ChicagoBusiness.com and the Register are reporting that parents at the Oak Park School District in Chicago are suing to stop the use of WiFi in the schools because they fear the health risks of the Fi. WiFi Networking News cites the suit (pdf) which "alleges that Oak Park Elementary School District 97 has "ignored the substantial body of evidence that high frequency electro-magnetic radiation poses substantial and serious health risks, particularly to growing children". WiFi Networking News says the suit, "cites 30 studies (citations not included in this document, unfortunately) that connect EMR at high frequencies and signal strengths comparable to WLANs to health problems."

This is something I've just been researching for another project (WiFi distance, not the radiation risks) and since anything can block the signals easily, and the signals don't go far, and they are not broadcast right next to your body as cell phones are, I wonder how reasonable this is in terms of health risks. Certainly, there must be more danger from cell phone use considering the promixity of use to our bodies. Cell phones work at 1.8ghz, cordless phones are most often at about the same frequency at 2.8ghz, and microwaves at 2ghz are very close to the WiFi frequency. In any event, it will be interesting to see what happens with the case, and what those 30 citations are, to see whether this is a problem. However, if it is, you can extrapolate that since everything electronic we use emits some wave, it may be that one thing isn't a problem, alone, but that all electronica aggregated together used day-after-day, and running around us all day, might create a health problem.