WiFi op school
Update rechtszaak Israël WiFi op school – 18/3/2014
- Gegevens
- Gepubliceerd: dinsdag 18 maart 2014 09:59
doctors.co.il - In Israël spanden een groep van ouders een rechtszaak aan tegen het Ministerie van Gezondheid en van Onderwijs over WiFi op school. In de rechtszaak getuigen 13 kinderen over hun elektrogevoeligheid en de gezondheidseffecten die ze ondervinden door WiFi op school.
De aanbeveling van het Ministerie van Onderwijs aan scholen is om bekabeld internet te verkiezen boven wifi. Als toch wifi wordt gïnstalleerd, moeten daar goede pedagogische of technische redenen voor zijn. Het aantal uren blootstelling moet ook beperkt worden (zeker bij de jongste kinderen) en de wifi uitgeschakeld wanneer niet in gebruik.
De aanklagers stellen echter dat dit beleid niet werkelijk wordt opgevolgd. 75% van de scholen installeerden namelijk wifi-netwerken.
Ook wordt de ontoereikendheid van de huidige blootstellingsnormen aangeklaagd.
Professor em. Elihu Richter, voormalig directeur van het Occupational and Environmental Medicine centrum aan de medische faculteit van de Hebrew University, bevestigt dat elektrogevoeligheid een reële aandoening is, die bovendien niet zo zeldzaam is als men zou geloven:
"In my professional opinion , intolerance to electromagnetic radiation, is not a psychiatric or psychosomatic illness, but a medical condition caused by exposure to electromagnetic radiation. My determination is based on my own experience, after I checked patients suffering from EHS and on the basis of scientific and medical information available. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, the Ministry of Health did nothing to check the dimensions of the phenomenon in Israel ... I am getting disturbing reports of children who started suffering from EHS in Israel and abroad, after having introduced WiFi systems to school. I have no doubt, that due to entering the WiFi networks into schools, the number of children joining the suffering from EHS will continue to grow due to exposure to chronic radiation all day in school, and I stress that it's not a rare disease, but a phenomenon with increasing prevalence... it is important to emphasize that the population of children is particularly sensitive population, as children have a thin skull, causing a higher penetration of radiation into the brains, and because their nervous systems are still developing - so this population is more likely to develop EHS."
Radiation from WiFi: Not in our school?
Thirteen children testify in a petition to the court that they
suffer from a disease arising from exposure to mobile phones
and wireless network radiation, which is also in schools.
Response of the State: We do not know such a disease
By: Helena Lusky , Doctors website, 16/03/14
Efrat, biologist, and Ran, mechanical engineer by profession
are the parents of two children aged 9 and 12, who are being
educated at an elementary school in Tel Aviv, that installed
like many schools in the country, WiFi network to adjust the
curriculum for the 21st century. When they found out about a
year and a half ago, that wireless network would be installed
at school, they contacted the school board and the
municipality of Tel Aviv, to veto, for fear of their
children's exposure to electromagnetic radiation. When their
request was ignored, they decided to join the petition of the
parents' national leadership, Sane mobile forum (both
represented by lawyer Michael Bach) and attorney Dafna
Tachover, against the Ministry of Health and Ministry of
Education, a petition concerning the removal of wireless
networks from schools. The petition is being discussed these days.
We all want our children to receive the best education, the
most advanced methods, which include ICT and experiential
lessons . The question is whether this progress may come at
the expense of our children's health? And whether our children
are used today actually as "guinea pigs" of the wireless
technology, we do not know what will be its future effects.
EHS – is there such a disease or not?
13 affidavits were attached of children attending different
schools in the country, with sensitivity to electromagnetic
radiation (the disease EHS). One of them in eleventh grade,
wrote in his affidavit: "I have pain all over the body,
especially those parts closest to the device that emits
radiation, especially the head and neck. At school I feel the
pain, when children with cell phones coming to me, and in
places With Wi-Fi in school."
President of the Supreme Court, Judge Asher Gronis, asked the
state to estimate how many children in Israel suffer from EHS.
The state's response indicates that such a disease is not
known. According to the opinion of Professor Siegal Sadezky
Director of Knowledge Center on non-ionizing radiation, and
manager of Gertner Institute's department of radiation and
Cancer epidemiology, there is no medical diagnosis to the
phenomenon of sensitivity to radiation and therefore it can
not be evaluated. It also states in its opinion that the
source of this sensitivity may be psychiatric symptoms, and in
any case it is necessary to determine whether contaminants
such as air pollution, are responsible for the disease.
In contrast, argues Professor Elihu Richter, director of the
Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Faculty of
Medicine of the Hebrew University (retired), in a written
statement: " In my professional opinion , intolerance to
electromagnetic radiation, is not a psychiatric or
phsychosomatic illness, but a medical condition caused by
exposure to electromagnetic radiation. My determination is
based on my own experience, after I checked patients suffering
from EHS and on the basis of scientific and medical
information available. unfortunately, to my knowledge, the
Ministry of Health did nothing to check the dimensions of the
phenomenon in Israel ... I am getting disturbing reports of
children who started suffering from EHS in Israel and abroad,
after having introduced WiFi systems to school. I have no
doubt, that due to entering the WiFi networks into schools,
the number of children joining the suffering from EHS will
continue to grow due to exposure to chronic radiation all day
in school, and I stress that it's not a rare disease, but a
phenomenon with increasing prevalence... it is important to
emphasize that the population of children is particularly
sensitive population, as children have a thin skull, causing a
higher penetration of radiation into the brains, and because
their nervous systems are still developing - so this
population is more likely to develop EHS."
One policy , a different reality ?
Please note that there is a consensus in the country and the
world to minimize the extent of possible exposure to a
wireless networks, especially of sensitive populations such as
children. A position paper of the cancer and radiation
epidemiology unit from 2010, states that in accordance to the
precautionary principle, it is better to use wired technology
for communication between computers, since it is safer than
wireless communication. This policy is consistent with the
decision of the European Parliament from 2009 and the position
of the World Health Organization in 2011, whereby the overall
wireless technology Bluetooth conservation, WiFi and cordless
phones, emitting electro-magnetic is possibly dangerous for
humans.
Israeli Ministry of Education ordered schools to set up wired
networks and only in places where these networks are causing a
safety hazard, Wi-Fi will be installed and operated within the
limits. For example, pedagogical content such as
presentations, use of word processors software Excel files ,
etc. will be transferred to a wired network; wireless network
on school grounds will be turned off when successfully used in
the studies. Additionally, defined limits for a wireless
network. grades a - C: up to 3 hours a week, and classes d and
up to 8 hours a week.
The petition alleged that the Education Ministry does not
enforce its own policy – and actually used in schools wireless
network, unlike the Ministry of Health guidelines . This is
much worse, given the fact that there were children who suffer
from EHS. Indeed, data from the Ministry of Education
presented in court shows that 75 percent of Israeli school
installed a wireless network. This is surprising given the
policy of the Ministry of Education, that one should prefer a
wired network.
Radiation : High standard , testing is problematic
Another issue raised by the petitioners is the Israeli
standard radiation. Allowable exposure level in Israel is
40-100 [micro watts per cm squared], compared with Europe
where the population maximum exposure level of 0.1 [ micro
watts per cm squared ].
According to an affidavit filed by Ram Dishon, an expert on
radiation (an engineer), "the results of radiation levels do
not at all reflect the true intensity in schools ... correct
measurements will show, that the level of radiation in schools
can be between 200 times and 1000 times greater than indicated
in the reports ! I found that the most serious omission is the
measuring devices used are not able to measure the radiation
of the WiFi ... radiation meter used to measure radiation up
to 3GHz while the WiFi works on frequencies up to 5 GHz ...
the reason for lower radiation levels in Israel is arising
from using the wrong measurement and use of inappropriate
equipment".
The Ministry of Education spokesman said: "The Ministry of
Education published a guidance for schools, that the use of
wireless would be the exception, the rule is to favor the
installation of wired networks. The exception would be after
demonstrating the existence of pedagogical and technical
justification, and under other conditions that justify it. In
radiation tests conducted by the Environmental Protection
Ministry late last year, the radiation levels from wireless
networks ( high-frequency radiation - RF ) were significantly
lower levels than thresholds of the standards and usually even
below the threshold of the measurement devices. It is noted
that the issue is being discussed in court and reply is given
to the petition".
Department of Health spokeswoman said: "No EHS cases were
reported to the Health Ministry. The policy of the Ministry of
Health regarding the integration of communication in schools
is presented in a circular of the Ministry of Education's
director in July 2013."