AFP reports that four university libraries attached to the Sorbonne, have decided to place a moratorium against the Internet via WiFi. Indeed, several employees had complained of various headaches, vomiting and dizziness in pointing the finger at the wireless network. Institutions affected by the moratorium are the libraries of Sainte-Genevieve, Sainte-Barbe, des Langues Orientales and the Documentation Center of the Faculty of Censier. 

Stephen Ash, spokesman for the Association of Toits Robin explained to AFP: “The health issue is similar to that posed by mobile telephony.” Indeed, the three operators Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom were forced to remove several of their relay antennas located near homes or schools.

Thursday 23 April, the roundtable Grenelle Wave began gathering operators, elected officials and associations. One of the main topics discussed is the danger of electromagnetic waves emitted by the antenna relay. However, potential dangers of WiFi will not be discussed.

In November 2007, the Paris City Hall had cut the connections WiFi four libraries for similar reasons. On 18 June, following a citizens’ conference on the airwaves and public health, the city of Paris will publish recommendations on the use of public WiFi.

Martine Hours explained to AFP that WiFi might be problematic if the user is located very close to a terminal and if there are a lot of data transfers. In the future, libraries might therefore have to travel WiFi routers so that no employee can be found near them.