Disability Standards

 

Radiation-free buildings

Do you experience difficulties spending time in public buildings such as libraries, theatres, community centres, shopping centres, schools or hospitals?

Does the wireless radiation in these buildings trigger symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS)?

Do you suffer from other environmental sensitivities that are triggered by being in public buildings?

Many of our readers have told us they do feel unwell in public buildings and often choose to stay away rather than risk the discomfort of spending time there.

Now there’s something people can do about it.

Disability standard update

The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources is conducting a review of the Disability (Access to Premises – Building) Standards 2010. This document sets requirements for the construction of new and the renovation of existing public buildings. This includes rental accommodation such as hostels, boarding houses and short-term holiday accommodation.

Its aims are to ‘ensure equal access to building for people with disability’ and to ‘help builders understand how to make buildings accessible’.

That includes disabilities such as electromagnetic hypersensitivity or other environmental sensitivities.

If you suffer from these conditions or represent someone who does, you can have input into the development of the new Standard.

How the standard could help people with disabilities

Some ways that the Disability (Access to Premises) standards could better accommodate people with EHS/ environmental sensitivities are to:

  • require independent measurements of power-frequency and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in all buildings;

  • require reports of above to be accessible to the public;

  • require buildings to be wired so as to mitigate low frequency magnetic fields (eg location of meter boxes, transformers, substations in relation to places where people spend time);

  • require all new buildings to be hardwired for internet and landline phones;

  • require avoidance of wireless technologies;

  • if wireless MUST be used:

    • require restriction to areas not accessible by the public;

    • require equipment to operate at lowest possible power and for the minimum time needed;

    • require wireless equipment to be turned off when not in use;

    • ban ‘free WiFi’ in buildings, which increases emissions and exposure unnecessarily;

    • require wireless access points to be labelled and located away from workstations/ places where people spend time.

    • require easily readable signage on all entrances to buildings with WiFi/5G/other wireless technologies advising people entering them of this fact.

  • require signage asking people to turn off mobile phones and wireless devices when they enter the building – similar to the requirement not to smoke in public places.

In the first round of public consultation, the committee received a large number of submissions calling for changes that would allow people with environmental sensitivities to access public buildings. Among them was the following submission:

‘I cannot use my public library due the high intensity radiation that exists there, if the Wi-Fi’s intensity was reduced and the emitting device relocated to a more remote area it would go some way to making access more equitable.’

The recommendations of the review committee will be presented to the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology and the Attorney-General in mid-2021.

Making a submission

Submissions close on April 31, 2021.

Feedback can be sent to the committee online, by email PremisesStandards@industry.gov.au by phone 02 6213 7674 or by sending a letter to:

Premises Standards Review Team,
Industry Growth Division,
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources,
GPO Box 2013, CANBERRA ACT 2601

You can see more information about the review here: https://consult.industry.gov.a...

What else you can do

Be aware that your use of wireless devices affects people around you and that people who are sensitive to radiation experience discomfort as a result.

Reduce your use of wireless devices:

  • Use wireless devices only when absolutely necessary.

What else you can do

If you found the information above of interest, please forward this email to others.

If you’d like more information, you can download our March issue of EMR and Health here.

If you’ve been sent this message by a friend and would like to subscribe to future updates, you can do that here.

Note

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