The whole thing blasts the eye and at times half deafens the ear
Scotland Yard announces a new operation to curb knife crime in London following the daylight murder of a 22-year-old man in Oxford Street
More...
Wireless technology made me sick
Last updated at 12:37pm on 23.11.06
Sufferers like Kate Figes say wi-fi leaves them feeling exhausted, nauseous and sleepless
It is the hi-tech tool that has revolutionised home and office alike - but a growing band of campaigners claim wi-fi is a major threat to health.
Sufferers say the electro-magnetic waves emitted by wireless computer networks - wi-fi - leave them feeling exhausted, nauseous and sleepless.
Read more...
• The first remarkable close-up pictures of animals in the womb
• Hi-tech gadget to fight Tube violence
Author Kate Figes, spent hundreds of pounds installing wireless internet in her Stoke Newington home, then found it made her so ill she had to scrap it.
Ms Figes, 49, claims she is so sensitive to wi-fi's electro-magnetic waves she can instantly tell whether it is installed in a particular room.
This comes days after campaigners called for parents to remove the system from their homes to prevent harming their children's health.
Ms Figes said: "The day we installed wi-fi two years ago was the day I started to feel ill. At first I could not work out what the problem was. I had no idea why I felt so sick and run-down. But I knew that when I walked through the front door it felt like walking into a cloud of poison.
"Imagine being prodded all over your body by 1,000 fingers. That is what I felt when I walked into the house... Then I started to think it might be the wi-fi, so we scrapped it - and I felt better."
She added: "Most people I've spoken are really dismissive, but I don't think they've considered the long-term impact of this technology." The mother-of-two is just one of many people who contacted campaigning group ElectroSensitivityUK about their fears over the harmful effects of wi-fi.
A spokesman for the group said: "We've been inundated by calls from people who know this is affecting them, but in many cases are wary of speaking out. The telecommunications companies pour scorn, but none of them has been able to prove wi-fi is safe."
But Chris Guy, head of Reading University's School of Systems Engineering said: "The amount of power emitted by wi-fi devices is about a tenth of that given out by mobile phones. It is very, very unlikely that it is harmful because the power levels are so low. I just do not believe wi-fi is damaging people's health."
Reader views (15)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
This isn't too surprising to me. Some models of consumer microwave ovens have given me instant headaches for years when in use, even at ranges of up to ten feet, and yes, I'm perfectly aware of the inverse square law. Some people are hypersensitive to even very low powered radio frequencies, and that's the way it is.
- Alex, Richmond, VA, USA
Many thousands of scientists, consultants, and doctors believe that radiation from wireless devices (which use broadly the microwave fequencies as mobile phones) are associated with a range of adverse health effects, such as loss of concentration, headaches, fatigue, memory and behavioural problems, as well as more serious illnesses.
In September 2007 the EU's European Environment Agency (EEA) concluded that the UK's safety limits for radiation from wireless devices are 'thousands of times too lenient', and for 'health authorities to recommend actions to reduce exposures'. Our safety limits are only intended to protect against short term heat shock and burn exposures, and so do not protect against long term 'low' level exposure from wireless devices. Indeed, the German Government recently advised its citizens to reduce their exposure to wireless radiation, and to use cabled internet connections.
Yet despite this, no studies have been undertaken to assess the safety of wireless technology.
- Dr Andrew Orr, London
As a person who is a trained Radio Frequency Engineer, one who works with Radio Frequency signals to accomplish communications, I have often heard this type of claim.
While certain types of RF radiation can be harmful in certain circumstances this non-ionized radiation, as opposed to nuclear radiation, has some very interesting properties.
Yes, it has been proven that certain radio frequencies, with certain power levels, can make people sick or their skin tingle. Unfortunately, the frequencies around consumer wi-fi equipment simply does not have this capability unless it is highly amplified. Under those conditions not only would it make you sick but it would kill you.
Cell phones, wi-fi, computers and a plethora of things continuiously emit signals in the same frequency band. So it would be a pretty good trick for someone to be able to detect and discriminate these signals without sophisticated test equipment.
I would put forth the loss of sleep is due to some insidcriminate web crusing late at night instead of sleeping.
The electromagnetic fields in your home, due to it's internal wiring, is much larger and more powerful than anything your consumer wi-fi electronics is capable of creating and the same is true for your computer monitor and or television set.
I will not say these persons are intentionally lying about their problem but am highly skeptical its being caused by the relatively low electromagnetic radiation caused by wi-fi.
- Dave Hardesty, Tracy, USA
10°c
21°c
