Talk:Wireless electronic devices and health

This article was nominated for deletion on 7 June 2007. The result of the discussion was keep.

Rationale for concern

I just removed the following text from the article, as it seems somewhat out of place (doubly so in .the lead):

Nevertheless, there are numerous scientific studies that suggest there is a basis for concern that continuous or frequent long-term exposure to WiFi electromagnetic fields (EMFs) could have adverse health effects. A number of schools and universities have limited wireless connectivity based on the “precautionary principle” and opted for fiber-optic network. An example of such institutions is Lakehead University

Thiomersal controversy, reporting an issue where the evidence for safety is at least as good as here, has a Rationale for concern section. Would we like to do something similar here, or would that inevitably lead to too much overlap with Electromagnetic radiation and health? - Eldereft (cont.) 15:46, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

I don't agree with this. The mercury / vaccinations / autism evidence is indeed very weak, and whether it one day gets found to be real or otherwise, existing evidence clearly does not support it, and does support a lack of association. There is no such evidence for safety with WiFi - there is no evidence for harm either, there is simply no evidence at all that I can find in peer-reviewed literature. The evidence with Mobile Phones is a lot more contentious, with arguments to be made on both sides based on a plethora of evidence to support each side's argument. I do agree that to have caveats in the safety of WiFi is not appropriate at the moment, but not under any basis of "evidence of safety", so much as "lack of evidence of harm". topazg (talk) 09:22, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

why remove that first paragraph? It seems to be very relevant.Unless your concern is to defend this technology? In which case your bias makes you an unsuitable candidate to edit wikipedia Jalusbrian (talk) 03:10, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

New Research reported Feb 2010

New research was referred to in Feburary 2010.

Studies Find Harm From Cellular and Wi-Fi Signals (Slashdot.com)

Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous to Your Health Which also talks specifically of wireless devices affect on health as part of the article.

"The concern about Wi-Fi is being taken seriously in Europe. In April 2008, the national library of France, citing possible "genotoxic effects," announced it would shut down its Wi-Fi system, and the staff of the storied Library of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris followed up with a petition demanding the disconnection of Wi-Fi antennas and their replacement by wired connections. Several European governments are already moving to prohibit Wi-Fi in government buildings and on campuses, and the Austrian Medical Association is lobbying for a ban of all Wi-Fi systems in schools, citing the danger to children's thinner skulls and developing nervous systems. "

Im not sure how best to include this information so Ive included these additonal sources here:

• http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/02/06/2238247/Studies-Find-Harm-From-Cellular-and-Wi-Fi-Signals?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29

• http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radiation?printable=true

--118.210.144.210 (talk) 01:34, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

It's really just one source: the first Slashdot link is a posting that refers to the other GQ article. That article is from the popular press, and so is not "new research." Sources for science and medicine WP pages should confirm to WP:RS, which does not include the popular press, and so the GQ article should not be reflected in this WP page. Beyond that, the piece is a particularly egregious example of an article long in innuendo and scare-mongering, which sells magazines, but short on science, which takes a skilled writing to make interesting to sell magazines. The quote cited about wireless internet lacks weight. For example, the library system in my city, the largest public library system in North America, has just extended wireless internet to all 99 branches in the system, and there are lots of children at each branch (and there are thousands of library branches ith wireless internet access around the world). A more recent counter-anecdote, but really neither are scientific research. --papageno (talk) 05:40, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

FWIW: I agree completely topazg (talk) 13:00, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Radio transmitters: Radio Vaticano case

A high-profile case of alleged health problems due to living close to powerful radio transmitters is the Vatican Radio case; a court battle has been going on for years, with scientific studies blaming its powerful radio transmitters for a higher rate of leukemia cases in nearby villages. This has been widely covered by the European press, see e.g. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/7891504/Vatican-radio-waves-blamed-for-high-cancer-risk.html 84.198.246.199 (talk) 14:28, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Magda Havas manuscript being added to the intro

Catch2424 is attempting to add the following to the intro:

In 2007 Magda Havas, (B.Sc., Ph.D.) from the Environmental & Resource Studies, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada wrote that laboratory studies of radio frequency radiation as well as epidemiological studies of people who live near cell phone antennas and/or use wireless technology indicate adverse biological effects (including cancers, DNA breaks and more).

www.magdahavas.org is not a reliable source. Please stop adding this without consensus. TippyGoomba (talk) 16:34, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

From my googling it seems like she has a poor reputation. she even collaborates with a guy that makes these bizarre devices to filter "dirty electricity"

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Sorry, BUT It is NOT only her findings. it is all over the net... Also in the EU:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387291/Mobile-phones-wi-fi-banned-schools-theyre-potentially-harmful.html http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/02/13/toronto-oecta-wifi.html http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/05May/Pages/health-impact-wifi-mobiles-electromagnetic-fields.aspx http://www.wifiinschools.org.uk/ http://www.heartmdinstitute.com/wireless-safety/ban-wifi-schools http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8514380/Ban-mobile-phones-and-wireless-networks-in-schools-say-European-leaders.html http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20110519/00442614333/european-politicians-look-to-ban-wifi-school-children.shtml http://www.cellphonetaskforce.org/?page_id=128 http://www.safeinschool.org/2011/01/wi-fi-is-removed-from-schools-and.html enough read?