A local parent has raised concerns about the installation of a wireless Internet network at her children's school.
In a presentation she made to the St. Albert Protestant School Board earlier this month, Donna Nilsson said no long-term studies have been done to determine the effects of microwave radiation emitted by wireless Internet devices.
"I can't honestly find anything to tell me it is safe," Nilsson said last week.
"Why are we blanketing the whole elementary school with microwave radiation? Can you honestly tell me that every kid from kindergarten to Grade 6 needs immediate 24-hour access seven days a week, 365 days a year to the Internet?"
Wireless Internet, or Wi-Fi, was installed at the school over the summer and all schools in the district are expected to have wireless technology installed this year.
Nilsson, who will have three children at Leo Nickerson School in the fall, said the issue first surfaced at a parent council meeting several months ago.
"Parents weren't informed that Wi-Fi was installed in our elementary schools and still haven't been informed that it's been installed," Nilsson said.
"I'm wondering if the want for wireless technology has been pushed ahead by industry and if it's outpaced our health studies?"
In determining the safety of wireless Internet networks, Protestant chair Joan Trettler said the district looks to Health Canada.
According to Health Canada's Radiofrequency Energy Guidelines, also known as Safety Code 6, the energy coming from Wi-Fi transmission is so low, it doesn't cause cell damage.
"They believe it is safe so we're basing our decisions on that information," Trettler said.
From a public health point of view, X-rays are a much greater concern because they emit a stronger source of radiation and have the ability to break chemical bonds, according to Health Canada. The agency admits there aren't many studies on the effects of Wi-Fi on children.
"I think that our district is being reasonable in the way they're approaching it and gathering information and making sure that we're handling it," said Leo Nickerson principal Kevin Jones.
While the board will not be making any changes at this time, Trettler said they will continue to monitor the issue.
"It's certainly not something that we want to expose our students to if it's not [safe] but we also have been assured that it is so we're basing it on that."
Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division Superintendent David Keohane said his district has only received one complaint about wireless installation.
"We ensure that our Wi-Fi falls within the standard and they would fall well within the standard of electromagnetic frequency," he said.
"We have to make sure we balance diligence to the research and ensuring that we're well informed in terms of what the research says."
Guidelines not a comfort
Nilsson says she's not comforted by the Health Canada guidelines.
"Safety Code 6 only refers to the thermal effects of microwave radiation. The fact is there are many doctors out there that say there are biological effects that can happen without having a thermal effect," she said. "They've been wrong about things before."
"As parents we feel as though the school board has put my child in a clinical trial that I have not consented to."
Nilsson said she wants school councils and parent councils to have the opportunity to explore other options.
"I'm not saying nobody else should have the option of having their kid in a Wi-Fi school but I should have the option of not exposing my child," she said.
"I can control what they're exposed to at home and I want to be able to control some of these things that they're exposed to at school as well."
