Wireless transmitter right in the middle of our new apartment - EMF danger???

[bluedaisy]

I am really concerned about the dangers from EMF and wireless technology - we live and work on a college campus and we were just moved into a new apartment.

There is a wireless transmitter on our ceiling in the middle of our sitting room, about 10 feet from the doors of each of our two bedrooms.

I only work part time and do a lot of work from my home office, so myself and 2 year old dd are in the house a lot.

There is a wire connecting to it that I had removed to turn it off, but someone from IT came by today to plug it back in, he said it was affecting the rest of the building and they could tell that the one in our apartment was the one that was unplugged.  I wasn't home at the time.

I am really worried about this, especially if it is for the whole building (3 stories) I'm concerned it might have more EMFs than a normal home transmitter.

I can think of three options:

Do nothing and not worry about it

Keep it where it is and unplug it at night while we sleep, then plug it in again in the morning.  I can't imagine IT would send someone in the middle of hte night to yell at us :)

Write an email to IT expressing our concern and asking if it can be moved somewhere else.  However, it might just be moved one floor up or something and be exposing us to the same about of EMF, and I can't unplug it at night.

Would this concern you?  What would you do?

[Otto]

Originally Posted by bluedaisy 

Keep it where it is and unplug it at night while we sleep, then plug it in again in the morning.  I can't imagine IT would send someone in the middle of hte night to yell at us :)

If they can't ping the WAP at night, plugging it in during the day isn't going to get you off the hook for tampering with a campus network.

[Marnica]

Or you can purchase an EMF protector.

Any wireless (an electrical non wireless) device emits EMF's. Personally I think they are an issue. many don't.

I have EMF protectors on all my a appliances, my cell phobe, wirless routers etc. Do I think they eliminate all of the dangers - No But I believe they reduce/block the amount of EMF's. There are many of them on the market. Do your research first.

[bluedaisy]

Marnica - where did you get your EMF protection devices?  I looked up a few online and they are really expensive. 

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by bluedaisy 

Marnica - where did you get your EMF protection devices?  I looked up a few online and they are really expensive. 

yes, many are very expensive. That was an issue for me as well.

I found these (they are a bit more reasonable) and had my chiro do muscle testing on me with them and without them while being exposed to various levels of EMF's - so I felt confident they were not crap. (I wholeheartedly believe in muscle testing - but I know others who think it's a load of crap)

http://www.inspiredliving.com/emf-protection/

 

[aletina]

Bluedaisy, if this was me, I would move out if possible.

I have done extensive research regarding microwave radiation (emitted from cell phones and wireless routers and devices) and it does have adverse biological effects. A 5 year old child absorbs 60% more radiation that an adult. This current generation of children are 'guinea pigs' in this telco experiment.

If interested, I can provide several excellent websites with independent scientific research confirming this (as opposed to industry funded research which, of course, promotes their products as safe). There are also several excellent videos on You Tube which I can recommend.

The World Health Organisation (May 2011) classified microwave radiofrequency radiation as 2B "possible carcinogenic" along with lead, DDT and car exhaust. The Council of Europe recommends the use of wired/cabled computers and that an awareness campaign  be implemented by governments to advise the public of potential harm. The French National Library has removed wifi due to health concerns. I could go on and on...... 

[bluedaisy]

Aletina - thank you very much for the information you provided!  Unfortunately, moving is not a financially viable option right now since my job provides us with free housing and I'm 6 months pregnant so the likelihood of finding another job is slim

I do think I might write a letter to my IT department to see if they could move it to another part of the building so at least it would be farther away from us - right now, it's right in the middle of our sitting room where I anticipate spending a lot of time nursing this baby once he is born.

I was living in another place temporarily during my first trimester, but I am really concerned with being pregnant and having an almost 3 year old.

Will you forward me some of your links and studies?  I don't want to be dismissed as an alarmist by my IT department and i want them to take my request seriously.

Also, are there any devices you would recommend that would offer some protection?  I was looking at some things that you plug in and they have a different field that is supposed to counteract the wifi but to be honest that sounds scary to me because that sounds like it would be even more electric fields and can I really be sure they work to counteract it or do they just make the problem worse.

[aletina]

Hi Bluedaisy, sorry for the delay in responding - (car accident, but that's another story..)

The good thing is you are aware of the dangers and trying to limit your family's exposure. The majority of people have embraced this technology regardless of the known and still unknown health effects.

The problem with radiation is that it is invisible, it is not like cigarette smoke that you can see!  But it can be tested. Perhaps you could hire or buy an RF meter to test the levels within your home. This would then provide evidence of the radiation levels to your IT Department.

Here are some websites & You Tube links for more info: (Some are education focused)

www.magdahavas.com - A Canadian Professor who has been researching this for decades
www.wiredchild.org
www.emfacts.com

www.safeinschool.org
www.radiationeducation.com
www.powerwatch.org.uk - Shielding devices listed here. I can't recommend the efficacy of these as I avoid cellphones and wireless devices wherever possible)
 

http://youtu.be/FO0AnNHz8vI Wi-Fi in Schools: Testing for Microwave Radiation Dangers in the Classroom (This is a must see - it explains microwave radiation and its researched health effects)

http://youtu.be/IuNaDj6VLHw    BBC1, Panorama: Wi-Fi - A Warning Signal Part 1

http://youtu.be/ohRbmGwc7xA   Health risks of Wifi in Schools

The Council of Europe recommendation is here: www.assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?

You can also advise your IT Department that a University in Canada - (I think it's called Lakewood) and several schools (inc Pretty River Academy in Collingwood) have removed wifi as a precautionary approach.

All the best - keep us posted!

[aletina]

Bluedaisy, the Council of Europe link is wrong - I can't get it to work so I have copied the info below for you! This text also refers to the potential health risks of digital baby monitors! Standing Committee

PACE calls on governments to ‘take all reasonable measures’ to reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in Kyiv at Standing Committee level, today called on European governments to “take all reasonable measures” to reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields, especially to radio frequencies from mobile phones, “and particularly the exposure to children and young people who seem to be most at risk from head tumours”. According to parliamentarians, governments should "for children in general, and particularly in schools and classrooms, give preference to wired Internet connections, and strictly regulate the use of mobile phones by schoolchildren on school premises”, and put in place information and awareness-raising campaigns on the risks of potentially harmful long-term biological effects on the environment and on human health, especially “targeting children, teenagers and young people of reproductive age”. Following the proposals of the rapporteur (Jean Huss, Luxembourg, SOC), the Assembly called on governments to provide information on potential health risks of DECT-type wireless telephones, baby monitors and other domestic appliances which emit continuous pulse waves, if all electrical equipment is left permanently on standby. They should, instead, recommend “the use of wired, fixed telephones at home or, failing that, models which do not permanently emit pulse waves”. Governments should “reconsider the scientific basis for the present electromagnetic fields exposure standards set by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection, “which have serious limitations” and apply as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) principles. The adopted resolution underlines the fact that “the precautionary principle should be applicable when scientific evaluation does not allow the risk to be determined with sufficient certainty” and stresses that “the issue of independence and credibility of scientific expertise is crucial” to achieve a transparent and balanced assessment of potential negative impacts on the environment and human health.

Adopted