A small Ontario private school has removed Wi-Fi from its school, citing student health as one of its concerns.

Now hard-wired for Internet use, “it’s faster than wireless and we have no question regarding safety,” said Roberta Murray Hirst, principal of Pretty River Academy, a 140-student school in Collingwood, north of Toronto.

The issue was a hot-button topic at the recent annual meeting of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario — Canada’s largest public school teachers’ union — where members from Niagara pushed for a Wi-Fi ban in schools.

The union is studying the research on potential health hazards to students, and will report back to members.

The issue was also debated last summer after Niagara teachers warned of studies linking radiation from wireless technology to brain tumours and cancer.

Few bans on Wi-Fi exist in schools — in fact, boards are embracing new technologies in the classroom — although some jurisdictions don’t allow cellphone towers near schools.

In 2006, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay declared itself a wireless-free zone, with the then president saying he didn’t want to take any chances given how inconclusive the research is. That has since been reversed.

Health Canada has said wireless technologies emit radiofrequencies that are “extremely low and not associated with any health problems.”

But last May, the World Health Organization warned that radiofrequency radiation from devices like cellphones was a possible carcinogen, but said no evidence suggests serious risks.

The Toronto District School Board has 1,073 wireless access points in 413 schools and offices across the city.

The York Region District School Board has Wi-Fi in all its 197 schools, said spokesman Ross Virgo.

“We are aware of diverging opinions about Wi-Fi safety in the health science community, but as a public school board, we claim no expertise” and defer to public health authorities which have not declared wireless a danger to students, he added.

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Last year, students at a few public schools — including Collingwood, Barrie and Orillia — reported skin rashes and headaches after their schools went wireless.

“Everywhere we go, we are bombarded with Wi-Fi — it’s in every aspect of our lives, and in every corner of the province,” said Sam Hammond, president of the elementary teachers’ union. “When you look at the classroom and educational settings, it’s all moving very rapidly in that direction.”