TEPU, NTU to jointly test campus radiation levels

The China Post staff

Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) yesterday answered a call by the National Taiwan University to test the electromagnetic radiation levels of the

NTU campus together with NTU measurers so as to quell differences in the two parties' findings.
TEPU secretary general He Chung-hsun said that the organization will conduct the test today with NTU in the presence of National Communications

Commission officials, who will witness the findings.

The organization had recently released a report which stated that the NTU campus exceeded safe radiation levels based on measurements the group took near a

wireless Internet transmitter inside a library.

The wireless Internet transmitter emitted over 1700W per square meter of radiation, far exceeding the 5W per square meter international standard for an indoor

space, He said.

NTU officials immediately took their own measurements of the library after the TEPU report but found radiation levels lower than 1W per square meter.

NTU officials challenged TEPU to measure the campus again, this time together with NTU measurers, to "find out the truth."

Both the TEPU and the NTU accused each other of using the wrong unit in their measurements, resulting in such a wide discrepancy.

He said that he has also invited officials from Chunghwa Telecom as well as legislators to witness the test today.

Meanwhile, TEPU yesterday announced that they have found unhealthy radiation levels in a number of notebook computers using wireless Internet

connections.

TEPU conducted tests on 25 different notebook computers and found fourteen of them to exceed 2,000W per square meter.

The fourteen include brand names such as Asus, Acer, IBM, and Twinhead.

However, the companies all rejected the organization's findings yesterday, saying that their products have undergone and subsequently passed tests on

radiation emission.

Even so, TEPU official Chen Shu-hua said that electromagnetic radiation tends to reach dangerous levels when two or more computers are using wireless

networking at the same time.

She warned that indoor wireless connections should not be used in places such as classrooms, libraries, and crowded places.

【The China Post 2007/1/26】