{"id":4013,"date":"2012-02-16T16:22:47","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T23:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=4013"},"modified":"2015-01-07T21:56:36","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T04:56:36","slug":"ontario-catholic-teachers-union-issues-wi-fi-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=4013","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Catholic teachers union issues Wi-Fi warning"},"content":{"rendered":"

http:\/\/www.torontosun.com\/2012\/02\/13\/ontario-catholic-teachers-union-issues-wi-fi-warning<\/p>\n

BY KRISTY KIRKUP<\/a> , PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU<\/p>\n

FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2012 07:29 AM EST<\/p>\n

OTTAWA \u2013 Ontario\u2019s Catholic teachers\u2019 union is warning against teaching in classrooms with wireless Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, which represents 45,000 teaches, issued a research paper Monday highlighting some of their concerns surrounding Wi-Fi technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

The union\u2019s call for a moratorium on wireless Internet follows a warning from the World Health Organization in May. The WHO\u2019s cancer arm called for more research into the potential dangers of Wi-Fi, noting all radiation from wireless devices could be carcinogenic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not know what the long-term effects of low-level non-ionizing radiation are on those who are exposed,\u201d the union\u2019s paper states. \u201cNo form of radiation can be deemed \u2018safe\u2019 as it depends on the constitution of the individual exposed, the amount of exposure as well as a sufficient amount of time to pass to observe any health effects that have a long latency period (i.e. cancer).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, the provincial union representing elementary school teachers, is in the midst of looking at whether Wi-Fi is safe for schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

A number of parents and teachers across Canada have been calling for wireless Internet to be removed from schools because they believe the technology is causing adverse health effects including headaches, nausea and muscle weakness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the WHO ruling, QMI Agency has done a series of stories about concerns linked to wireless Internet technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

In December 2011, Health Canada published an updated statement on its website about the potential risks of Wi-Fi.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified RF (Radio Frequency) energy as \u2018possibly carcinogenic to humans,\u2019\u201d the department\u2019s website states.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe IARC classification of RF energy reflects the fact that some limited evidence exists that RF energy might be a risk factor for cancer. However, the vast majority of scientific research to date does not support a link between RF energy exposure and human cancers. At present, the evidence of a possible link between RF energy exposure and cancer risk is far from conclusive and more research is needed to clarify this \u2018possible\u2019 link.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Health Canada\u2019s website says the department agrees with the WHO that \u201cmore research in this area is warranted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some researchers, including Trent University\u2019s Magda Havas, have been pushing for the government to apply the \u201cprecautionary principle\u201d until science can shed more light on the long-term impacts of the technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Havas said children absorb much more radiation than adults because their bodies are smaller and their skulls are thinner.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Council of Europe said children in schools and classrooms should be given access to wired Internet connections, while some countries, including France, have banned Wi-Fi in libraries and similar spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kristy.Kirkup@sunmedia.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

http:\/\/www.torontosun.com\/2012\/02\/13\/ontario-catholic-teachers-union-issues-wi-fi-warning BY KRISTY KIRKUP , PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2012 07:29 AM EST OTTAWA \u2013 Ontario\u2019s Catholic teachers\u2019 union is warning against teaching in classrooms with wireless Internet. The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, which represents 45,000 teaches, issued a research paper Monday highlighting some of their concerns surrounding Wi-Fi technology. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-school","category-wifi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4013"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5158,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013\/revisions\/5158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}