RF Safety and Risk Communications – The Wi-Fi industry perspective

Wi-Fi® is a very low powered technology that uses radio waves to develop a local area network (LAN) among computing and consumer electronics equipment.  Wi-Fi is being widely used to provide wireless internet access in public places such as airports, hotels and coffee shops, as well as in the office and homes.  An estimated 300 million people worldwide use Wi-Fi.

Recently some people have raised questions about the impact on human health from the use of Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi Alliance takes any such concerns seriously. Although questions have been raised, a range of scientific research undertaken to date concludes that there is no confirmed evidence that RF electromagnetic fields below the current international safety guidelines (ANSI/IEEE C95.1-2006 and ICNIRP 1998 Guidelines) cause adverse health effects.[1] Wi-Fi technology must be designed and tested to meet all national and international safety requirements. Wi-Fi networks emit signals that are typically hundreds to thousands of times below the required safety limits.

The World Health Organization has reviewed the various bodies of research that has been conducted and has concluded:  “Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects.” (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs304/en/index.html)

Nonetheless, some of the public remain unconvinced and continue to raise personal concerns about systems using radio signals, which include not only Wi-Fi devices but also mobile phones, baby monitors, microwave ovens, televisions and radios.  If Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies are to continue to bring innovative and beneficial communications services to the public, these questions must be addressed.  The challenge is to find an effective means to reach the public to help them better understand what the experts have said and the safety practices associated with low powered radio devices. 

The Wi-Fi Alliance is committed to that outreach.  The Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 300 member companies devoted to promoting the adoption of a single worldwide standard for wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs).  Among other activities, the organization provides interoperability certification for Wi-Fi products, and has certified more than 3,500 products to date.

Although the Wi-Fi Alliance is not a lobbying organization, it’s Health and Safety Task Group provides information to its members and interacts with policymakers about health and Wi-Fi. The Task Group has over 50 company members and since its inception in 2004, has developed a public brochure on Wi-Fi and Health (http://www.wi-fi.org/knowledge_center/qanda-072005-wlanandhealth) and supported an independent scientific exposure assessment study.

The study, conducted by Dr. Kenneth Foster of the University of Pennsylvania, and published in the March 2007 issue of Health Physics, is one of the most comprehensive exposure assessment studies on Wi-Fi to date. The study took 356 measurements at 55 Wi-Fi sites in four countries, under conditions involving higher than normal exposures. The study found RF fields from Wi-Fi in typical environments operate well below internationally-recognized RF exposure guidelines. (http://hps.org/hpspublications/articles/wirelessnetworks.html)

Conclusion

There is a growing understanding of the scientific consensus related to RF and health among governments and policy leaders.  This reflects the priority given in the last fifteen years to support the scientific studies necessary to reach that consensus.  Now the task is to translate that consensus into sound public policies and outreach to the public.

The second CITEL conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIR) offers an effective model for policymakers to hear directly from the scientific community and for the public to see that decisions about RF and public health are important and considered in an open and transparent manner among the experts.  The fact that this is the second year for the conference demonstrates the organization’s commitment to providing a platform for open dialog among interested parties.  

 The Wi-Fi Alliance and its membership are also committed to reaching out to Wi-Fi users and the public so they better understand RF, the standards in place for protection, and the benefits of Wi-Fi technology.  Partnering with governments and others to get information to the public is critical to any outreach plan.  The CITEL conference on EMF has provided a great opportunity to advance these goals.  It is our hope that others will follow this lead.

John Roman
Chair
Task Group on Health and Science
Wi-Fi Alliance
Manager, Global Spectrum Assessment and Policy
Intel Corporation

[email protected]