Are Parents Comfortable With Classroom Radiation Levels That Cause Harm in Research Studies?

MCPS is stating the radiation levels in classrooms "meet US Regulations" but...

US Regs are not federally developed safety standards. 

They are maximum allowable radiation limits. (Adopted 18 years ago, not considering recent science)

Wi-Fi might be legal...hmm

The real question is ...are these guidelines safeguarding our children?

Do You Feel Comfortable With These Radiation Levels? 

Below are pictures of radiation measurements taken by a concerned citizen at an MCPS elementary school classroom with a Cornet meter.  We are deeply concerned because children are sitting under these devices every day. 

36.47 mW/m²  = 3.647 μW/cm²   
The following effects have been shown in research studies with this level of radiation (or lower). 

Genetic changes in human white blood cells
Drop in NK lymphocytes (immune function decreased) 
Slowed memory/altered immune function in children
Changed cell membrane acetylcholine-induced ion channels
Doubling of leukemia in adults
Impaired nervous system activity
Calcium-efflux in cells - affects many cell functions.
Significant effect on immune function (mice)
Serum testosterone levels in mice
Two-fold increase in leukemia in children
Decreased survival in children with leukemia
Headaches, concentration problems, sleeping problems
Affected kidney development in rats (in utero exposure) Pathological leakage in blood-brain barrier
Affected human lymphocytes - stress response in cells

Read the citations here. 

41.87 mW/m²  = 4.187 μW/cm² 
The following effects have been shown in specific research studies with this level of radiation (or lower). 
Caused changes in hippocampus, part of the brain that deals with memory and learning. 
RFR decreased cell proliferation
Affected calcium concentrations in heart muscle cells
Affected production of free radicals in rat cells
Negatively affected memory, attention, motor function
Induced double-strand DNA damage in rat brain cells
Caused irreversible infertility (in mice at 5 generations)
Reduced memory function in rats
Read the citations here. 


These are radiation readings at a time when no laptops were in use. So we assume it is just the radiation from the router and access points. (Dozens are in the schools and mostly in classrooms) We wonder what the radiation levels will be when laptops are in use? We assume much much higher.

Are these levels "safe"? No. 
"Not Safe"-According to the Experts. 

Having done experiments on cellular model systems we have found an effect from electromagnetic radiation from WiFi. I have strongly suggested for years now that they should be used only if absolutely necessary in the home and not at all in schools. There is no reason for having WiFi in schools since there is an alternative – wired connections which are safer and faster.

-Professor Lukas H. Margaritis, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Dept of Cell Biology and Biophysics, University of Athens, Greece. Read More. 

Check out this comparison of Wireless Radiation guidelines.

The LA School District says this is safe = .1 μW/cm²
Salzberg Austria says this is safe = 0.0001 μW/cm²
Belgium (Brussels, Wallonia, Flanders) Bulgaria, Luxembourg and the Ukraine = 2.4 μW/cm²
The BioInitiative Report recommends .0003 to .0006 μW/cm² as a safety threshold. 

Click HERE to Read the Details on radiation levels and research with the BioInitiative Charts. 

4.187 μW/cm² in an elementary school classroom is NOT safe. 

No documentation exists that these levels of radiation are "safe". 
Documentation does exist that these levels could be unsafe and hazardous. 

FACT:  Government Regulations Are NOT Adequate to Protect Our Children's Health. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics, California Medical Association and countless other Doctors state that US FCC Regulations Do Not Protect  Children. These codes are 18 years outdated, inadequate and irrelevant. Read More. 

The school can use safe technology and have radiation levels at zero. They can follow Best Practices. 

We are thankful that MCPS is going to bring in Independent testing but deeply concerned about the lack of transparency. At least one parent should be able to accompany the testing and see that measurements are being taken in the manner the laptops and other devices are used in the classroom. MCPS stated they would respond in writing after our meeting on May 5, 2015 but so far have not responded with a letter. 

Read the Schools That Have Turned OFF WiFi and Installed Safe Technology. 
Read About Children Getting Headaches From WiFi

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Top Ten Facts about Wi-Fi in School

Every Parent Needs To Know the Facts

We might assume that Wi-Fi is safe ? Nope. 
Regulations and codes may be met, but that doesn't mean it is "safe".  
Not a single medical organization states that Wi-Fi is "safe". 

Just because it is legal to put in a classroom, doesn't make it right. 

Wi-Fi in the classroom could be a serious health hazard for students.

1. Worldwide Schools are Removing Wi-Fi.

Private schools in the United States are removing wireless networks due to health and safety issues. 

France has banned constant Wi-Fi in elementary schools and over a dozen countries and have enacted policies to reduce wireless radiation in the classroom.

2. Children are More Vulnerable than Adults. 

According to the World Health Organization research shows that children can absorb up to 10 times more radiation in their bone marrow and have increased absorption into their brain in comparison to adults.

Wi-Fi in schools means that children are getting full body exposure to this radiation and no research has been done to understand how children absorb this radiation throughout their bodies.   What will the impact be after 12 years of school? Children are not just little adults, their brains and immune systems are rapidly developing.

3. Wireless exposures at 100,000 times less than FCC guidelines have caused damage to mice, rats, bunnies, and humans in research studies.

According to the California Medical Association Wireless is a “new form of environmental pollution” and “ peer reviewed research has demonstrated adverse biological effects of wireless EMF including single and double stranded DNA breaks, creation of reactive oxygen species, immune dysfunction, cognitive processing effects, stress protein synthesis in the brain, altered brain development, sleep and memory disturbances, ADHD, abnormal behavior, sperm dysfunction, and brain tumors.” Check out the Research HERE.

4. Very Low Wi-Fi Levels Could Result in Early Dementia.

Volkow 2011, JAMA

Recent studies shows brain tissue damage and altered brain function from wireless levels well below the legal limit. For example a recently published study on wireless equipment states that “long term exposure of 2.4 GHz RF (from Wi-Fi Equipment) may lead to adverse effects such as neurodegenerative diseases.” The authors state that this research shows that Wi-Fi may be a risk factor for Alzheimer and other diseases. Read it HERE.  The study is only one of many studies showing
nervous system damage. Read more.

5.  Teacher Unions are Recommending Reduced Exposures

The United Federation of Teachers’ Wireless Radiation Webpage states,  “Wireless radiation is emitted by the myriad of wireless devices we encounter every day. It was once thought to be relatively harmless. However, we now know that wireless radiation can cause non-thermal biological effects as well, including damage to cells and DNA, even at low levels."

Several Teacher Unions and PTAs are calling for action. Read more.

6. Our Nation’s Top Doctors Recommend Reduced Wi-Fi Exposures

Dr. Martha Herbert, a Harvard pediatric neurologist and expert in autism recommends Wi-Fi free schools. Read letters from her and other Doctors HERE. Hugh Taylor, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at  Yale Medicine and dozens of other doctors are recommending pregnant women reduce wireless exposure during pregnancy because of the risk of brain damage to the fetus. Learn more about the Baby Safe Project Here.

What about pregnant teachers, pregnant staff and pregnant students?

7. The US Never Set a "Safe Limit" for Wi-Fi in Schools.

We all think our government standards will protect us right? However,  wireless got a free pass. There was barely pre-market safety testing.  In fact, there are no federally developed safety standards for wireless in this country. The EPA and the FDA did NOT conduct research to set a “safe” level. Instead "permissible exposure levels" were adopted from the recommendations of an engineering group (not medical doctors). These regulations were last reviewed 18 years ago and are officially under review by the FCC with many scientists calling for stricter regulations to protect children. Why is our government relying on outdated laws under scrutiny and why are guidelines being used in place of safety limits?

8. US Government Guidelines Are Irrelevant to Wi-Fi

The guidelines only account for short term heating - 30 minutes of exposure, not the long-term effect of a six hour school day. School exposures are far more than 30 minutes. Learn more. Read the letter from the American Academy of Pediatrics  and from the EPA about how government standards do not protect the pediatric population from long term exposure.

Wi-Fi was not in existence like it is today when these guidelines were adapted.  The guidelines were last reviewed in 1996!!

9. Wireless Related Brain Cancer Rates are Rising Significantly

Using national tumor registry data, a recent study found that the overall incidence of meningioma, the most common non-malignant brain tumor which is associated with wireless use, has significantly increased in the United States in recent years ( Read MORE HERE. ).  

Wireless frequencies including Wi-Fi specifically are classified as a Class 2 B Carcinogen by the World Health Organization.

10. Wireless Networks in Schools Are 'Robust' Meaning High Powered, meaning A LOT of radiation.

School Wi-Fi is a much more powerful system than the router in your home. The classroom access points and routers are meant to handle up to 30 devices in the room and in some classrooms, up to 100 This means a huge amount of radiation from each of these transmitters. Every school has somewhere between 30 to 80 access points depending on the size of the school, emitting radiation in the building. Even if students are not using wireless devices, the radiation signals are sent out every minute of the day from these access points. The radiation moves through the room and our children's bodies are absorbing it all day long.

Just because it is legal, doesn't make it right. 
Wi-Fi in the classroom could be a serious health hazard for students.
Safer alternatives exist, there is no need to risk anyone's health.

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Press Releases

Maryland State Coalition Formed After Radiation Measured at a Maryland Elementary School

Maryland’s Largest School District Agrees to Independent Wireless Radiation Measurements

Over 200 Scientists are Calling for Immediate Action on Wireless Radiation

The Telegraph: Is Wi-Fi Making Your Child Ill?

By Florence Waters

7:00AM BST 09 May 2015
Six years ago, Dr Erica Mallery-Blythe moved to the country, stopped carrying a mobile phone and sacrificed a successful career in emergency medicine to focus on a new medical interest – radiation emitted by Wi-Fi, mobiles and other wireless devices. 

She is now one of the country’s few professional advisers on medical conditions related to radiofrequency (RF) radiation and other electromagnetic fields (EMFs). 

“I was using wireless devices before most people I knew – I loved it,” says Mallery-Blythe, who was ahead of the tech trend even in 1985 when she was handed her first mobile phone, aged 10. 

“But as soon as I started digesting the literature on EMFs it was a no-brainer,” she says of her decision to relinquish wireless gadgets. 

“I wasn’t willing to take that kind of risk for something that was purely convenient.” 

• Wi-Fi fears: three-year study into health risks of mobiles to children's brains

Her interest in EMFs started in 2009 after she began noticing increasing trends in certain symptoms – headaches, insomnia, fatigue and palpitations, but also more serious conditions including brain tumours in young people, fertility problems and accelerating neurological diseases such as early onset Alzheimer’s and autism. As yet there is still no scientific proof that relates these diseases to radiation, but Mallery-Blythe is among a not insignificant number of scientists and practitioners concerned by those studies that do highlight cause for more precaution.

Over the past few years, as Wi-Fi, laptops and iPads have become increasingly prevalent in classrooms, Mallery-Blythe says “hundreds” of families have sought her help with what they believe to be EMF-related diseases and health issues. 

One such case is that of nine-year-old Jessica Lewis’s family. In the autumn term of 2011, Jessica started to complain that she was getting bad headaches at school. She was also feeling overly tired, developed rashes on her legs and her parents said she looked “completely washed out” after school, particularly on Mondays. A quick internet search threw up a forum where parents had written that their children complained of similar symptoms after installing Wi-Fi. 

“I ignored it. We didn’t know anything about Wi-Fi then,” says Jessica’s father, Paul Lewis. “We didn’t think her school had it.” 

Later that term, at a parents’ evening, he noticed a Wi-Fi router near Jessica’s desk in her new form classroom. As it turned out, Monday was the day of the week the whole class worked on laptops. 

When a local GP backed up Lewis’s suspicions about Wi-Fi being the probable cause of Jessica’s headaches, he went to some lengths to try to convince Spotbrough Copley Junior School in Doncaster to use wires instead of Wi-Fi, even offering to pay for the school building to be wired with cables. 

The school pointed out that a government report advised that Wi-Fi exposures were well within internationally accepted standards. Guidelines were reviewed in 2011 and still stand today. “We do not think the balance of available scientific evidence on radiofrequency has shifted and, as such, our position remains that PHE [Public Health England] sees no reason why Wi-Fi should not continue to be used in schools and in other places,” says Dr Simon Mann at PHE, the Department of Health’s agency in charge of health protection.

“That just didn’t add up,” says Lewis. Now Jessica is home-schooled, much to her frustration, because symptoms resurface when she’s exposed to Wi-Fi. 

In February, insurance market Lloyd’s of London informed schools that it was excluding liability coverage for injuries “resulting from or contributed to by electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetism, radio waves or noise”, which means that school officials could be personally liable for exposing children and staff to microwave radiation. 

“The Government is expecting head teachers to decide whether risk versus benefit is worthwhile. This seems unfair to me,” says Mallery-Blythe. “Most teachers don’t even know that RF is currently classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Group 2B carcinogen, which means it is a possible cause of cancer in humans. There is a vast amount of published literature documenting the harmful effects on every biological system. Most people understandably don’t have time to read and digest it all.” 

• Ban mobile phones and wireless networks in schools, say European leaders

As well as founding the Physicians’ Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment (PHIRE) to inform doctors of the issues and advise on best health practice, Mallery-Blythe gives talks to teachers around the country, in which she presents scientific studies that reveal both short and long-term effects of EMF exposure. One of the talks (below) has had more than 15,000 views on YouTube since last November. It’s an engaging summary of the issues that concerned scientists are discussing. “I try to present the facts the authorities aren’t highlighting,” says Mallery-Blythe.

I was surprised to find myself glued to it. Particularly eye-opening are the number of widely held misconceptions about radiation safety that Mallery-Blythe sets about busting. Standing a good distance away from a Wi-Fi router may reduce radiation intensity, for example, but low-intensity windows of radiation have been shown to be more harmful in some studies than higher-intensity exposures. 

“At the moment people think their children are safe because the router is far away – or we don’t have to worry about the phone because it’s not near the brain. That’s common sense but unfortunately we now know it’s not quite true,” she says, pointing out that the brain is better protected than some more vulnerable parts of the body. 

Are the Department of Health and PHE doing too little? “My main issue with the PHE’s stance is that it’s contradictory,” says Mallery-Blythe. 

“They’ve issued a caution saying children under 16 shouldn’t be using mobile phones except for essential calls, but they’ve been quite happy to support the one-to-one iPad scheme, though an iPad can have an equivalent or higher SAR (the rate at which energy is absorbed by the human body when exposed to a radio frequency) than a phone.”

Associate Professor Olle Johansson, a neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, compares putting an iPhone near a baby’s head to “putting it next to several electric train engines”, pointing out that working with train engines is Sweden’s highest occupational exposure allowance. 

Johansson has been researching the biological effects of radiofrequency (RF) wireless radiation for more than 30 years, but says it has become “extremely hard to get funding” in this area. “Given the importance of the subject I’d say that’s more than enigmatic.” 

He predicts a “paradigm shift” in attitudes towards EMF. We are currently living in an environment estimated to contain more than 10 billion times more RF radiation than it did in the Sixties. “If this environment is safe we’re talking about in the order of 15,000 to 25,000 papers – in peer-reviewed scientific journals – all being wrong. That has never happened before.” 

“We just want to see some precautionary action put in place, and we’re not seeing it.” 

Wi-Fi at home: Dr Erica Mallery-Blythe’s advice 

Try to keep your mobile switched off and don’t use it unless you need to. Keep it in flight mode when it is on and never carry your mobile close to your body, even on standby. 

Don’t use Wi-Fi for internet. Instead use an Ethernet cable and buy a router with no wireless capacity or disable it. Disable Wi-Fi on your computer or tablet by disabling the wireless card via the control panel or putting it into flight mode. 

Replace cordless landlines with corded ones. Most cordless telephones give off radiation whether they’re in use or not. 

Background 

In February the French government banned Wi-Fi in nursery schoolsand restricted use in primary schools. The German government has recommended that the use of Wi-Fi in the workplace or home should be avoided where possible. LA has reduced student exposure to Wi-Fi radiation to 10,000 times below US government standard. 

In 2000, a report commissioned by the Government concluded that no school should fall within 100 metres of a mobile phone mast; in 2007 a BBC Panorama programme found that the readings next to a classroom laptop showed radiation at double the level only 100 metres from a mobile phone mast. 

A five-year-old absorbs up to 60 per cent more radiation than an adult due largely to their thinner skulls and the high water content of a young body. In Western countries brain tumours have overtaken leukaemia as the most common cause of cancer in children. 

A 2008 study found a fivefold increase in the risk of glioma (a form of brain cancer now recognised by the World Health Organisation as being linked to mobile phone usage) for those starting mobile phone use under 20 years of age, indicating that the age group at first use is highly significant. 

UK Schools and parents can find out more through ssita.org.uk

This article is online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/11589857/Is-Wi-Fi-making-your-child-ill.html

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Over 200 Scientists are Calling for Immediate Action on Wireless Radiation

Breaking News:  International Scientists Appeal to the United Nations

to Protect Humans and Wildlife from Wireless Technology

May 11, 2015

Scientists from 39 nations and who have authored 2,000 peer-reviewed papers on the health and biological effects of non-ionizing radiation are calling for immediate action to protect humans and wildlife. In a letter to the UN, they say that wireless devices pose risks of cancer, genetic damage, changes in reproductive system, and learning and memory deficits.

“Putting it bluntly they are damaging the living cells in our bodies and killing many of us prematurely,” said Dr. Martin Blank, from the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at Columbia University.

“The levels today are very many times higher than natural background levels, and are growing rapidly because of all the new devices that emit this radiation.”

The   “International EMF Scientist Appeal” asks the Secretary General and UN affiliated bodies to encourage precautionary measures, to limit EMF exposures, and to educate the public about health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women.   

Please WATCH

“U.S. regulatory standards and international guidelines only control for short-term heating of tissue. The standards do not protect us from the low-intensity, chronic exposures to electromagnetic fields (EMF) that are common today. The scientists who signed the Appeal request that the UN and member nations protect the global human population, and animal and plant life from EMF exposures.

There has been strong support from the international scientific community for the Appeal, even among those who believe that scientists should not take public policy positions. Some have taken personal risks to sign the Appeal because this is a public health issue that affects everyone now, as well as future generations."

-Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Description of International EMF Scientist Appeal

EMF Scientists website to read more about this international initiative. 

Press Release announcing International EMF Scientist Appeal (May 11, 2015)

Press Release on MCPS Agreeing to Do Independent  Radiation Measurements

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MCPS Agrees To Perform Independent Radiation Measurements in Their Schools!

Notes from the May 5, 2015 Montgomery County Public Schools Meeting
Topic: The Health Risks of Wireless in Schools 

Members of Safe Tech For Schools Maryland met with Montgomery County Maryland Staff about the health risks of wireless radiation. During the meeting parents asked questions and shared information. MCPS declined to answer most questions at the meeting stating that they would "respond in writing". However the following information was gleaned from the meeting.

MCPS is comfortable with radiation emitting devices in the classroom despite research showing brain damage. Parents shared  a recent study showing brain damage from Wi-Fi exposure (at levels well below the legal limit ) where researchers stated that "long term exposure may lead to adverse effects such as neurodegenerative diseases" like dementia. Read it HERE.

"We're Not Irradiating Kids" stated Mr. Collette MCPS Chief Technology Officer, when parents asked for MCPS to take measures to reduce radiation exposures.
Why would MCPS order radiation measurements if they were not placing radiation emitting devices in the schools? MCPS needs to be aware that wireless radiation is RF EMF, a type of Radiation as classified by the World Health Organization's International Agency for the Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Class 2 B Carcinogen?  Wireless is radiation. Please Know the Facts.

All independent research shows heavy (30 minutes day) cell phone use (over ten years) is 

statistically significantly linked to increased brain cancer. 

If 30 minutes a day from a cell phone has this impact, what will 6 hours of a wifi router and chromebooks do to our children who will have a lifetime of exposure?

It is concerning that MCPS is not acting after the District was informed that the radiation levels measured at MCPS schools have been shown to result in the following health effects in these research studies : brain damage, cardiac problems, leukemia, headaches, concentration problems, sleep problems, DNA damage and immune damage.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Department of the Interior,  and Yale and Harvard Doctors clearly state that FCC levels do not protect children. Why Does MCPS still believe that FCC radiation guidelines "are safe."
When asked why MCPS was not considering the fact that other countries were recommending reduced wireless exposures, and that countries like France had banned WiFi in schools. Mr. Collette stated that he could talk a lot about France (but never answered the question). When asked if he knew that the California Medical Association had deemed FCC regulations un-protective of human health, he stated something to the effect that "California was California".

MCPS Will Produce Proof Of Safety
Parents asked for proof of safety and Mr. Collette stated, "We've got plenty of evidence." Parents are very curious as to where Mr. Colette  will find such evidence.

MCPS Will Do Radiation Measurements This Spring
Mr. Collette stated that they were planning for radiation measurements to verify MCPS radiation measurements and will use an agency like that which measured the LA Unified School District's radiation levels.

MCPS Will Not Allow Parents to Witness the Radiation Testing. 
When parents asked for a representative to accompany the people hired to do radiation testing they were told "no, we dont want to have a three ring circus". Hmm. Parent's asked for "one person" to accompany, not a three ring circus as Mr Collette stated. This lack of transparency is deeply concerning.

The following MCPS officials attended the meeting:

Chief Technology Officer Sherwin Collette

301-279-3581Sherwin_Collette@mcpsmd.org

Brian K. Edwards, Chief Communications Officer 

(301) 279-3145 brian_edwards@mcpsmd.org
Chuck McGee Director of the Technology Support Division 

240-453-2590 chuck_mcgee@mcpsmd.org
Steve Dolney, Assistant Chief Technology Officer
301-279-3581 Stephen_M_Dolney@mcpsmd.org
Dr. Kara Trenkamp, Director II Department of Instructional Technology 

240-314-2250 kare_b_trenkamp@mcpsmd.org

MCPS is Now Responsible

MCPS leadership has now been fully informed of the risks of wireless radiation to children and staff. It is important they take action to reduce this risk.  They are responsible for the safety of our children. 

Read Some of the Information MCPS has been given on Wireless Health Risks

Schools, Wireless and Health: The Full Briefing with Research Environmental Health Trust

Safe Schools 2012  A comprehensive international document by WIFI in Schools UK detailing the scientific rationale for caution with wireless. 

Wireless Technologies and Young People: A resource for UK schools

Our Children, Our Future, Our Responsibility Wireless Technologies – An Urgent National and Global Emergency: 
What Doctors are calling for Caution? Read All About it HERE. 


Press Release on MCPS Agreeing to Do Independent  Radiation Measurements

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