A study published this week in the Australasian Journal
of Clinical Environmental Medicine warns thatwireless communication technologymay
be responsible for accelerating the rise in autism among
children.
Autism is a
disabling neuro-developmental disorder. Its cause is not completely
understood, but it is linked to heavy-metal toxicity.
Dr George Carlo, an expert on the dangers of electromagnetic
radiation (EMR), who headed the world's largest research program on
mobile phone health hazards in the 1990s, revealed the
autism-wireless technology connection following a series of tests
on autistic children monitored during 2005 and 2006.
Dr Carlo said, "These findings tie in with other studies showing
adverse cell-membrane responses and disruptions of normal cell
physiology. The electromagnetic radiation apparently causes the
metals to be trapped in cells, slowing clearance and accelerating
the onset of symptoms."
The authors says that the rise in cases of autism is paralleled
by the
huge growth in mobile phone and Wi-Fi usage since the late
1990s with worldwide wireless usage now having reached nearly 4
billion people.
But Dr Kenneth Foster, of the engineering department at Penn
University, had conducted a survey of more than 300 different
measurements at more than 50 sites in four countries (US, France,
Germany, Sweden) of Wi-Fi signals in different environments and
found them to be safe.
"In all cases the signal levels were very far below
international safety limits. Health agencies such as the World
Health Organisation have repeatedly examined the scientific
evidence and concluded that there is no convincing evidence for
hazard from radiofrequency energy at levels below these
international guidelines," said Foster.