vote on July 31.  Say NO to cell towers on school grounds and Vote Against Any Incumbant who approved the towers (all except Donna Edler and Nancy Jester on the school board).

3.)  Check back here for breaking news and other updates (www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org).  Send us your letters and responses by BCC'ing us or forwarding them to us later.  Let us know if we can reprint them on our website.  We will not disclose your name.  Our email is sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com.

4.)  "Like" us on Facebook for even more up to date information:  https://www.facebook.com/Get.the.Cell.Out.ATL

Would You Give Your Right Hand for Your IPAD? Literally?

(click headline to read full story)  1/28/12

EXERPT FROM CHANGE.ORG: 

According to the New York Times, workers at a factory in Shenzhen, China, owned by Foxconn (a company that manufactures iPhones, iPads and other devices for Apple) regularly work sixteen-hour, seven-day work weeks.

They stand until their legs swell and they can’t walk, and they perform repetitive motions on the production line for so long that some permanently lose the use of their hands. To cut costs, managers make workers use cheap chemicals that cause neurological damage. There has been a rash of suicides at the Foxconn plant, and 300 workers recently threatened to jump off the roof over a safety and pay dispute.

In short, as one former Apple executive told the New York Times, "Most people would be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from."

New Year's Resolutions from The Center for Safer Wireless

(click headline for the full story)

Here are some great tips we wanted to pass along from The Center for Safer Wireless.  To visit their website directly, go to:  http://www.centerforsaferwireless.org/.  You will find a great deal of helpful information for ways to help your family reduce the overall amount of radiation you are exposed ot on a regular basis which will improve your health and help reduce your cancer risk.

Rather than allowing your new e-reader to radiate your lap the

entire time you are reading a book, simply go into the Settings

and turn off the pulsed wi-fi signal until you need to access the

Internet to download something new.  If you need to be online

for any length of time, its better to keep the device away from

your body by using a pillow or lap desk, which can be found at

any office supply store and even at toy stores for around $10.

Some Suggested Resolutions for 2012

If you have Wi-Fi, consider returning to cabled Internet access which greatly diminishes your exposure to pulsed radiofrequency radiation and lessens your chances of being hacked.

Replace your cordless phone with a wired phone

Reach for a wired phone (when available) instead of a cell phone to make a call.

Opt for a low-frequency baby monitor (40 MHz).

Wireless Product Safety Tip E-Readers

Wired devices are the safest way to go. For those who gave or received e-readers as Christmas gifts (Nook, Kindle, tablets, iPads, Kobo) you can reduce your exposure to pulsed radiofrequency radiation by simply turning off the wireless signal on these devices. When you are reading an e-book, newspaper, or magazine, you don't need a wireless connection with the e-reader. To disable the wireless signal, each device is different. Search for phrases such as "turn off wireless signal" or "disable wireless network connection."  Use the wireless connection only when accessing the Internet (such as when downloading a book or an application) and turn off the wireless signal when you are finished with the activity. Also, with the wireless disabled, you won't have to re-charge your e-reader as often.

To reduce health risks, we recommend that parents impose rules for children using an e-reader. In addition to the above recommendations, children shouldn't lay the e-reader on their bodies. Instead, they can place the devices on pillows in their laps or on desks and tables. Not only is the pulsed radiofrequency radiation a concern but also the alternating current magnetic fields from the devices. Keeping a distance between young bodies and the devices helps to reduce health risks.

Adults can follow these rules for e-readers and when using a wireless laptop. 

Keep these tips in mind if your child is issued a wireless device in school such as an I-pad or Tablet.

Wi-Fi in the Classroom: A Non-Consent Form for Parents

Just added to our documents file is a handy tool for parents and administrators who have questions or concerns about wi-fi in the classroom.  The DeKalb County School District has listed Wi-Fi for all classrooms as an initiative requiring funding under the SPLOST IV referendum, being voted on by taxpayers in our county today, November 8, 2011.

Vote Today, Nov. 8
Find Your Polling Location:
http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/voter/locator.asp

If you are a parent with a child in a DeKalb public school, we urge you to watch the video in our previous blog post concerning the dangers of enabling wi-fi to be used by or near your child.

If you would like to express your concern and request that your child's school provide a safe and healthy alternative to this form of instruction, please download and use the NON-CONSENT FORM made available today by Get the Cell Out - Atlanta. 

For a copy of this form in PDF format, use this link:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/72047357/GTCO-ATL-Non-Consent-Form-for-Wi-Fi-in-the-Classroom

Get the Wi-Fi Out! Vote No on SPLOST!

During the public comment portion of last night's DeKalb County School Board meeting, GTCO-ATL friends and associates were on hand to speak out against the cell towers that will soon be going up at 9 of our public schools. 

Six speakers addressed the subject of cell towers at schools and the improper notification that was provided to the communities around the schools.  Also raised was the issue of Wi-Fi in the classroom, which is an initiative DeKalb seeks to undertake as part of the SPLOST IV referendum.

To bring GTCO-ATL fans up to speed about the problems with Wi-Fi, we have found an excellent video, about 14 minutes long, that covers the issue and actually measures the radiation fields to show you first hand what we will be doing to our children if we do not STOP SPLOST at the polls.