Wireless health risks to be studied

The potential health risks of wireless networks are set to be investigated by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

The HPA will measure exposure from Wi-Fi networks as well as look into wireless local area networks (WLAN), the body said.

The HPA's chief executive Pat Troop said in a statement: "There is no scientific evidence to date that Wi-Fi and WLANs adversely affect the health of the general population. The signals are very low power, typically 0.1 watt (100 milliwatts) in both the computer and the router (access point) and the results so far show exposures are well within International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation guidelines."

Because of this, Troop said schools and other organisations should not stop using such networks. "However there has not been extensive research into what people's exposures actually are to this new technology and that is why we are initiating this new programme of research and analyses. We have good scientific reasons to expect the results to be re-assuring and we will publish our findings."

The results of the two-year study will be compared with other sources of radio signals, such as mobile phones. A study released last month suggested mobile technology presented no short-term health risks.

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