Keep Cell Tower
Out of the Steeple

The recent majority vote by the congregation of the Federated Church of Rochester in favor of installing a cell phone tower within the church steeple is very disturbing news, especially for those residents who live within a quarter mile of the church.

I understand that the valley is eager to access cell phone technology, and that the cell phone company offers financial incentives to a property owner. I understand that regular income would ease the financial burden of running a church in a small rural community. However, the community should be wary that the incentives do not match the potential risk.

The presence of cell towers in residential communities is a controversial issue. Despite persistent claims to the contrary by the cell phone industry, some studies indicate evidence of health and safety risks caused by continuous and close proximity exposure to non-thermal pulsed low-intensity microwave radiation, especially to children, women, and vulnerable adults.

The only agency with authority to regulate cellular tower emissions is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Unfortunately for the public, Section 704 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act prevents the evidence of health risks as a reason to prevent cell tower installations.

"The FCC standards for radio-frequency emissions are based on thermal effects . . . but the case for non-thermal hazards from RFs is substantial. (B. Blake Levitt, "Cell-Phone Towers and Communities: The Struggle for Local Control")

Recent research in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere has shown that non-thermal cell phone frequencies may cause biological harm. According to the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center (www.mountshastaecology.org), "Studies have shown that even at low levels of this radiation, there is evidence of damage to cell tissue and DNA, and it has been linked to brain tumors, cancer, suppressed immune function, depression, miscarriage, Alzheimer’s disease, and numerous other serious illnesses."

Karen J. Rogers, in "Health Effects from Cell Phone Tower Radiation," said that "Some scientific studies show adverse health effects at frequency levels hundreds, indeed, thousands of times lower than the US standards. These harmful low levels of radiation can reach as far as a mile away from the cell tower location."

The EMF-Health.com article "Cell Phone Towers: How Far Is Safe?" states that if you live within a quarter mile of a cell phone tower, radiations from that tower may present a serious health risk. The article cites two studies made over the last 10 years that show that the incidence of cancer in populations living within 1300 feet of a cell tower has significantly increased.

The decision of a well-informed citizenry is vital in safely planning a site for this telecommunications technology, out of proximity to people’s daily lives, and especially away from homes, schools, senior facilities, hospitals, and historical buildings. Extensive information is available for anyone willing to do the research. For starters go to www.emrnetwork.org.

I urge this community not to hastily make a decision that could potentially harm any of its residents, or devalue their property. The church I was raised in taught me the following principle called the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Kathryn Schenkman

Rochester