Wireless/Microwaves and Promethean IWB

[genegenie]

Hello there,

I am having some difficulty with a parent at the moment, who is drumming up a campaign off the back of that Panorama show a couple of weeks back, which look at the 'dangers' of wifi.

Although my school do not have wifi systems, we do use Promethean IWBs, ActivVote and the odd ActivSlate. Can anyone tell me what, exactly, the emissions are form the products we use, how/if they are dangerous (and more dangerous than a mobile phone, wifi router, etc), etc.

Any facts, info, pointers or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Lee Nelson]

These links might be useful.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2084218,00.html
http://www.rm.com/Company/Generic.asp?cref=GP937944&position=1

I should add that this is NOT official Promethean advice! I just found these links and thought they would be useful for my own school.

[markrobinson]

It is to be expected that parents will seek assurances that their children are protected and safe at all times.

We hope the following information from Promethean will assure this parent that there is nothing to be concerned about at all with regard to your Promethean products.


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Promethean is completely dedicated to protecting the health of teachers and pupils. As part of Promethean’s ongoing commitment to this, Promethean develops and tests its products within extremely stringent national and international health and safety guidelines.

The Panorama programme has raised some questions about the safety of Wi-Fi systems used in schools and consequently it can be expected that teachers, parents and pupils will ask if the Promethean’s products which communicate wirelessly are part of this debate.

Despite the claims of the programme, guidance from BECTa and the Health Protection Agency is clear:

"On the basis of current scientific information Wi-Fi equipment satisfies international guidelines. There is no consistent evidence of health effects from RF exposures below guideline levels and therefore no reason why schools and others should not use Wi-Fi equipment."

In order to help users fully assess any possible level of risk, it is important to understand how Promethean products compare with the Wi-Fi based products that were evaluated in the Panorama programme.

The following information will help you make that evaluation. Promethean also recommends that you carry out your own research using other reputable sources.


Do Promethean Activote and Activslate devices use Wi-Fi?

No. Promethean radio based products do not use the Wi-Fi ‘standard’. They operate on the same frequencies but at much reduced power levels.

Does the design and use of Promethean devices reduce levels of exposure?

Yes. Exposure is much reduced compared to Wi-Fi or mobile phones. Two key factors in any evaluation of risk from Radiowave exposure are ‘average power over time’ and ‘proximity’. Activote and Activslate devices are used periodically and rarely in continuous close proximity to the body.

For example, the cumulative radio energy transmitted by an Activote used by a child to vote every 2 minutes for an hour is in the order of ‘thousands of times’ lower than a Wi-fi device such as a laptop used for the same period.

How do Promethean devices compare with Mobile Phones?

Mobile phones are very powerful radio transceivers designed to transmit their radio signals over very great distances. The nature of mobile phone operation is that they are also used for extended periods of time in extremely close proximity to the user's head.

Calculations suggest that there is more exposure to radio energy from a single phone call than experienced in using an Activote device everyday throughout the whole length of a child's education!


Where can I find out more:
http://news.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=33517
http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/understand/radiation_topics/emf/wifi.htm
http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/understand/radiation_topics/emf/wlans.htm