France Takes Action

www.next-up.org

___________________________________________________________________________27 April 2009

The mayor of the second largest city in Calvados is going to remove the wi-fi network from local schools.

HEROUVILLE-SAINT-CLAIR (AFP) - The town council of Hérouville-Saint-Clair (Calvados-Normandy) is going to remove the wi-fi network (wireless Internet) in its schools before the end of the year, it announced on Monday, four days after the launch of the "Radiation Round Table" in Paris.

"We are going to apply the precautionary principle. Our job is to protect people's health," declared the mayor Rodolphe Thomas during a press conference.

In this new town of 24,000 inhabitants situated on the outskirts of Caen, the wi-fi network has provided local schools with a wireless connection to the Internet, via the town hall. The dozen sites concerned will now have independent Internet access.

In addition the Council are going to finance ten or more measurements of electromagnetic fields in the town, at a total cost of 4-5000 euros, added Laurent Mata, chief deputy mayor in charge of sustainable development.

The intention is to change or relocate certain antennas if the radiation is too  intense. "We'll take them to court" if the phone companies refuse to do this,
affirmed M. Mata.

                                                                                                                                    
In September Hérouville Saint-Clair is going to launch a campaign about the                           The mayor of Hérouville-Saint-Clair, Rodolphe Thomas
precautions to take to protect oneself from radiation, aimed at the general  public,
the telecom operators and the landlords "who receive 1500-2500 euros per month
for the rent of the roof where the relay antenna is installed", according to M. Mata.
He estimates that overall these plans will cost the town 15,000 euros.

Criirem (Centre for research and independent information on electromagnetic radiation), which claims to be the only independent organisation taking measurements of electromagnetic fields, has indicated that about 20 town and city councils in France have asked them to carry out assessments of this kind. 

                                                                                                                                                                                               A relay antenna installed on the roof of an apartment
                                                                                                                                                                                               building in Hérouville-Saint-Clair (Calvados) 27 04 2009