Support Safe Internet Access at Montgomery County Public Schools
Being able to access the internet at school is important for learning in the 21st century. It is also important our children access it through safe technology. The World Health Organization has classified Wi-Fi as being potentially carcinogenic. Therefore, we need to explore the alternatives to Wi-Fi that exist to ensure our children can realize the benefits of the internet without the potential health risks from the radiation emitted by wireless devices. We believe children and staff have a right to a safe school environment.
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.”
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 on February 8, 2013, 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.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics in August 29, 2013 wrote "Current FCC standards do not account for the unique vulnerability and use patterns specific to pregnant women and children. It is essential that any new standard for ...wireless devices be based on protecting the youngest and most vulnerable populations to ensure they are safeguarded throughout their lifetimes."
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.”
While we are putting more and more radiation in our classrooms, countries around the world have opted for protecting their children. The governments of France, Belgium, Israel, Finland, Russia, India and the European Union have all taken steps toward reducing children's exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi and other wireless devices. In Israel, the Ministry of Education has banned the use of wireless networks for preschool through second and has instructed all schools to perform radiation tests. In addition, Israel’s Minister of Health, Rabi Litzman, stated that he supports a ban on Wi-Fi in schools.
