School Wi-Fi allegedly causes student's rashes, nosebleeds, nausea

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Parents of a 12-year-old Massachusetts child studying at the Fay School in Southborough filed a lawsuit against the school after the student experienced electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome (EHS) from the school's "high-intensity Wi-Fi emissions". The parents are seeking damages of $250,000.

Electromagnetic radiation, which is defined by LiveScience as "a form of energy that...takes many forms, such as radio waves, microwaves, X-rays and gamma rays." According to the World Health Organization (WHO), electromagnetic hypersensitivity or EHS is "characterized by a variety of non-specific symptoms that differ from individual to individual". Additionally, WHO reports that symptoms experienced by patients with EHS may be caused by environmental factors that are unrelated to electromagnetic field sources, including "'flicker' from fluorescent lights, glare and other visual problems with VDUs, and poor ergonomic design of computer workstations."

ABC News reports that according to the lawsuit, "The high-density Wi-Fi used in the Fay classrooms is causing [the student] to suffer headaches, chest pains, nosebleeds, nausea, dizziness, and rashes, all recognized symptoms of EHS."

The parents of the child are requesting Fay School to revert back to the old Wi-Fi system or use Ethernet cables when the child is present, as these did not cause the boy to have any symptoms. The child's physician also wrote in the lawsuit, "The complete extent of these effects on people is still unknown. But it is clear that children and pregnant women are at the highest risk. This is due to the brain tissue being more absorbent, their skulls are thinner and their relative size is small. There are no studies that show that exposure to these two vulnerable groups is safe."

ABC News further reports that in 2014, the school hired a third party, Isotrope LLC, to analyze the radio communication signals and emissions. The assessment was completed in January, and concluded that "the combined levels of access point emissions, broadcast radio and television signals, and other [radio frequency emissions] on campus 'were substantially less than 1/10,000th of the applicable safety limits (federal and state)."

In June, Dr. Robert Nagourney, an oncologist, told CBS Local, "There are two kinds of radiation that we speak about: one is ionizing, and other is non-ionizing. In ionizing radiation, clearly there’s a great risk of DNA damage, mutation and cancer."

He explained: "We are bathed in this type of radiation. Does it cause medical illness? Great question, difficult to answer."

CBS Local also reported that according to environmental scientist David Carpenter, there is a strong evidence that EHS is a "real syndrome that causes real harm to real people."

Dr. Nagourney also said: "People have different sensitives. One person can get a bee sting and nothing happens. Another person goes into anaphylactic shock. Same bee sting, different reaction."

The WHO is currently identifying research needs to enable researchers to better understand any health risks linked with EMF exposure, particularly low-level EMF.