by Lexi Matthews ‘18

At an MCPS Board of Education meeting in February, Safe Tech for Schools Maryland (STFSM) questioned the health implications of Wi-Fi in schools. The group read 15 letters expressing why wireless technology should be removed from classrooms because of its carcinogenic, or cancer-inducing, nature.

Wi-Fi, like all radio-frequencies, emits radiation as it carries signals between devices. It is most clearly seen in MCPS through wireless routers affixed to ceilings of classrooms, helping connect chromebooks to the web.

Although the American Cancer Society has published reports discussing the difference between high-energy radio-frequencies, like UV rays that have been proven to alter cells to become cancerous, and low-energy radio-frequencies, like Wi-Fi and microwaves that are inconclusive of having the strength needed to deliver these effects, doubts have still been expressed about whether children should undergo long-term exposure to the latter.

“Its harmfulness doesn’t have to be proven now; it might take years to finally be proven. Why wait years? You can’t go back in time with your kids,” said Thea Scarato, a member of STFSM, in a video on their website. The site updates daily, expressing how only ‘strong disbelief’ of damage isn’t good enough for the group with children’s health at stake. “We want definite answers or we don’t want Wi-Fi,” Scarato said.

Because of these beliefs, STFSM has requested that MCPS revert its $15 million chromebook investment into hardwired computers, eliminating their allegedly harmful Wi-Fi aspect. This would require purchasing Ethernet cables for each chromebook, and could cost nearly $6 million.

The basis of the groups’ letters comes from the publication ‘The BioInitiative Report,’ which has released studies on the dangers of all radio-frequencies. Although BioInitiative is comprised of 29 professors and doctors, its authenticity has been questioned due to its self-publishing nature, meaning its facts are not check by and impartial party before publication.

In April, the Board of Education released an official response on its Office of the Chief Technology Officer web-page, explaining that removing Wi-Fi was not necessary. The Board noted that its wireless technology fully met all Federal Communications Commission standards, and cited the World Health Organization’s explanation that BioInitiative was immensely oversimplifying the process that is used to identify carcinogenic items.

“The classification of radio frequencies as possibly carcinogenic comes from extremely heavy cell phone use. Wi-Fi does not accurately represent the classification’s intentions,” the response clarified, as Wi-Fi radiation is one one-thousandth the power of that of cell phones. ‘Possibly carcinogenic’ isn’t exactly definitive either; it means no clear scientifically proven evidence can link the item to cancer, and other items that fall under the title include coffee, aloe, and pickles.