St.StephentheMartyr
CellTowerIssue
PublishedJanuary29,2017
CellularPhoneTowerHealthReports
FromTheAmericanCancerSociety
ThispostingontheAmericanCancerSociety’swebsitediscussesthefollowingsubjects.Wehave
insertedrelevantexcerptsfromeachofthesections,andweencourageyoutoreadtheentire
report:
• HowCellPhoneTowersWork?
“Cellphonescommunicatewithnearbycelltowersmainlythroughradiofrequency(RF)
waves,aformofenergyintheelectromagneticspectrumbetweenFMradiowavesand
microwaves.LikeFMradiowaves,microwaves,visiblelight,andheat,theyareformsof
non-ionizingradiation.ThismeanstheydonotdirectlydamagetheDNAinsidecells,
whichishowstronger(ionizing)typesofradiationsuchasx-rays,gammarays,and
ultraviolet(UV)lightarethoughttobeabletocausecancer.”
•
HowPeopleAreExposedToTheEnergyFromCellPhoneTowers?
“Publicexposuretoradiowavesfromcellphonetowerantennasisslightforseveral
reasons.Thepowerlevelsarerelativelylow,theantennasaremountedhighaboveground
level,andthesignalsaretransmittedintermittently,ratherthanconstantly.
Atgroundlevelneartypicalcellularbasestations,theamountofRFenergyisthousandsof
timeslessthanthelimitsforsafeexposuresetbytheUSFederalCommunication
Commission(FCC)andotherregulatoryauthorities.Itisveryunlikelythatapersoncould
beexposedtoRFlevelsinexcessoftheselimitsjustbybeingnearacellphonetower.”
•
DoCellularPhoneTowersCauseCancer?
“TheenergyofRFwavesgivenoffbycellphonetowersisnotenoughtobreakchemical
bondsinDNAmolecules,whichishowthesestrongerformsofradiationmayleadto
cancer.”
“…evenifRFwavesweresomehowabletoaffectcellsinthebodyathigherdoses,thelevel
ofRFwavespresentatgroundlevelisverylow–wellbelowtherecommendedlimits.
LevelsofenergyfromRFwavesnearcellphonetowersarenotsignificantlydifferentfrom
thebackgroundlevelsofRFradiationinurbanareasfromothersources,suchasradioand
televisionbroadcaststations.”
•
StudiesInPeople
“Theamountofexposurefromlivingnearacellphonetoweristypicallymanytimeslower
thantheexposurefromusingacellphone.About30studieshavelookedatpossiblelinks
betweencellphoneuseandtumorsinpeople.Moststudiestodatehavenotfoundalink
betweencellphoneuseandthedevelopmentoftumors,althoughthesestudieshavehad
someimportantlimitations.”
•
Studiesdoneinthelab
“LaboratorystudieshavelookedatwhetherthetypesofRFwavesusedincellphone
communicationcancauseDNAdamage.Mostofthesestudieshavesupportedtheideathat
theRFwavesgivenoffbycellphonesandtowersdon'thaveenoughenergytodamageDNA
directly.Becauseofthis,it’snotclearhowcellphonesandtowersmightbeabletocause
cancer,butresearchinthisareacontinues.”
•
WhatExpertAgenciesSay
“TheUSFederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC)hassaidthisaboutcellphone
towersnearhomesorschools:
“RadiofrequencyemissionsfromantennasusedforcellularandPCS[personal
communicationsservice]transmissionsresultinexposurelevelsonthegroundthat
aretypicallythousandsoftimesbelowsafetylimits.Thesesafetylimitswere
adoptedbytheFCCbasedontherecommendationsofexpertorganizationsand
endorsedbyagenciesoftheFederalGovernmentresponsibleforhealthandsafety.
Therefore,thereisnoreasontobelievethatsuchtowerscouldconstituteapotential
healthhazardtonearbyresidentsorstudents.”
TheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)states:
“Atveryhighlevels,RFenergyisdangerous.Itcanheatthebody'stissuesrapidly.
However,suchhighlevelsarefoundonlynearcertainequipment,suchaspowerful
long-distancetransmitters.CellphonesandwirelessnetworksproduceRF,butnot
atlevelsthatcausesignificantheating.Inaddition,RFenergydecreasesquicklyover
distance.Atgroundlevel,exposuretoRFfromsourceslikecellphonetowersis
usuallyverylow.”
•
CanIlimitmyexposure?
“Cellphonetowersarenotknowntocauseanyhealtheffects.”
•
WhatshouldIdoifI’vebeenexposedtocellularphonetowers?
“ThereisnotesttomeasurewhetheryouhavebeenexposedtoRFradiationfromcellular
phonetowers.Butasnotedabove,mostresearchersandregulatoryauthoritiesdonot
believethatcellphonetowersposehealthrisksunderordinaryconditions.”
Thefullreportcanbefoundhere:
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phone-towers.html
Wantmore,increasinglytechnical,sources?Readsimilarconclusionsfrom:
TheWorldHealthOrganization
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/fs304/en/
andtheNationalCancerInstitute
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/electromagnetic-fieldsfact-sheet
EffectsofCellularPhoneTowersonProperty
Values
FromInsideTowers,anewsletterwrittenforthewirelesstowerindustry
ThesubjectofcelltowersandpropertyvaluesisahottopicontheInternet.Unfortunately,many
ofthestoriesonthesubjectarejustthat:anecdotalstories.Manyvariablesexistinthesestories,
includinghowfarawaythecelltowerisfromthepropertiestalkedabout,andthestorieslackreal
evidence,onlyopinions.InsideTowersfeaturesoneofthefewtrulyanalyticalstudiesonthe
presenceofacelltower.
ThefollowingareexcerptsfromtheInsideTowersstory,aswellasthereportitpullsitsdatafrom:
• TheReport
“TomJ.Keith&Associates,Inc.conductedresearchandillustratedhowcellphonetowers
canaffectpropertyvalues.Theirfindingscanbefoundin“ImpactofCellToweron
SurroundingProperties,”whichiswherethechartbelowwasoriginallypublished.”
“Thischartshowsthatthereisn’tasignificantchangeinthevaluesfortheproperties1/10
mileawayfromthetoweror5/10mileawayfromthetower.“Thevaluesriseandfallas
youmoveoutfromringonetoringfive,concludingthatthetowerdoesnotaffectthevalue
ofthepropertiesasdistanceincreasesfromtower,”TomJ.Keith&Associates,Inc.
explained.Thereisnodefinitelinkbetweencellphonetowersanddecreasingproperty
valuesandwiththeexpansionofmobilecoverage,towersaregoingtobedifficulttoavoid.”
Thecompletereportcanbefoundhere:
http://d39pcpjksqjx5i.cloudfront.net/media/re-research/cell_tower_study.pdf
Otherresourcesregardingtheaffectofcellphonetowersonpropertyvaluescanbefoundhere:
https://www.irwaonline.org/eweb/upload/0399b.pdf
http://www.nexsenpruet.com/insights/cell-phone-towers-do-not-affect-property-values-or-thecase-of-three-board-hearings-and-one-temporary-tower
“...neighborsinvariablyarguethatanewtowerwilladverselyaffectpropertyvalues....
Appraisersarguetothecontrary......Althoughcelltowersmaybeinitiallynoticed,they
quicklyfadeintothebackgroundandhavenoappreciableeffectonvalue–justas
telephonepoles,utilitylines,streetlights,andotherinfrastructureofmodernlifedonot
affectvalue.”
CellTowerSiting
Istherereallyaneedforthistower?
Yes,thereis!WhenthetelecommunicationsindustryanalyzedamapofGreendale,theymadethis
determinationbasedonthecoveragebyexistingtowers–whichisarequiredstepinrequestinga
towersitefromtheFCC.Theywouldnoterectthetowerifitwasnotneeded.
Isn’tthesitetooclosetoResidentialproperties?
Theproposedsiteismorethan300feetfromthenearestresidentialpropertyline–comparedto
thelessthan70feetseparatingthenearesthomefromthemunicipalwatertowerantennaswhich
Greendalehasbeenleasingforoveradecade.Somemunicipalitiesareconsideringadding
ordinancestorequirecommercialstructuresbeatleasttheirheightawayfromthenearest
residentialproperty.Evenifanordinancerequiredtwiceitsheightawayfromresidential
property,theleasesitewouldstillmeettherequirement.
Whataboutthepublicschools?
Ifatowerisconstructedontheleasedlanditwouldbethe4thand6thclosestdistancesoftheeight
closesttower/antennameasurementstoGreendalePublicSchools.
CellAntennaSource
School
EstimatedDistance(ft)
GreendaleWaterTower
CanterburyElementary
900
IndustrialParkMonopole
GreendaleHighSchool
1,000
GreendaleWaterTower
GreendaleMiddleSchool
1,200
St.StephenSite
CollegeParkElementary
1,400
GreendaleWaterTower
GreendaleHighSchool
1,500
St.StephenSite
HighlandViewElementary
2,300
st
NorthwestofRawson&51 CollegeParkElementary
3,000
IndustrialParkMonopole
CollegeParkElementary
3,500
TheWalmartcelltowerisabout500feetfromMartinLutherHighSchool.Celltowerantennasare
installedonaFranklinHighSchoolfootballfieldlightpoleandacelltowerwasinstalledonthe
OakCreekHighSchoolpropertyaswell.
MiscellaneousConcerns
ArethetreesontheVillagepropertygoingtobecutdown?
No.ThereisnoreasonfortheVillagetreestobecutdownoralteredinanyway.Sometreeson
churchpropertywillneedtobecleared,butnewtreeswillbeplantedaroundthefencedinleased
spaceonceconstructed.
Whatifthecelltowerfalls?Wherewillitfall?
Keepinmindthatthiscelltowerwillbemadeofsteelandmountedonaconcreteslabextending
severalfeetbelowtheground,sothechancethatthistowerwillfallisextremelyremote.
Additionally,thetowerisengineeredtocollapseintosectionsintheresultofacriticalfailure,
fallinginasmallerspacethanitsheight.
Ourinsurancecompanydoesn’tfeelthereisanyimminentdangerofthetowerfalling.Whenthe
church’sinsurancecompanywastoldoftheimpendingtower,theyhadnoconcerns,andthe
church’sinsurancepremiumisnotexpectedtoincrease.
Comparethistothemanyutilitypolesthatrunthroughouttheneighborhoodsandinmanyofour
backyards.Thesepolesaregenerallymadeofwoodthatisseveraldecadesoldandpreserved
withapetroleum-basedsolution.Insteadofbeingmountedtoaconcretebase,theyaresimply
installedintotheground,muchlikeafencepost.Thesepolesalsocarryhigh-voltagelivewires.
Willtherebeanynoisefromthistower?
Verylittle.Youmightbeabletohearalowhum,butthenoiselevelfromthistowerequipmentwill
belessthanotherambientnoiseyouwouldexpectinaneighborhood.You’llbemorelikelytohear
anairconditioner,alawnmower,childrenplayingnearyourhome,orthechoirpracticinginside
thechurch.Thecontractwiththetowercompanyincludesspecificnoiselevelrestrictionsto
ensurethis.