Safer Tech

Final content is in progress … in the meantime, check out great advice from our friends at Environmental Health Trust, and Canadians For Safe Technology.

As well, here is a selection from our collection of tips.

1. Download the printable brochure from the Environmental Health Trust — Doctor’s Advice: Family Safety (printable PDF).
2. Avoid radiation! Question your doctor and dentist to be sure that X-rays, CT scans and other such tests are absolutely necessary. Thyroid cancer, for example, has been linked to dental radiation particularly during childhood. Modern technologies are available that entail much lower or no radiation exposures, so be an educated patient!
3. Keep cell phones away from the body because they exceed permitted radiation when they are against the skin. Use speakerphone or a headset, keep it at a distance – not in a pocket or bra, or close by at night. Turn off all wireless features when not in use.
4. Wireless users should read the fine print! Wireless transmitting devices like cell phones and laptops should not touch your head or sit on your lap! Use landlines and wire/cable connections whenever possible, and keep your phone at a distance by texting more than talking, and using earphones or speakerphone. Only give a child a wireless device if all connections/antennae are turned off.
5. Children should only use cell phones for emergencies. Practice Safe Tech. Wireless features of electronics (tablets, phones, laptops, etc.) should be off (airplane mode). In January 2015, Francepassed a law banning wifi from daycares and nurseries, and restricing Wi-Fi in schools and advertising of wireless devices. In February 2015, Taiwan also passed a law to protect children and youth. In 2016 the American Academy of Pediatricsupdated their guidance. Kids need people, not devices!
6. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun and tanning beds is a human carcinogen. UV radiation rapidly provides with essential vitamin D, but caution should be exercised with exposure to UV radiation. Avoid burning your skin when outdoors, and use the UV index provided by your local weather office as a guide. When the UV index is high, protect yourself using loose, lightly colored clothing and a wide brim hat. Zinc oxide appears to be the safest sunscreen ingredient to block UVA and UVB radiation. Choose a product that makes the skin white, and is free of more hazardous substances such as parabens, nanoparticles, glycols, oxybenzone, and TEA, DEA or MEA (tri-, di-, or monoethaloamines), cinnimates, or other carbon-based UV-blocking active ingredients.
7. Don’t use wireless communications unless there is no alternative. Use wires/cables/fibre for computers at home, work and school. People are raising the issue of cellphone and wireless device safety across the World. You can, too! Learn how to adopt a cellphone wireless safety proclamation in your city!
8. Don’t carry your phone close to your body. Not in your pocket guys (testicular cancer is increasing among young men and sperm counts are dropping), and not in your bra girls (breast cancers are being diagnosed where phones were habitually carried). When possible, leave your mobile phone on a shelf or table, or in a bag/purse. The further away from your body the better!
9. Use speakerphone or a headset, or wait until the other person has picked up the call before putting the cell phone to your ear. A significant amount of electromagnetic radiation is emitted before the call has actually connected. Moving the phone back and forth from ear to ear will spread out exposures that can cause tumours of the brain and the acoustic nerve.
10. Text instead of talking on your cell phone, to keep the device at a distance. Always use speakerphone or earphones, or at least switch back and forth between ears to talk. When a cell phone is held against the ear or in a pocket, radiation exposure is 3 to 4 times higher than when used according to the fine print in the instructions.
11. Sleep better by not using electronic devices such as phones and tablets before bed (blue light slows production of anti-cancer sleep hormone melatonin). Eliminate sleep disturbances and cancer-causing microwave radiation by putting devices on “airplane mode.” Keep devices at a distance – some families leave phones in the kitchen at night. If your cell phone is your alarm clock, leave it across the room.
12. Be strategic with your wireless communication devices, using them only when the signal is strong and turning off whenever possible.
13. Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak or during rapid travel, as in a train, bus or car. The phone is constantly searching to connect, during which its power output is maximized.