Does Wi-Fi Pose Health Risks? Is West Virginia Safe From Them?

I suppose this is something we should’ve seen coming.

When cell phones first came on the scene, there were endless reports that holding it to your ear eventually leads to brain cancer. I don’t pay that much attention to the news, but I can’t say that I remember hearing about any groups of people that have met their end due to cell phone cancer.

While there’s no specific scientific evidence to back this up, it seems that Wi-Fi is now a health hazard as well. With a lack of proof behind it, there are people trying to stop the deployment of Wi-Fi networks, including teachers, who sued schools to either not install or remove existing Wi-Fi networks.

A report from Broadband Reports tells of a school in Illinois that had to stop its plans to install a Wi-Fi network. Apparently a lawsuit was brought up by parents alleging health concerns. Though still doubtful, it has not stopped a group of parents in Illinois from suing the school for “planning” to install a Wi-Fi network.

Their main concern is reportedly that the school planned to do this without consulting parents in the community.

The lawsuit alleges that there's a “substantial and growing body of scientific literature studying and outlining the serious health risks that exposure to low intensity, but high radio frequency (RF) poses to human beings, particularly children."

While people in France are finding a safe haven in caves, if you live in the U.S. and want to be safe from the dreaded Wi-Fi health hazard, move to Green Bank, West Virginia. Since Green Bank is home to the world’s largest, steerable radio telescope, a 13,000-square-mile area has been created. This area bans all electromagnetic radiation on the radio spectrum, including radio and TV broadcasts, Wi-Fi networks, cell signals and Bluetooth.

It basically includes every type of signal that can be used on a wireless device.

All of these types of signals would interfere with the radio telescope, so yes, there is a good reason for this in Green Bank.

A report from Slate Magazine says that, "A few dozen people have moved to Green Bank (population: 147) specifically because of it. They say they suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, or EHS—a disease not recognized by the scientific community in which these frequencies can trigger acute symptoms like dizziness, nausea, rashes, irregular heartbeat, weakness and chest pains."

While some people do get headaches if overhead power lines are too close to their house, most of the scientific evidence does not point to any increased amount of cancer created by cell phones or power lines, or even Wi-Fi networks.

I wonder, however, if the largest steerable radio telescope in the U.S. wouldn’t cause more electromagnetic radiation that what these people are trying to get away from….