A new report, published on the Electromagnetic Health’s website, grades schools in the capital city of each state, as well as Washington, on school children’s potential exposure to cellphone antennas. Grades were based on how close the nearest antenna was from the school, how many antennas were located within 400 meters of the school, and how many antennas were located within 1 kilometer of the school. You can find those results here.
The report asserts that symptoms of electrohypersensitivity, such as fatigue, headaches, difficulty with concentration, and memory loss, can occur at much lower distances than the U.S. exposure guidelines stipulate. To help ensure the safety of students and teachers, radio frequency radiation should be continually monitored at schools, and complaints about electrohypersensitivity should be taken seriously by school nurses and documented for future reference so the problem can be addressed, says the report.
Columbia, S.C., Jackson, Miss., Little Rock, Ark., Nashville, Tenn., and Richmond, Va., received the safest rankings in the study, while Boston, Carson City, Nev., Hartford, Conn., Honolulu, and Washington were among the cities with the highest concentration of antennas near schools. The data on the location and density of antennas was taken from the Antenna Search website.
The topic of harmful radiation from cellphones, cellphone antennas, and wireless technologies was also discussed in the most recent episode of This American Life, called True Urban Legends. It’s less education-specific, and it pulls from this article in GQ magazine.