Telecom Lead India: Will Wi-Fi systems cause learning disabilities to students in schools?
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine said schools should not install WiFi systems because they are linked to learning disabilities, headaches and altered immune systems.
“Safer technology such as use of hard-wiring is strongly recommended in schools,” said an Academy statement issued at its annual conference on the brain and nervous system this week in Florida.
In August the American Academy of Pediatrics called for a review of government safety limits on microwave radiation due to the increasing number of wireless devices in children’s lives. Last year the World Health Organization classified microwave radiation from cell phones and WiFi as a possible carcinogen.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine is a group of medical specialists who treat illnesses triggered by environmental factors.
Wi-Fi household penetration rate in India stood at 2.5 percent in 2011. India’s position is the lowest among leading telecom markets.
The Wi-Fi household penetration rate in China is 21.8 percent and Brazil 20.4 percent in 2011. South Korea, where broadband networks are almost ubiquitous, has the highest Wi-Fi household penetration rate at 80.3 percent, while the U.K. is in the second position with 73.3 percent.
The warning on Wi-Fi is happening at a time when Indian telecom authorities are yet to take actions for guarding mobile users from possible radiation from telecom sites.
The India government has set up a complaint handling system for electro magnetic field (EMF) radiation from mobile towers in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the Department of Telecommunications will be taking action against mobile operators such as Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices Maharashtra, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Aircel and Loop Telecom for violating new radiation norms in Mumbai.
Recently, India government announced that the EMF exposure limit (Base Station Emissions) will lowered to 1/10th of the exposure limit standards prevalent in 90 percent of the countries with effect from 1st September 2012. India now has one of the most stringent EMF exposure norms in the world as SAR value standards for Mobile handsets also have been revised.
