A study has asked regulators to re-address whether exposure to WiFi signals can be harmful to children - despite widespread scientific agreement that there is no danger.
The study quoted by Forbes appears in the Journal of Microscopy and Ultrastructure - which is not widely cited online and whose board members in large part work at the King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia.
It states - based on what it says is an analysis of other papers, not 'new' primary research - that young adults, children and babies are more at risk from certain radio frequency signals than adults. It concludes that thinner skulls and "more absorbent" brain tissue means that their exposure to them should be regulated even more tightly than it is for adults. It is true that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organisation) actually lists RF/EMF as a Class 2B Carcinogen - meaning that at certain exposure levels, under certain conditions, it can maybe be harmful enough to cause cancer. Other substances on that list include diesel, carbon, lead and chloroform. This list is repeated by Forbes, who point out that standards on safe level of exposure have remained unchanged for almost two decades.
The problem is that this is often taken to mean that WiFi at the levels commonly experienced by most people can "cause" cancer - or even autism - claims forcefully disputed by the majority of scientists. WHO, by contrast, say that "there is no risk from low level, long-term exposure to Wi-Fi networks". And no, this study doesn't change that. Let's find out why.
The study requests that safety information and warnings be made far more visible to the general public. It even suggests alerting girls who might keep their smartphones in their bras or hijabs, or to young children who are found to be constantly using an iPad or other wireless device.
Forbes writer Robert J Szczerba states he simply wants to apply common sense rules to a technology that has been - in his view - overlooked by manufacturers.
Manufacturers like Apple do extensively test and list detailed information about RF signals on their website - in the case of the iPhone 6 this information recommends you carry your device 5mm away from your body to maintain safe standards as required by law in many countries.
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