Is Wi-Fi to blame for a group of Canadian children's ailments? That's what parents in the central Ontario town of Barrie are allegingthat the wireless setups in their local elementary schools are creating a wide range of symptoms for their children, including headaches, dizziness, nausea, and increased heart rates.

Is Wi-Fi to blame for a group of Canadian children's ailments? That's what parents in the central Ontario town of Barrie are allegingthat the wireless setups in their local elementary schools are creating a wide range of symptoms for their children, including headaches, dizziness, nausea, and increased heart rates.

According to the official "Simcoe County Safe School Committee" Web page, "some parents noticed that in the past year their kids 'aren't quite the same'. Explainations [sic] of this description include having dropped a grade point, no longer getting along with friends, and behavioural [sic] notes coming home from the teacher where in previous years there were none."

Members of the parents group have been lobbying the Simcoe County school board to remove the wireless networking from the affected schools, alleging that, "The Microwave intenstity [sic] inside one Simcoe County classroom was measured at 4X Stronger than when standing near a cell phone tower."

The group has even gone as far as to offer to pay for wired networking for the affected schools, but the school board hasn't taken up the offer.

If this story sounds at-all familiar, that's because it likely is: In July of last year, a British DJ by the name of Steve Miller was covered in publications worldwide for his claims of being allergic to wireless networking.

According to The Sun, Miller's "electromagnetic sensitivity" would give him headaches and dizziness if he came within range of a Wi-Fi signal: "he can't use trains, airports or hotels without experiencing head-banging agony."

Ars Technica's John Timmer called the story, "entertainment PR," noting that it's rather strange that one can be allergic to wireless connectivityand just Wi-Fiwhile being seemingly immune to the other areas of the electromagnetic spectrum whose frequencies sit next to (if not overlap) those of a conventional Wi-Fi signal.

Nevertheless, some institutionsincluding Canada's Lakehead Universityhave gone ahead and banned further wireless network installations until, "the potential health effects have been scientifically rebutted or there are adequate protective measures that can be taken," reads the University's official Wi-Fi and Cellular Antennae Policy.

Rodney Palmer, a member of the Safe School Committee, doesn't plan to wait for either. He intends to send his two children to alternative schools--or home school them--if the group's efforts at removing wireless functionality fails. And that decision still rests with the local school boards, as the Ontario Ministry of Education has declined to get involved in the matter.