going wireless in a primary school

dbnavan

I do some IT consultancy work for a number of schools primary and secondary, one of my clients is getting in a new network after recently extending the school, it has been suggested by one tender to go wireless, however I feel you could leave yourself open to safety issue from concerned parents about there children being expose to radiation, either now or indeed in the future if and when concerns over WI-FI are confirmed.

One option I think best is to call a meeting and inform the mothers and fathers about what we know and don't know, however it has been suggested to me that could delay things further as then you'd be raising concerns of people who havent a clue what they are talking about.

I already spoke to 1 person who said if his kid was in the school and we installed wifi he would have no hesitation in pulling his child out of the school.

Interested to know what both professional and parents think.

Spear

dbnavan wrote:

I do some IT consultancy work for a number of schools primary and secondary, one of my clients is getting in a new network after recently extending the school, it has been suggested by one tender to go wireless, however I feel you could leave yourself open to safety issue from concerned parents about there children being expose to radiation, either now or indeed in the future if and when concerns over WI-FI are confirmed.

One option I think best is to call a meeting and inform the mothers and fathers about what we know and don't know, however it has been suggested to me that could delay things further as then you'd be raising concerns of people who havent a clue what they are talking about.

I already spoke to 1 person who said if his kid was in the school and we installed wifi he would have no hesitation in pulling his child out of the school.

Interested to know what both professional and parents think.

Not trying to be nasty, but that sounds like paranoid scare mongering. They're being exposed to radio frequency radiation all the time, wireless network or not. Many businesses have been using wireless networks for years now, and I don't see piles of dead office workers littering the streets. I know that I for one sleep just 2 meters from a wireless router, and I've suffered no ill effects. Nor have I ever heard of any ill effects from any wireless networks on anyone's health.

dbnavan

Spear wrote:

, but that sounds like paranoid scare mongering. They're being exposed to radio frequency radiation all the time, wireless network or not.

I agree with you to a point but from expierence and working with Department of Education all safety risks must be looked at when working with children.

irlrobins

If there was a risk from wifi I'm sure we'd have heard about it now. Mobile phones emit more radiation and power than wifi devices and it's been proven that they do not cause health risks.

In my university they're installing wifi all over the place and I'm sure that if the Dept of Education had any concerns they would have queried this.

I think any parent pulling their kid out of school because of a wireless network is just being ignorant of the facts.

This doc has some info and links.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

dbnavan wrote:

I agree with you to a point but from expierence and working with Department of Education all safety risks must be looked at when working with children.

The fact that you can tune a portable radio to a radio to a station almost anywhere in the world proves that you are never not exposed to radio waves.
Worrying about them is effectively paranoia as there is a much greater chance of the central heating system in the school exploding and injuring people than there is of radio waves actually damaging people

dbnavan

irlrobins wrote:

If there was a risk from wifi I'm sure we'd have heard about it now. Mobile phones emit more radiation and power than wifi devices and it's been proven that they do not cause health risks.

In my university they're installing wifi all over the place and I'm sure that if the Dept of Education had any concerns they would have queried this.

I think any parent pulling their kid out of school because of a wireless network is just being ignorant of the facts.

This doc has some info and links.

Do low-power wireless devices such as WLAN client cards, access points, or RFID tags pose a health threat? Available evidence today suggests that
there is no clear correlation between low-power wireless use and health issues.
Recent studies strongly suggest that the use of cellular telephone equipment does not create health risks. Two important recent studies that reached

Suggest does not equal confirm.

RotalicaV

Telling the parents that sort of thing is going to scare them obviously, either do it and say nothing or use cables..

You can't say "we're installing something that could be potentially dangerous, we're not sure." to a group of computer iliterate parents, they'll freak.

Wickla in Blaa

dbnavan wrote:

I already spoke to 1 person who said if his kid was in the school and we installed wifi he would have no hesitation in pulling his child out of the school.

LOL, It takes all types eh.

You're putting in a wi-fi system not a nuclear reactor . As previously pointed out by sean keevey there are radio signals more or less all over the world, is the above parent also planning to move somewhere deep into the amazon rainforest to make sure that their child avoids these dangerous signals?

This is just peoples general fear of technology brought on by the shock tactics used in westernised society to increase consumerism, (as fear = a better economy) Welcome to the by product :- misinformed over protective parents.

Chances are due to this your prefectly safe (IMO and a few of the about studies) WiFi system won't be rolled out because of these concerns from parents, you'll put in a standard ethernet cable system and in 5-10 years the same parents will be complaining that the schools doesn't have proper facilities or 'keep up with technology' LOL

Spear

dbnavan wrote:

Do low-power wireless devices such as WLAN client cards, access points, or RFID tags pose a health threat? Available evidence today suggests that
there is no clear correlation between low-power wireless use and health issues.
Recent studies strongly suggest that the use of cellular telephone equipment does not create health risks. Two important recent studies that reached

Suggest does not equal confirm.

RFID tags are passive, and only react to the scanners fields. Though I guess you could feed them to the kids if you want.

dbnavan

Wickla in Blaa wrote:

LOL, It takes all types eh.
LOL

Lads dont shoot the messenger, it was that suggested that this is the way to go, I am merely trying to get opinions of other people, the fact is you will not find a water tight health & safety statement declaring it not a health risk by any provider online.


According to a lawsuit filed in a suburb of Chicago, continued exposure to 802.11 signals might be causing damage that could result in memory loss or other neurological harm, at least in relation to children. The suit, filed against the Oak Park school district by some concerned parents, may well be the first ever to contend Wi-Fi could be a physical danger.....

Read more here http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/columns/article.php/3095831

Spear

dbnavan wrote:

Read more here http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/columns/article.php/3095831

That link undermines the case though, they have experts in the article openly state there was no body of evidence and the case was without merit. Later on it concedes the case wasn't even suggesting any damage was done. It gets better when the rep for the group who started it begans a paranoid rant about vested interests and dissenters being oppressed. Then again Americans sue when they stub their toes.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

dbnavan wrote:

Lads dont shoot the messenger, it was that suggested that this is the way to go, I am merely trying to get opinions of other people, the fact is you will not find a water tight health & safety statement declaring it not a health risk by any provider online.


According to a lawsuit filed in a suburb of Chicago, continued exposure to 802.11 signals might be causing damage that could result in memory loss or other neurological harm, at least in relation to children. The suit, filed against the Oak Park school district by some concerned parents, may well be the first ever to contend Wi-Fi could be a physical danger.....

Read more here http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/columns/article.php/3095831

However that's in america, where the legal system is a complete joke. People sue for just about anything and win.

dbnavan

Spear wrote:

Then again Americans sue when they stub their toes.

As someone married to an American thats an awful sweeping generalisation, I am sure some irish people would too if they could.

Spear

dbnavan wrote:

As someone married to an American thats an awful sweeping generalisation, I am sure some irish people would too if they could.

I've no doubt we're going that way as well.

7aken

at the end of the day op, there is no concrete evidence to sway the topic either way. the only time i know wireless to do harm is if you stand beside an ap (23cm to be exact) thats the warning on my osbridge ap anyway.

that warning is in relation to electromagnetic radiation, which is the same as is put out by mobile phone masts. dont forget that output power is regulated depending on the band your working with, 2.4GHz is unlicensed so people can boost output within certain reason, 3.5GHz is licensed and regulated in this country so the output power is monitored and companies who breach it can get in trouble. just dont put an ap in the classroom!