[PC/Laptop] Wireless could be harmfull!

**rbervoets** · April 28th, 2007, 15:05

Computers with wireless internet should not be placed on children's laps, says the head of the government's committee on mobile phone safety research.
Professor Lawrie Challis told the Daily Telegraph children using wi-fi networks should be monitored until research into potential health risks is completed.

He says children should keep a safe distance from the embedded antennas.

The Health Protection Agency has said wi-fi devices are of very low power - much lower than mobile phones.

Prof Challis, retired professor of physics at the University of Nottingham, said: "With a desktop computer, the transmitter will be in the tower.

"This might be perhaps 20cms from your leg and the exposure would then be around one per cent of that from a mobile phone.

"However, if you put a laptop straight on your lap and are using wi-fi, you could be around two centimetres from the transmitter, and receiving comparable exposure to that from a mobile phone."

'Bigger problem'

Prof Challis added that children are much more sensitive than adults to dangers such as pollutants like lead and UV radiation.

"So if there should be a problem with mobiles, then it may be a bigger problem for children.

"Since we advise that children should be discouraged from using mobile phones, we should also discourage children from placing their laptop on their lap when they are using wi-fi.

Meanwhile, teachers have called for an investigation into whether there are any health risks from wireless computer networks in schools.

The Professional Association of Teachers union is writing to the education secretary for a clarification on wi-fi safety.

Many primary and secondary schools use wi-fi networks - but the PAT believes there is insufficient long-term evidence to demonstrate whether such networks are safe.

Any Coments?

**Sp3ct0r** · April 29th, 2007, 19:26

Ha! not to be mean or anything but i really don't think people are actually gonna listen to this and stop using wireless internet lol.

**IamAbe** · April 29th, 2007, 22:08

Wow, nothing is safe these days. I for one will be moving into a log cabin far away from society and radiation. You can all continue living in this evil modernized world and turn into mutant zombies from radiation poisoning. And with that I leave you.

**alucard001** · April 29th, 2007, 23:41

wtf does this cause anyway? sterility?

**wolfpack** · April 30th, 2007, 00:00

Next on headline news:

Wifi causes AIDS?!

**Video_freak** · April 30th, 2007, 00:02

Wait so they're saying that the distance is the most important factor? Because modern routers are just as powerful from a couple inches as they are 10 feet away. I'm rethinking having my router in my room now... :\

Originally Posted by alucard001

wtf does this cause anyway? sterility?

Originally Posted by wolfpack99997

Next on headline news:

Wifi causes AIDS?!

Yup, sterility and AIDS.

**Pilot_51** · April 30th, 2007, 03:43

Originally Posted by Video_freak

Because modern routers are just as powerful from a couple inches as they are 10 feet away.

That's not true, all wireless mediums lose strength the further you get. Even an inch further has some loss, but not noticeably for things like Wi-Fi. I think the loss is exponential with the range. One example is that the radiation from a CRT monitor is harmful at an inch, but harmless at a foot.

If it causes a disease, it would probably be either cancer or a form of radiation sickness, or possibly even something new.

**iniquitous_beast** · April 30th, 2007, 14:29

There is a simple way to prove this: Someone needs to volunteer to have their kidneys replaced with wireless routers. If that person gets sick, then we'll know that wifi is unhealthy.

**bah** · April 30th, 2007, 16:07

Everything will kill you these days.

I was just reading this in newscientist (the paper version, thankfully most of their content is also online): http://www.newscientist.com/article/...-diabetes.html.

Quote: "Now, a follow-up study published last month suggests an association in non-diabetic people between certain pesticides, PCBs and insulin resistance - a precursor to diabetes (Diabetes Care, vol 30, p 622). Fat people with POPs in their blood were more likely to develop insulin resistance than thin people with POPs, but the expected association between obesity and insulin resistance disappeared in people with no POPs"

The increasing amount of chemicals we're exposed to every day is a bigger deal than a wifi signal imo.

If electromagnetic radiation from having mains electricity hooked up to homes was causing illness would we get rid of it?
We live in a toxic world.