2. MUHAMAD AMIN BIN ZAINI (AE090096)
3. AZMAN BIN AHAMAD (AE090140)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
GROUP MEMBERS
1. RAJA MUHAMMAD MUZAFFAR BIN RAJA MAHADI (AE090237)
2. MUHAMAD AMIN BIN ZAINI (AE090096)
3. AZMAN BIN AHAMAD (AE090140)
2. MUHAMAD AMIN BIN ZAINI (AE090096)
3. AZMAN BIN AHAMAD (AE090140)
These are news from World Health Organization (WHO)
Electromagnetic fields and public health
Base stations and wireless technologies
Mobile telephony is now commonplace around the world. This wireless technology relies upon an extensive network of fixed antennas, or base stations, relaying information with radiofrequency (RF) signals. Over 1.4 million base stations exist worldwide and the number is increasing significantly with the introduction of third generation technology.
Other wireless networks that allow high-speed internet access and services, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), are also increasingly common in homes, offices, and many public areas (airports, schools, residential and urban areas). As the number of base stations and local wireless networks increases, so does the RF exposure of the population. Recent surveys have shown that the RF exposures from base stations range from 0.002% to 2% of the levels of international exposure guidelines, depending on a variety of factors such as the proximity to the antenna and the surrounding environment. This is lower or comparable to RF exposures from radio or television broadcast transmitters.
There has been concern about possible health consequences from exposure to the RF fields produced by wireless technologies. This fact sheet reviews the scientific evidence on the health effects from continuous low-level human exposure to base stations and other local wireless networks.
Health concerns
A common concern about base station and local wireless network antennas relates to the possible long-term health effects that whole-body exposure to the RF signals may have. To date, the only health effect from RF fields identified in scientific reviews has been related to an increase in body temperature (> 1 °C) from exposure at very high field intensity found only in certain industrial facilities, such as RF heaters. The levels of RF exposure from base stations and wireless networks are so low that the temperature increases are insignificant and do not affect human health.
The strength of RF fields is greatest at its source, and diminishes quickly with distance. Access near base station antennas is restricted where RF signals may exceed international exposure limits. Recent surveys have indicated that RF exposures from base stations and wireless technologies in publicly accessible areas (including schools and hospitals) are normally thousands of times below international standards.
In fact, due to their lower frequency, at similar RF exposure levels, the body absorbs up to five times more of the signal from FM radio and television than from base stations. This is because the frequencies used in FM radio (around 100 MHz) and in TV broadcasting (around 300 to 400 MHz) are lower than those employed in mobile telephony (900 MHz and 1800 MHz) and because a person's height makes the body an efficient receiving antenna. Further, radio and television broadcast stations have been in operation for the past 50 or more years without any adverse health consequence being established.
While most radio technologies have used analog signals, modern wireless telecommunications are using digital transmissions. Detailed reviews conducted so far have not revealed any hazard specific to different RF modulations.
Cancer: Media or anecdotal reports of cancer clusters around mobile phone base stations have heightened public concern. It should be noted that geographically, cancers are unevenly distributed among any population. Given the widespread presence of base stations in the environment, it is expected that possible cancer clusters will occur near base stations merely by chance. Moreover, the reported cancers in these clusters are often a collection of different types of cancer with no common characteristics and hence unlikely to have a common cause.
Scientific evidence on the distribution of cancer in the population can be obtained through carefully planned and executed epidemiological studies. Over the past 15 years, studies examining a potential relationship between RF transmitters and cancer have been published. These studies have not provided evidence that RF exposure from the transmitters increases the risk of cancer. Likewise, long-term animal studies have not established an increased risk of cancer from exposure to RF fields, even at levels that are much higher than produced by base stations and wireless networks.
Other effects: Few studies have investigated general health effects in individuals exposed to RF fields from base stations. This is because of the difficulty in distinguishing possible health effects from the very low signals emitted by base stations from other higher strength RF signals in the environment. Most studies have focused on the RF exposures of mobile phone users. Human and animal studies examining brain wave patterns, cognition and behaviour after exposure to RF fields, such as those generated by mobile phones, have not identified adverse effects. RF exposures used in these studies were about 1000 times higher than those associated with general public exposure from base stations or wireless networks. No consistent evidence of altered sleep or cardiovascular function has been reported.
Some individuals have reported that they experience non-specific symptoms upon exposure to RF fields emitted from base stations and other EMF devices. As recognized in a recent WHO fact sheet "Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity", EMF has not been shown to cause such symptoms. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize the plight of people suffering from these symptoms.
From all evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short- or long-term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF signals produced by base stations. Since wireless networks produce generally lower RF signals than base stations, no adverse health effects are expected from exposure to them.
Protection standards
International exposure guidelines have been developed to provide protection against established effects from RF fields by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 1998) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE, 2005).
National authorities should adopt international standards to protect their citizens against adverse levels of RF fields. They should restrict access to areas where exposure limits may be exceeded.
Public perception of risk
Some people perceive risks from RF exposure as likely and even possibly severe. Several reasons for public fear include media announcements of new and unconfirmed scientific studies, leading to a feeling of uncertainty and a perception that there may be unknown or undiscovered hazards. Other factors are aesthetic concerns and a feeling of a lack of control or input to the process of determining the location of new base stations. Experience shows that education programmes as well as effective communications and involvement of the public and other stakeholders at appropriate stages of the decision process before installing RF sources can enhance public confidence and acceptability.
Conclusions
Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects.
WHO Initiatives
WHO, through the International EMF Project, has established a programme to monitor the EMF scientific literature, to evaluate the health effects from exposure to EMF in the range from 0 to 300 GHz, to provide advice about possible EMF hazards and to identify suitable mitigation measures? Following extensive international reviews, the International EMF Project has promoted research to fill gaps in knowledge. In response national governments and research institutes have funded over $250 million on EMF research over the past 10 years.
While no health effects are expected from exposure to RF fields from base stations and wireless networks, research is still being promoted by WHO to determine whether there are any health consequences from the higher RF exposures from mobile phones.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a WHO specialized agency, is expected to conduct a review of cancer risk from RF fields in 2006-2007 and the International EMF Project will then undertake an overall health risk assessment for RF fields in 2007-2008.
Base stations and wireless technologies
Mobile telephony is now commonplace around the world. This wireless technology relies upon an extensive network of fixed antennas, or base stations, relaying information with radiofrequency (RF) signals. Over 1.4 million base stations exist worldwide and the number is increasing significantly with the introduction of third generation technology.
Other wireless networks that allow high-speed internet access and services, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), are also increasingly common in homes, offices, and many public areas (airports, schools, residential and urban areas). As the number of base stations and local wireless networks increases, so does the RF exposure of the population. Recent surveys have shown that the RF exposures from base stations range from 0.002% to 2% of the levels of international exposure guidelines, depending on a variety of factors such as the proximity to the antenna and the surrounding environment. This is lower or comparable to RF exposures from radio or television broadcast transmitters.
There has been concern about possible health consequences from exposure to the RF fields produced by wireless technologies. This fact sheet reviews the scientific evidence on the health effects from continuous low-level human exposure to base stations and other local wireless networks.
Health concerns
A common concern about base station and local wireless network antennas relates to the possible long-term health effects that whole-body exposure to the RF signals may have. To date, the only health effect from RF fields identified in scientific reviews has been related to an increase in body temperature (> 1 °C) from exposure at very high field intensity found only in certain industrial facilities, such as RF heaters. The levels of RF exposure from base stations and wireless networks are so low that the temperature increases are insignificant and do not affect human health.
The strength of RF fields is greatest at its source, and diminishes quickly with distance. Access near base station antennas is restricted where RF signals may exceed international exposure limits. Recent surveys have indicated that RF exposures from base stations and wireless technologies in publicly accessible areas (including schools and hospitals) are normally thousands of times below international standards.
In fact, due to their lower frequency, at similar RF exposure levels, the body absorbs up to five times more of the signal from FM radio and television than from base stations. This is because the frequencies used in FM radio (around 100 MHz) and in TV broadcasting (around 300 to 400 MHz) are lower than those employed in mobile telephony (900 MHz and 1800 MHz) and because a person's height makes the body an efficient receiving antenna. Further, radio and television broadcast stations have been in operation for the past 50 or more years without any adverse health consequence being established.
While most radio technologies have used analog signals, modern wireless telecommunications are using digital transmissions. Detailed reviews conducted so far have not revealed any hazard specific to different RF modulations.
Cancer: Media or anecdotal reports of cancer clusters around mobile phone base stations have heightened public concern. It should be noted that geographically, cancers are unevenly distributed among any population. Given the widespread presence of base stations in the environment, it is expected that possible cancer clusters will occur near base stations merely by chance. Moreover, the reported cancers in these clusters are often a collection of different types of cancer with no common characteristics and hence unlikely to have a common cause.
Scientific evidence on the distribution of cancer in the population can be obtained through carefully planned and executed epidemiological studies. Over the past 15 years, studies examining a potential relationship between RF transmitters and cancer have been published. These studies have not provided evidence that RF exposure from the transmitters increases the risk of cancer. Likewise, long-term animal studies have not established an increased risk of cancer from exposure to RF fields, even at levels that are much higher than produced by base stations and wireless networks.
Other effects: Few studies have investigated general health effects in individuals exposed to RF fields from base stations. This is because of the difficulty in distinguishing possible health effects from the very low signals emitted by base stations from other higher strength RF signals in the environment. Most studies have focused on the RF exposures of mobile phone users. Human and animal studies examining brain wave patterns, cognition and behaviour after exposure to RF fields, such as those generated by mobile phones, have not identified adverse effects. RF exposures used in these studies were about 1000 times higher than those associated with general public exposure from base stations or wireless networks. No consistent evidence of altered sleep or cardiovascular function has been reported.
Some individuals have reported that they experience non-specific symptoms upon exposure to RF fields emitted from base stations and other EMF devices. As recognized in a recent WHO fact sheet "Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity", EMF has not been shown to cause such symptoms. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize the plight of people suffering from these symptoms.
From all evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short- or long-term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF signals produced by base stations. Since wireless networks produce generally lower RF signals than base stations, no adverse health effects are expected from exposure to them.
Protection standards
International exposure guidelines have been developed to provide protection against established effects from RF fields by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 1998) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE, 2005).
National authorities should adopt international standards to protect their citizens against adverse levels of RF fields. They should restrict access to areas where exposure limits may be exceeded.
Public perception of risk
Some people perceive risks from RF exposure as likely and even possibly severe. Several reasons for public fear include media announcements of new and unconfirmed scientific studies, leading to a feeling of uncertainty and a perception that there may be unknown or undiscovered hazards. Other factors are aesthetic concerns and a feeling of a lack of control or input to the process of determining the location of new base stations. Experience shows that education programmes as well as effective communications and involvement of the public and other stakeholders at appropriate stages of the decision process before installing RF sources can enhance public confidence and acceptability.
Conclusions
Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects.
WHO Initiatives
WHO, through the International EMF Project, has established a programme to monitor the EMF scientific literature, to evaluate the health effects from exposure to EMF in the range from 0 to 300 GHz, to provide advice about possible EMF hazards and to identify suitable mitigation measures? Following extensive international reviews, the International EMF Project has promoted research to fill gaps in knowledge. In response national governments and research institutes have funded over $250 million on EMF research over the past 10 years.
While no health effects are expected from exposure to RF fields from base stations and wireless networks, research is still being promoted by WHO to determine whether there are any health consequences from the higher RF exposures from mobile phones.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a WHO specialized agency, is expected to conduct a review of cancer risk from RF fields in 2006-2007 and the International EMF Project will then undertake an overall health risk assessment for RF fields in 2007-2008.
effect of wireless in daily life
Wireless technology can provide many benefits to computing including faster respond to queries; reduce time spent on paperwork, increased online time for user, just-in-time and real control, tighter communications between clients and hosts. Wireless technology is governed by two general forces: technology, which provides a set of basic building blocks, and user application, which determine a set of operation that must be carried out efficiently on demand. This paper summarizes technological changes that are underway and describes their impact on wireless computing development and implementation. It also describes the applications that influence the development and implementation of wireless computing and shows what current systems offer.
There are many effect of using wireless in daily life. Beside, the increasing of number of using wireless is high than before the wireless is being exposed to public. In Malaysia, 8 over 10 houses have their own wireless networking. Not only house, in public area such as shopping mall also have the wireless network. This shows that’s wireless is very important to everyone not only in Malaysia but the whole world. Besides, people nowadays use this kind of technology randomly in high quantities on it. But we don’t know even they noticed that there are effect of using wireless in daily life.
There are many effect of using the wireless technology in daily life. For example to our health.
Use of Wireless communication devices are increasing exponentially. This growth is phenomenal particularly in past few years. Several researches concluded that increased exposure to the ‘Radiofrequencies (RF)’ emitted by these wireless communication devices cause potential health effects.
Almost all the present studies demonstrate effects on the healthy adults who comparably have lesser exposures to the RF fields. Experts are now realizing that findings of such studies are not relevant in case of children who have a higher exposure to the RF fields.”Potential health consequences from multiple, long –term, low intensity RF exposure need to be studied in detail in present context”, feel the researchers.
In case of children the ‘Specific Absorption Rates (SAR)’ is expected to be higher compared to the adults. It is mainly because of the closeness of the exposure wavelength the whole-body resonance frequency in case of children who are shorter in height compared to the adults.
The young generation of today is also expected to experience a longer period of exposure with the RF field generated by the mobile devices. Children normally start using these devices at an early age and this makes them more exposed than to the adults. Many studies conducted with this focus have revealed that there is an exponential growth in the mobile phone ownership among children. Researchers feel that there is an urgent need to conduct studies with human populations being affected by these devices causing present and future health problems.
There are many effect of using wireless in daily life. Beside, the increasing of number of using wireless is high than before the wireless is being exposed to public. In Malaysia, 8 over 10 houses have their own wireless networking. Not only house, in public area such as shopping mall also have the wireless network. This shows that’s wireless is very important to everyone not only in Malaysia but the whole world. Besides, people nowadays use this kind of technology randomly in high quantities on it. But we don’t know even they noticed that there are effect of using wireless in daily life.
There are many effect of using the wireless technology in daily life. For example to our health.
Use of Wireless communication devices are increasing exponentially. This growth is phenomenal particularly in past few years. Several researches concluded that increased exposure to the ‘Radiofrequencies (RF)’ emitted by these wireless communication devices cause potential health effects.
Almost all the present studies demonstrate effects on the healthy adults who comparably have lesser exposures to the RF fields. Experts are now realizing that findings of such studies are not relevant in case of children who have a higher exposure to the RF fields.”Potential health consequences from multiple, long –term, low intensity RF exposure need to be studied in detail in present context”, feel the researchers.
In case of children the ‘Specific Absorption Rates (SAR)’ is expected to be higher compared to the adults. It is mainly because of the closeness of the exposure wavelength the whole-body resonance frequency in case of children who are shorter in height compared to the adults.
The young generation of today is also expected to experience a longer period of exposure with the RF field generated by the mobile devices. Children normally start using these devices at an early age and this makes them more exposed than to the adults. Many studies conducted with this focus have revealed that there is an exponential growth in the mobile phone ownership among children. Researchers feel that there is an urgent need to conduct studies with human populations being affected by these devices causing present and future health problems.
Types of Unauthorized Access to Wireless Networks
The unauthorized access to the wireless signals is really common. The various types of unauthorized access are malicious association, accidental association, ad hoc networks, and nontraditional networks, man in the middle attack, identity theft and denial of service. When a user turn on its PC, and he or she receives unauthorized signals from a neighboring building. User might not even signals are emerging and make use of it are have a clue from where they are emerging and make use of it , then we can call it accidental association. When a person uses crackers to access the password of the wireless network it is termed as malicious network. When the wireless technology has no centre device to act for it encryption settings are hard to mange therefore security cannot be achieved. Bluetooth devices and PDAs are nontraditional form of networks; they can be easily hacked by using cracker technology.
Major disadvantages of wireless technology
Wireless is a public frequency network therefore its interface is highly risky to be used for official private information. The speed and the viability of the wireless signals drop as more and more users use the same frequency. Moreover its original throughput is three times less than it claims to deliver. Wireless technology is available in only three major channels ranging from 2.5 GHz, 11 and 1.6 GHz, Which is much lower than the wired network. They are 50 times slower than the wired network technologies. The wireless signals are also attuned by the barriers such as walls, doors and devices itself. The setup of the wireless technology is difficult maintain. Hence it an unstable network. Though wireless technologies provide flexibility to use and carry your laptop or any other portable device with you anywhere, but the longer the distance the weaker the signals. The extensive use of wireless signals over the mobile phone is dangerous to the health of the human beings. The various health problems that wireless can pose are memory loss and even cancer.
Wireless signals are prone to disrupt by the infrared and radio signals. Wireless technologies are four times more expensive than wired technology due to their difficult setup. If one needs to transfer confidential data over the network wireless technology is a serious risk to be used. Banks, investigation agencies and legal data should be transferred using wired network technologies, because they are more safe and sound. The wireless technology offers public access points which hinder the efficient transfer of data.
Wireless signals are prone to disrupt by the infrared and radio signals. Wireless technologies are four times more expensive than wired technology due to their difficult setup. If one needs to transfer confidential data over the network wireless technology is a serious risk to be used. Banks, investigation agencies and legal data should be transferred using wired network technologies, because they are more safe and sound. The wireless technology offers public access points which hinder the efficient transfer of data.
Disadvantages of wireless networks
The development in the communication systems and the networking has given rise to the wireless networks. The ease and flexibility of wireless communication has enabled us to use personal assistance devices to be used anywhere. This has enabled the mankind to excel in every field of the life, but at the same time it has many threats as well.
Security threats to Wireless Networks
Besides all the comforts of the life wireless networks poses serious security threats. The main reason is the signals are spread in the air and it is convenient for the hackers to catch wireless signals. Wireless networks require very tight security so that the unauthorized users cannot exploit the information. As more and users are making use of the wireless technologies, the risk of data being lost is increasing. The current wireless encryption protocols are difficult to handle .moreover the common users are not aware of the ways of addressing wireless security matters. One must build strong security protocols in order to secure the wireless signals like WPA and WPA2. Moreover wireless intrusion prevention system is another better way to build strong security system.
Security threats to Wireless Networks
Besides all the comforts of the life wireless networks poses serious security threats. The main reason is the signals are spread in the air and it is convenient for the hackers to catch wireless signals. Wireless networks require very tight security so that the unauthorized users cannot exploit the information. As more and users are making use of the wireless technologies, the risk of data being lost is increasing. The current wireless encryption protocols are difficult to handle .moreover the common users are not aware of the ways of addressing wireless security matters. One must build strong security protocols in order to secure the wireless signals like WPA and WPA2. Moreover wireless intrusion prevention system is another better way to build strong security system.
Wireless Routers - Some Disadvantages
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Wireless routers allow flexibility and freedom for many internet users. With Wi-Fi, a person can sit at a coffee shop and start surfing the web as if they were connected to a phone jack or cable at home. Even today, some towns are going completely wireless so that anyone within the vicinity can access the net for free.
But with all the advantages that wireless routers provide there are things we should be mindful of when we decide to plug in the router. Wireless routers are not necessarily without their flaws. Here are few things to keep in mind.
If a person were to connect directly to the internet with a cable and compare that with the same connection, but with a wireless router, there would be a noticeable difference. The wireless connection will be slightly slower than the direct connection. The reason is simple; a Wi-Fi transmits through the air and there's some degradation with this medium. It's like comparing television reception between cable and antennas. Cable is obviously faster.
Possibly a huge concern with wireless routers and Wi-Fi is the encryption protocols. In some public Wi-Fi places (such as a local café), the transmission is encryption free. This means that all of your private data stored in your laptop or PDA will be exposed to anyone in the same vicinity. It's possible that an unscrupulous person could obtain passwords and important personal information.
An older protocol for wireless routers is the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). Although it does have a level of encryption, the encryption can be easily compromised. The problem has caused a number of wireless router owners to upgrade to WPA and WPA2 encryption protocols.
With the increasing Wi-Fi hotspots in the neighborhood, Wi-Fi pollution is becoming more apparent. Sometimes stores or organizations will broadcast over the same channel, causing interference and lack of access points. Cities are just noticing this problem as more users are jumping into the wireless realm.
Other devices and equipment can also contribute to the pollution. Studies have shown that Bluetooth devices, cordless phones and microwave ovens all contribute to interference of public wireless transmissions. This is a known problem in high-density areas such as cities with many access points.
Wireless routers do not have a limitless range. As such, the broadcasting radius could be limited to just a 150 to 300 ft. If you want to improve the range, you'd have to purchase Wi-Fi antennas.
The wireless Wi-Fi realm is different to other mediums such as Bluetooth. The power consumption is much greater for devices using Wi-Fi through a wireless router or access point. People who use PDAs or laptops will burn through battery power.
Another problem is that for countries all over the world, you'll find differing spectrum assignments. The lack of consistency has caused problems for internet users traveling from country to country. In some instances, governments may prohibit use of certain channels or require special authorization.
There are many disadvantages of wireless routers and Wi-Fi, but the disadvantages should not necessarily stop a person to use the service. Consider the pros and cons of the wireless realm first before jumping into the World Wide Web.
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