I recently learned that my 3rd grader has a lap top at school - and then looked on the MCPS website and found their Strategic Plan to have robust Wi-FI systems in place at every school and a lap top for every child. Our kids now receive a low dose of radiation - 24-7 - there is no consideration for the cumulative radiation from all wireless devices in the room and environment, but there is plenty of research that shows we are harming our kids. Please read the letter below that I have send to Mr. Collette, the MCPS Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Starr, and the Board of Education members...
I’m writing to you because as a parent of a 3rd
grader at Bell Mill Elementary School, I am very troubled with the current
Wi-Fi situation at the school. While I
understand the convenience of Wi-Fi, I question whether it is worth the
potential health risks to children who are most vulnerable to radiation and
suffer disproportionately as well as teachers and staff who are also exposed.
Wi-Fi, like cell phones, cell towers, smart meters,
and other wireless devices, emits non-ionizing radio frequencies, which the World Health Organization has classified
as being potentially carcinogenic. This
2B rating puts Wi-Fi in the same category as DDT, lead, and engine
exhaust. I believe teachers, students,
and staff should have the right to work and go to school in a safe environment. This requires that we understand the
potential health risks. Children should
not be put at an increased risk for developing cancer, simple because they
attend school. School should be one of
the safest environments for a child.
On October 3, 2012 , the American Academy of
Environmental Medicine (AAEM) approved a warning about Wi-Fi in schools in
which the AAEM stated:“Adverse health effects from wireless radio frequency
fields, such as learning disabilities, altered immune responses, and headaches,
clearly exist and are well documented in the scientific literature. Safer
technology, such as use of hard- wiring, is strongly recommended in schools.”
Moreover, on November 14, 2013, the AAEM wrote
“The peer reviewed, scientific literature demonstrates the correlation between
RF exposure and neurological, cardiac, and pulmonary disease as well as
reproductive and developmental disorders, immune dysfunction, cancer and other
health conditions. The evidence is irrefutable. Despite the research, claims have been made
that studies correlating emissions from Wi-Fi, phones, smart meters, etc. with
adverse health effects do not exist.”
Furthermore, Dr. Martha Herbert, a pediatric
neurologist and neuroscientist on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School of
Medicine and on the staff at Massachusetts General Hospital, wrote to the Los
Angeles School Board discouraging the installation of Wi-Fi, explaining that
wireless radiation “from Wi-Fi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect
on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune
and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn,
particularly those who are already having problems in the first place.”
I have now read the MCPS
Strategic Plan and realize that the rollout is well underway and might not be
able to be rolled back, but I believe there are ways to make it safer for the
kids and everyone who works at the schools.
First and foremost, there
are many questions that need to be addressed:
1)
What
experts and studies were consulted regarding the health effects of the plan?
2)
Is the
Wi-Fi on all day and must it be?
3)
Where are
the routers (the closer a child or teacher is to the router the more harmful)?
4)
Are there
on\off switches on the routers?
5)
Are there
Wi-Fi free zones?
6)
What are
the radiation levels emitted at each facility, specifically where the children
are sitting and learning?
Parents have a right to
know exactly what is going on at the school when it affects the safety and
health of our children. This requires
knowing how much radiation our kids are receiving at school. While
we are ramping up the radiation in the classrooms, governments and school
boards all over the world have woken up and are erring on the side of caution. In Israel, (one of the most technologically
advanced countries in the world when it comes to the internet and the cloud),
the Israeli Ministry of Education has banned the use of wireless networks for
preschool through second. The Education
Ministry has instructed all schools to perform radiation tests and Israel’s Minister
of Health, Rabi Litzman, stated that he supports a ban on Wi-Fi in schools.
Attached to the email is a report which further details
actions that have been taken by organizations and governments around the world
to protect children, along with research and studies regarding the safety of
Wi-Fi in schools.
I would be pleased to
meet with you to discuss this matter as soon as possible and thank you so much
for your attention to this urgent matter.
