Protect children

A Massachusetts family has just filed a lawsuit against their school district because they believe that the school’s Wi-Fi network has hurt their son. However, the condition they accuse the network of giving their son is controversial, and its very existence is questioned within the medical field.

The lawsuit claims that the school, Fay School, has high Wi-Fi emissions that have caused harm to their child. He is referred to in the lawsuit as “G” because he is a minor, and the parents are also not being identified to protect the child. He suffers from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS).

The World Health Organization recognizes it as a condition, but says that it isn’t a diagnosis because there is no set of criteria, and it hasn’t actually been linked to electromagnetic field sources. The parents of “G” argue that their son started exhibiting symptoms when the school switched their Wi-Fi systems.

“The high-density Wi-Fi used in the Fay classrooms is causing G to suffer headaches, chest pains, nosebleeds, nausea, dizziness, and rashes, all recognized symptoms of EHS,” the family claimed in court papers. They are now seeking an injunction which would force the school to take action.

The family reportedly wants the school to use Ethernet cables while their son is in class, or they ask that the school go back to an older Wi-Fi system, when their son didn’t show symptoms. Their court papers included a letter from the child’s doctor explaining that his condition may deteriorate with continued usage.

“The complete extent of these effects on people is still unknown,” wrote Dr. Jeanne Hubbuch in the lawsuit. “But it is clear that children and pregnant women are at the highest risk. This is due to the brain tissue being more absorbent, their skulls are thinner and their relative size is small.”

The lawsuit states that the family is looking for $250,000 from the school district in damages. According to a statement sent to ABC news, the officials in the school district say they hired Isotrope LLC to look into the emissions and radio communication signals in their schools last year.

“Isotrope’s assessment was completed in January 2015 and found that the combined levels of access point emissions, broadcast radio and television signals, and other [radio frequency emissions] on campus ‘were substantially less than 1/10,000th of the applicable safety limits (federal and state),” the school’s statement said.


In recent years, technology has been the source of a lot of skepticism. A 2010 study showed that children were showing signs of irritation, lack of concentration, and headaches with short-term EMF exposure. A later 2012 study showed that chronic exposure was leading to physiological distress in cells after about 1.5 years. Wireless technology is especially dangerous, as wireless phones emit radiation 24 hours a day, whether you use them or not.

The unknown effects of EMF dangers are causing a rise in EMF shielding technologies. Laptop radiation shields are becoming more and more popular, for example. Cell phone radiation blockers especially are becoming popular, in the form of cases, due to an uptick in brain cancer linked to cell phone use. Many hope that a cell phone radiation blocker will be the key to saving their life. It remains to be seen how long-term effects will play out with wireless emissions.

Do you think you’d be persuaded into buying something like a cell phone radiation blocker, or will you wait to see how things progress?