Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has decided not to deploy ubiquitious WiFi on campus, on the grounds that researchers have not proven that the technology is safe.
“All I’m saying is while the jury’s out on this one, I’m not going to put in place what is potential chronic exposure for our students,†he said. “Admittedly that’s highest around the locations of the antenna sites and the wireless hotspots, but those are the places people tend to gravitate to because they get the best reception.â€
Note that the university is not claiming that there is any evidence that WiFi is unsafe - the studies referred to by the school merely state that while there is no evidence exposure to WiFi signals is unsafe, further study is suggested. This is a growth industry, banning technologies not because they are shown to be a danger, but because they have not been proven to be safe (or not been proven to not be unsafe). As always, proving this negative is extremely difficult, so useful technologies sit on the shelf. It’s the same tired old horse brought out to argue against genetically modified crops.
Not to mention that Lakehead presumably still allows cordless phones (many of which operate on the same band as 802.11b), microwaves, cellular phones, TV remotes, radio transmission, X-rays, and all sorts of other radiation.
[via Boing Boing]
