Wi-Fi radiation exposure to children in kindergartens and schools in Australia
G. Benke 1), C. Bhatt 1), K. Karipidis 2), M. Abramson 1); 1) = Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, 2) = Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, Yallambie, Australia

Abstract

Background: In 2010 the World Health Organization (WHO) published a research agenda for radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF). In the agenda was a call to focus future epidemiological research on the assessment of RF-EMF exposures to humans, especially children. Although there has been a significant amount of research regarding the cell phone frequencies (600 MHz to 2 GHz), little research on the exposures of children to Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) has been published. Here we report on the results of two studies undertaken in Australia involving the measurement of Wi-Fi exposures in kindergartens and schools.
Methods: In the first study, static and personal monitoring of Wi-Fi exposure was undertaken in 20 kindergartens. The ExpoM RF dosimeter was used to measure the personal exposure in 10 children over a four hour period. In the second study, undertaken in 23 schools, static measurements were undertaken in the class-rooms and school yards. Results: In the kindergartens, the maximum Wi-Fi levels were all below 0.05% of the ICNIRP limits. The contribution of Wi-Fi to total RFEMF exposure was less than 10%. In the schools, the peak and median Wi-Fi levels in the class-rooms were in the order of 0.01 and 0.0001% of the ICNIRP limits, respectively.
Conclusions: These findings should be reassuring to parents, teachers and students in schools and kindergartens, as the levels are very low compared to the ICNIRP limits and contribute only a small part of the overall RF-EMF exposure.

Hintergrund
In Australien gibt es seit etlichen Jahren eine ebenso starke wie beratungsresistente Anti-W-Lan-Szene