Social Life
Wi-fi health study gets go ahead
The government is taking another look at the effect that wireless networks have on health.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced it will carry out “systematic” research into how wireless networks are being used.
The research will aim to establish average exposure to the low level radiation emitted by wi-fi access points and wireless links on computers.
The HPA said it expected the results of the research to be “reassuring”.
In its statement outlining its intentions, Professor Pat Troop, chief executive of the agency, said there was “no scientific evidence to date” that wi-fi or wireless local networks could have an adverse effect on the health of the general population.
The signals used on wi-fi networks were very low power, said the HPA, and well within guidelines issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP).
However, she added, little work had so far been done on the exposure of the average person to wi-fi networks. The research will aim to establish a baseline for this exposure.
Wi-fi networks have been in the news because some teachers have expressed worries about its effect on the health of pupils.
The government has said its expert advice was that there was no problem with wi-fi, nor any reason to discourage its use.
