I have always assumed baby monitors and all wireless technology to be completely safe and have been informed by a 'friend' that I have been endangering my children by using them.
We used an RF detector to measure exposure and it amounted to a constant level of 10mw/m2 in the crib, whereas, for comparison, my cell phone at 30 cm distance measured occasional peaks of 1mw/m2. More advanced wifi monitors measure up to 100mw/m2.
She mentioned the following links as evidence of her fears:
This site claims:
Well, guess what? Your kid may not be doing so great. The baby monitor next to their slumbering form is emitting radiation similar to the kind that is given off by a cordless phone and bombarding their not-yet-fully-formed skull with electromagnetic frequency radiation. These emissions are a known cause of childhood brain cancer...
Why introduce a known carcinogen into your home? Would you have a cigarette in your baby’s room and then blow the smoke in their face? I don’t think so…….
This site claims
There has been a 60-fold increase in ASD in recent years, which cannot be accounted for by improvements in diagnostic methods and can only be explained by changes in the environment. This increase corresponds in time to the proliferation of mobile telecommunications, Wi-Fi, and microwave ovens as well as extremely low frequency fields from household wiring and domestic appliances. We can now explain at least some of this in terms of electromagnetically-induced membrane leakage leading to brain hyperactivity and abnormal brain development. Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, former lecturer Imperial College London [1] Andrew Goldsworthy, The Biological Effects of Weak Electromagnetic Fields, MCSA NEWS, VOLUME seven, ISSUE 7, JULY 2012
And also...
Wireless radiation emitted by baby monitors, mobile and cordless phones, wireless modems (Wi-Fi) etc.:inhibit the formation of abnormal electromagnetic activity of the brain, which is stabilized at around age 12, which explains the increasing incidence of hyperactivity and epilepsy in children ages according to Dr. Gerard Hyland, biophysicist at Warwick University and 2 times nominated for the Nobel Prize of Medicine [3] cause the creation of many random and useless neural connections, which explains the usually larger skull of autistic children, according to Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, former assistant of Imperial College London [4] Detunes the initial calibration of the brain networks and the mirror-neuron system in newborns, leading to autistic behavior patterns (Thornton [5]) and are a possible cause of the contemporary increase in cases of autism (Kane [6]) "The adverse effects of electrosmog may take decades to be appreciated, although some, like carcinogenicity, are already starting to surface. This gigantic experiment on our children and grandchildren could result in massive damage to mind and body with the potential to produce a disaster of unprecedented proportions, unless proper precautions are immediately implemented." Paul Rosch, professor of medicine at New York Medical School [7]
These mainly rely on evidence as reviewed in the Bioititiative Report, which I know is widely critisized.
So, have I been endangering my children or is my friend just nuts? I fail to see how such miniscule emissions could have a measurable effect on anyone, thermal or otherwise. Is there any robust evidence that radiowaves have any negative impacts on the development of young children?
