LiveWire

The influential Council of Europe wants to ban wireless in schools because the electro-magnetic waves are potentially dangerous to children’s health. They cite studies indicating adverse effects on tomatoes and beans. Because the health consequences are so dire, scary brain cancer maybe, we shouldn’t wait for definitive proof. Never mind the studies good enough for the World Health Organization indicating unconvincing correlation between wireless use and health risks. Those studies were probably funded by biased sources, they suggest.

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

A Council of Europe committee examined evidence that the technologies have “potentially harmful” effects on humans, and concluded that immediate action was required to protect children.

Fears have been raised that electromagnetic radiation emitted by wireless devices can cause cancers and affect the developing brain.

The conclusions contradict advice from the World Health Organisation and the Department of Health, which says exposure to electromagnetic fields poses little or no risk to human health.

The Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and is based in Strasbourg, cannot impose its will on governments, but is highly influential in policy-making and has often seen its decisions enacted through conventions and treaties.

The potential dangers of electromagnetic fields and their effect on the environment

Recent studies by the cellular biology laboratory of Clermont-Ferrand University (2007), for example, clearly show the effects of mobile telephony microwaves on plant genes, in particular tomato plants.

Other scientific international studies show comparable stress reactions in certain types of beans, as well as deciduous and coniferous trees exposed to various frequencies

With regard to the frequently inconclusive if not contradictory findings of scientific research and studies on the possible risks of products, medicines or, in this case, electromagnetic fields, a number of comparative studies do seem to suggest a fairly strong correlation between the origin of their funding – private or public – and the findings of risk assessments, a manifestly unacceptable situation pointing to conflicts of interest which undermine the integrity, the genuine independence and the objectivity of scientific research.

Hmmmm. Something to watch here. Limiting the use of wireless devices to protect the children would be a nifty way to stymie the expansion and utilization of information resources. The Council doesn’t worry about conflicts of interest when governments use unfounded scary scenarios to restrict public accessibility to information.