Lawsuit against school for Wi-Fi system was causing health problems

[jos]

Massachusetts couple has sued their child's school, claiming that its "industrial-capacity" Wi-Fi system was causing health problems. The suit hopes to have "Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome" defined as falling under the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The suit targets the Fay School, a pricey Massachusetts boarding school. In 2013, Fay upgraded its network to what the suit describes as "a high-density, industrial-capacity wireless system." The lawsuit alleges that the parents' concerns were met with a "hostile attitude."  

 

 

 

I feel this is just a new money making scam.. is there an actual Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome?????

 

Source: http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/08/massachusetts-parents-cite-shaky-science-in-lawsuit-over-wi-fi-network/

[Shakaza]

Oh please....not again.    <_<

[givingtnt]

tin foil hat = on

[Ekpyrosis]

Please stop, I have the "Ridiculous Lawsuit Hypersensitivity Syndrome".

[minibois]

people sue others like this because it works (and because they are stupid)

[Guest]

I wonder if they actually believe the shit that comes out of their mouths, or just see it as an opportunity to try and gain a few $$$ without working for it 

 

[Kurosaki Isshin]

DAMN THIS Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity!

[TheGeeker]

 

To be clear my house ALONE has over 5 wifi routers 2.4 and 5ghz as well as many many wifi and Bluetooth devices. I dont think I am crazy and sick yet. 

[Chasem121]

Idiots like this make it harder for technology to progress

[Sauron]

"OMG my precious child can't focus and gets bad grades! Must be the school's wifi affecting him! He must have an undiscovered hypersensitivity to radio signals!"

 

I'd bet all my money that he uses his phone every day. The radiation he absorbs for that alone is probably ten times what he gets from the school's wifi.

[Sidiox]

I'm really curious to see if there really is a true syndrom like this and then how it would work..... But also, shouldn't they instead sue the government? Because if the kid is getting harmed by 2.4Ghz radiation then walking into a kitchen with a microwave could be instant death for the kid..... And the 2.4Ghz (And 5Ghz and a few others) band are public because the governments allowed it to be so, so its then the fault of the government and not of the school....

But first, let me see some solid scientific proof for this.

[Arty]

Public execution of these stupid people please?

[Arty]

I'm really curious to see if there really is a true syndrom like this and then how it would work..... But also, shouldn't they instead sue the government? Because if the kid is getting harmed by 2.4Ghz radiation then walking into a kitchen with a microwave could be instant death for the kid..... And the 2.4Ghz (And 5Ghz and a few others) band are public because the governments allowed it to be so, so its then the fault of the government and not of the school....

But first, let me see some solid scientific proof for this.

or home wifi...

or public wifi.

 

or all cars that now have wifi..

Edited September 1, 2015 by MG2R
Keep it clean

[Sidiox]

or home wifi...

or public wifi.

 

or all cars that now have wifi...

Well one could argue that if the industrial grade stuff is higher mW then it would have a much larger effect than the normal home weak crap. But still. I don't believe it currently and I don't see myself ever believing it. The kid might have real health issues, but I don't think the 2.4Ghz radation is the cause of it. 

[Arty]

Well one could argue that if the industrial grade stuff is higher mW then it would have a much larger effect than the normal home weak crap. But still. I don't believe it currently and I don't see myself ever believing it. The kid might have real health issues, but I don't think the 2.4Ghz radation is the cause of it. 

if they school is setup anything like my school.

"industrial" just means mass quantity 

 

theres a router in each classs. that only covers the class room.

[Arc_Jester]

They've been alot of these suits lately, I say ship them off to middle of a desert where the only radiation they will have worry about is the sun frying their dumbasses.

[EChondo]

I'm really curious to see if there really is a true syndrom like this and then how it would work..... But also, shouldn't they instead sue the government? Because if the kid is getting harmed by 2.4Ghz radiation then walking into a kitchen with a microwave could be instant death for the kid..... And the 2.4Ghz (And 5Ghz and a few others) band are public because the governments allowed it to be so, so its then the fault of the government and not of the school....

But first, let me see some solid scientific proof for this.

There have been articles in the past about this, for example: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/07/24/man-allergic-to-wi-fi-makes-him-sick-dizzy-confused.html

I can actually attest to this myself, we got some Cisco 3700 series AP's at work and I was testing them and they were pretty close to my person. After about 10-15 minutes of the AP being on and emitting the wireless network I setup I started experiencing some really bad headaches and it only stopped after a few minutes after I turned off the AP, again I was probably way too close and I was messing with different frequencies, so I probably found a frequency that effected me. We do have them setup around our work site and I don't have headaches, but this story could have some merit.

Having said that, I know of a school district that has about 25 schools with full campus wifi at each of them and I haven't heard one thing about someone constantly having headaches at the schools, so I'm guessing the frequency is too high or something.

[Sidiox]

if they school is setup anything like my school.

"industrial" just means mass quantity 

 

theres a router in each classs. that only covers the class room.

There is not a router in each class....

There is 1 router, which does the Network Address Translation (NAT) and then you have a multitude of Access Points which emit the Wifi signal. Very, very important distinction. 

 

And mass quantity would also equal higher mW. But they are probs still higher mW then your normal AP, if they are for instance Cisco Aironets. 

[Arty]

There is not a router in each class....

There is 1 router, which does the Network Address Translation (NAT) and then you have a multitude of Access Points which emit the Wifi signal. Very, very important distinction. 

 

And mass quantity would also equal higher mW. But they are probs still higher mW then your normal AP, if they are for instance Cisco Aironets. 

yea touche. 

[Arty]

 

Was it a blind test?

[Sidiox]

There have been articles in the past about this, for example: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/07/24/man-allergic-to-wi-fi-makes-him-sick-dizzy-confused.html

I can actually attest to this myself, we got some Cisco 3700 series AP's at work and I was testing them and they were pretty close to my person. After about 10-15 minutes of the AP being on and emitting the wireless network I setup I started experiencing some really bad headaches and it only stopped after a few minutes after I turned off the AP, again I was probably way too close and I was messing with different frequencies, so I probably found a frequency that effected me. We do have them setup around our work site and I don't have headaches, but this story could have some merit.

Having said that, I know of a school district that has about 25 schools with full campus wifi at each of them and I haven't heard one thing about someone constantly having headaches at the schools, so I'm guessing the frequency is too high or something.

Well then you were very close, so that didn't help as well. Maybe it was a coincedince, maybe not, idk. I believe all consumer stuff is capped at about 1W as max transmit power, I don't know how much those Cisco ones emit. And the drop off is very severe, so you sitting close to it may have had some effect, but if you would be say a meter futher, then it probably wouldn't have mattered. (Power decreases with the distance^4 I believe)

 

So yeah, don't put your head next to a Cisco Aironet, but that is like saying don't stick your head in a microwave...

If properly used I honestly don't see the dangers. 

[Arty]

 don't stick your head in a microwave...

 

explains it /\

[EChondo]

Well then you were very close, so that didn't help as well. Maybe it was a coincedince, maybe not, idk. I believe all consumer stuff is capped at about 1W as max transmit power, I don't know how much those Cisco ones emit. And the drop off is very severe, so you sitting close to it may have had some effect, but if you would be say a meter futher, then it probably wouldn't have mattered. (Power decreases with the distance^4 I believe)

 

So yeah, don't put your head next to a Cisco Aironet, but that is like saying don't stick your head in a microwave...

If properly used I honestly don't see the dangers.

Yeah I was less then a meter away, I just had it on my desk to test and to play around with settings! There are so many settings with Cisco stuff...

 

Was it a blind test?

I feel kinda dumb for not know what you're asking but...care to tell me what kind of blind test you're asking about?

[Arty]

Yeah I was less then a meter away, I just had it on my desk to test and to play around with settings! There are so many settings with Cisco stuff...

 

I feel kinda dumb for not know what you're asking but...care to tell me what kind of blind test you're asking about?

blind test. you don't if its on or not

 

 

requires 2 people

 

you don't know if its on or not.

if you have a headache you say it, then the other person tells you if on or not.

 

 

run a few trials 

[Sidiox]

Yeah I was less then a meter away, I just had it on my desk to test and to play around with settings! There are so many settings with Cisco stuff...

 

I feel kinda dumb for not know what you're asking but...care to tell me what kind of blind test you're asking about?

Maybe you got the headache from the Cisco settings mess   (I've seen it myself too, not good for your mental health if you are still quite new to networking)

But then I'm fairly sure you were just too close too a source of too much radiation, but it kinda does show that in very very large amount it can have an effect. (maybe the kid sits under the device in the classroom idk)