Letter: Harmless radio waves are all around us

I read the article in the Thursday, Nov. 14 edition of the Glendale News-Press regarding the alarm of some parents at the Glendale School District’s use of wireless routers in classrooms (“Group signals Wi-Fi angst.”).

This issue comes up every time a new technology that transmits radio waves is introduced. Some people were alarmed when cellphones were introduced, when Glendale installed smart meters and when the gas company installed smart gas meters.

We are bombarded by radio waves all the time. Radio stations, TV stations, radar, cordless phones, cellphones, Wi-Fi hot spots in restaurants and hotels, and countless other devices that emit radio waves.

None of it is harmful. The radio waves in question are classified as non-ionizing radiation. This type of radiation does not have sufficient power to cause any harm to the cells in our bodies. There have been massive studies regarding cellphones and none have provided convincing evidence of a causal relation between cellphone usage and brain tumors. The parents who are alarmed by the school district’s use of Wi-Fi have no reason to be fearful.

Larry Cohen
Glendale