A member of the public has the right to be heard on an issue under the jurisdiction of a school board. Last spring a member of the public brought to the Simcoe County District School Board a concern over Wi-Fi usage within the board’s schools.
After hearing the deputation and motivated by a sincere desire to be prudent, the Board instructed staff to return with current information for the Board to review.
Senior staff developed a report on the subject and arranged for Dr. Tony Muc (Ph.D. Physicist and Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Toronto) to come to speak to the Board about ionizing and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation at the following board meeting.
As the item was on a public agenda, the public once more had to the opportunity to speak to the Board. Presenters shared their perspectives and concerns for their children’s health. No diagnosis from a medical doctor, tying W-Fi to concerns over these student health issues, was provided to the Board.
Dr. Muc in turn shared with those in attendance the basics of the electromagnetic spectrum and reiterated his support of the Canadian Government Safety 6 Guideline.
[Dr Muc] … explained non-ionizing waves, which do not affect our bodies, are those used in microwave ovens, wireless routers, cellphones, radios and TVs.
“There has been no shortage of research on radiation. The science has been distilled into standards and guidelines used by the World Health Organization and Health Canada”, Muc said.
“Over the last 50 years, research relating to microwave ovens which operate in the same (wave) range, meet the safety codes. Any system that demonstrates compliance with (Health Canada’s) Safety Code 6 will not result in harm to children or people who use them,” he said. ( simcoe.com April. 29, 2010 Wi-Fi not dangerous, professor tells board)
As the SCDSB’s current technology policy was supported both by an environmental health physicist as well as Canadian Health and Safety guidelines, trustees chose to re-affirm it .
At the same meeting, I felt it was important that we share the information with the Ministries of Education and Health and I personally put a motion on the floor to that effect, that was carried and acted upon.
I always commend people for speaking out when they feel there is something wrong with public policy. How we treat minority opinion and special interest groups is a barometer of our respect for democracy and Canadian’s rights to freedom of speech. It is important to remember though that having the right to bring forth a concern and be listened to in a public forum, does not mean that the political entity must agree with the position presented. Not agreeing with a deputation’s position is not the same as not listening ; a far cry from it.
As a trustee of the Simcoe County District School Board I have listened, read and weighed the information with which I have been presented. I sincerely believe there is no health risk to students tied to Wi-Fi in any of our schools.
Background Information:
See Policy Page for previous posts tied to this topic
Health Canada - Wireless Device Safety
Health Canada’s Radiofrequency Energy Guidelines (Safety Code 6)
Health Canada is committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadians. That is why we have developed safety guidelines that set limits for safe human exposure to electromagnetic energy from radiofrequency (RF) devices, including cell phones and base stations. Industry Canada, the national telecommunications regulator, requires that levels of radiofrequency energy coming from cell phones and cell phone towers fall below Health Canada’s RF exposure limits.
About Health Canada’s RF Guidelines:
- Health Canada set limits after reviewing the results of hundreds of studies on the biological effects of RF energy. These limits are similar to those in other science-based international guidelines.
- The Code was evaluated by an Expert Panel of the Royal Society of Canada and was deemed to be an adequate representation of science currently available.
- The typical levels of RF energy that you find coming from base stations, including cell phone towers, are thousands of times below the limits for public exposure.
- The specified limits for public exposure apply to everyone—including the elderly, individuals with health concerns, children and pregnant women—and allow for continuous, 24/7 exposure.
Simcoe.com April 29, 2010 Wi-Fi not dangerous, professor tells board
SIMCOE COUNTY – Wireless routers in schools will not cook children’s brains, even though they emit microwaves, a physicist and public health expert told Simcoe County District School Board trustees.
Assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and chief physicist at Radiation and Health Safety Consulting, Tony Muc outlined the electromagnetic spectrum and uses of different waves.
“It’s important to think about this in terms of the atom. That forms a good basis for understanding the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. As frequency increases, the wave length goes down,” he told trustees, as well as a group of parents who want wireless routers at their children’s school turned off – or at least powered down.
Ionizing waves are very short as they interact with cells. They cause sunburn and help physicians diagnose medical conditions, said Muc, who has served on Spar Aerospace’s board, on WSIB tribunals and the National Research Council.
He explained non-ionizing waves, which do not affect our bodies are those used in microwave ovens, wireless routers, cellphones, radios and TVs.
“There has been no shortage of research on radiation. The science has been distilled into standards and guidelines used by the World Health Organization and Health Canada, Muc said.
Simcoe.com May 03, 2010 Public School Board Sticks to Wi-Fi Plan
Parents’ concerns for health of students forwarded to ministry
SIMCOE COUNTY – Simcoe County District School Board trustees say they are listening to parents who demand 21st-century technology rather than those who fear wireless devices are giving their children headaches.
On April 28, parents from Mountain View Public School in Collingwood urged the board to let them pay to have the school hardwired so wireless routers could be turned off.
Very well written Caroline – bravo.
Well done, Ms. Smith. Thanks for supported evidence-based science.