From time to time alarmist articles pop up, like these:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/11589857/Is-Wi-Fi-making-your-child-ill.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/style/could-wearable-computers-be-as-harmful-as-cigarettes.html
Understandably can induce a tsunami wave of panics in the minds of some parents, often accompanied by impractical requests for their children to avoid exposure to Wi-Fi... if you're looking for a response to this, here it is.
It’s not just that we don’t know exactly how RF waves (radiofrequency) would cause cancer. It’s that there’s no plausible way for it to happen without rewriting the laws of physics and biology. It’s by the same reasoning that most scientists dismiss homeopathic medicine – at least the genuine kind that’s so dilute there’s nothing in it.
‘The weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems….Over the past 15 years, scientists have conducted hundreds of studies looking at the biological effects of the radiofrequency energy emitted by cell phones. While some researchers have reported biological changes associated with RF energy, these studies have failed to be replicated. The majority of studies published have failed to show an association between exposure to radiofrequency from a cell phone and health problems.
Here's Ben's response:
Your concern for your children's welfare is of course understandable and the College also puts the children's welfare foremost in all its decision making. When looking at any health or safety issue we do need to make a decision about where we gather our data from. News publications/outlets publish articles on many topics with lots of different motivations and picking out the underlying facts from news articles can be difficult. Indeed, the headline can often be very different from the content of an article. Instead we look to two different places for information to base our decisions on:
Large bodies of research, generally called meta-analyses
Expert advice from leading health authorities such as Ministries of Health and the World Health Organisation
First, if we look at meta-research around the topic of electro-magnetic fields and there possible impact on people's health we can find the following:
Firstly, from 2005, a meta-analysis of 31 papers is available:
http://www.iddd.de/umtsno/emfkrebs/rubin2005emf.pdf
The majority of these studies found no evidence of causal link. Of the remaining 7 research projects the results could not be replicated, produced mutually inconsistent results or were troubled by statistical inaccuracies.
In 2008 the Health Council of the Netherlands produced the following study:
http://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/sites/default/files/200902.pdf
The study is written in Dutch and so we are relying on translation. However the study concludes that there is no causal relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the occurrence of symptoms.
A 2010 study, which updated the 2005 meta-analysis, added a further 15 studies to the original 31:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bem.20536/abstract
Again the study found no link, saying that repeated experiments have been unable to replicate this phenomenon under controlled conditions.
A study published in 2012 examines the same phenomena:
http://www.jpsychores.com/article/S0022-3999(12)00335-2/abstract
This also found no correlation between participants' symptoms and their actual exposure to EMFs.
So there does not appear to be any consistent evidence that EMFs impact people's health when large bodies of research are considered.
Further there is currently no advice from any world health body that we are aware of that advises that EMFs are harmful to children or adults.
Given all the other waves in the air switching off a single iPad is going to have a minimal impact on a child's exposure. I would also note that the iPads are stored away from the children, so when they are not in use they are not near the children, but stored in a cabinet. Your children having their iPad switched off in the cabinet, with all the others on is not going to reduce their exposure in any meaningful way. You should also note that having the iPad in Airplane mode may result in your children encountering difficulties in some activities, as the iPads are often updated when not actively in use or are often syncing data or photos in the background.
Having said all that, If you wish to ask your children to switch Airplane mode on when they are not actively using their iPads, then you are free to do so. However, the class teacher will not be responsible for checking that they have done this or for any issues that may arise because they have done so.
I hope that my admittedly lengthy response, has reassured you that we do take this issue seriously and that we do monitor the medical advice around this issue. As I stated at the beginning, the welfare of the children in our care is paramount to us. Further, whilst we do not believe that there is a risk, we are happy to accommodate your request within the parameters outlined above.