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Health & Fitness

Potential Health Risks of Distributed Antenna Systems in Encinitas Neighborhoods

Cell transmitters on light poles are popping up in our neighborhoods. Current regulation is not keeping up with the technology in terms of preventing overexposure to this low level radiation.

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The city of Encinitas is considering amending a contract allowing Crown Castle International to add additional cell transmitters to light poles around the city, including residential neighborhoods.

 

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The cell transmitter on pole phenomenon, known as DAS or Distributed Antenna Systems are popping up all over California neighborhoods.  Because of the close proximity of these transmitters, people are being exposed to constant low level radiation involuntarily.  Countries like Israel have banned new transmitters from residential areas for fear that radiation emissions are problematic for public health.  Whatever you may think about Israel politically, they are not a nation of dummies.  They are world leaders in science and medicine.

 

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The current FCC safety standards were set in 1997 and cover pulsed radiofrequency radiation based on the heating of body tissue.  There are no safety standards for chronic public exposure to non-ionizing microwave radiation, which is what Distributed Antenna Systems emit.  So when Crown Castle International claims their device meets “FCC regulations,” there are no regulations. The FCC does not do “biology.”  The studies they run are farmed out to other government agencies such as the FDA, already overloaded with their own studies.  Hence these studies move at a glacial pace. http://microwavenews.com/news-center/whats-fcc

 

According to the BioInitiative Report, compiled by a group of scientists, researchers, and public health professionals, “Biological effects occur at low intensity radiofrequency exposure levels thousands of times below the levels that federal agencies say should keep us safe.”  That statement alone is mind blowing.  It goes on to say, “There may be no lower limit at which exposures do not affect us.  Until we know if there is a lower limit where bioeffects and adverse health impacts do not occur, it is unwise from a public health perspective to “continue business as usual” deploying new technologies that increase radiofrequency radiation exposures, particularly involuntary exposures.”  http://bioinitiative.org/freeaccess/report/index.htm

 

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has left us all in the Wild West in terms of preventing overexposure to this low level radiofrequency radiation.  It has disempowered local governments and communities from proceeding with precaution when locating these cellular transmission nodes.  The documentary “Full Signal” examines the contradiction between health and finance, and the fight to regulate antenna placement.  Big profit comes from selling the extra antenna spots to other companies.  The residual that Crown Castle is offering the city in exchange for locating these transmission nodes on light poles is a drop in the bucket.

 

The problem in a nutshell is the technology has exploded screaming light years ahead of the law.  The Telecom law was written in 1996 and has never been amended.  The way the law is written forbids any local government from discriminating the location of these transmission devices based on public health or environmental concerns.  Back in 1996 this was probably intended to encourage the development of the industry.  In 2012 however, with the new wireless technologies this law is not only antiquated, it poses a public health risk.  Bills that have been proposed to Congress to change this law sit buried for years most likely due to industry lobbying and campaign contributions.

 

Many countries around the world have lower limits on non-thermal radiofrequency radiation, including Russia and China.  That’s rather stunning. http://www.scribd.com/doc/24352550/Cell-Tower-Rpt.  Bottom line the effects of radiation are cumulative, health problems may not show up for 10 years.  This makes causality hard to prove.  Existing scientific knowledge is inadequate to set reliable exposure standards.  That means no safe exposure can be established.  The placement of these devices in residential neighborhoods exposes people to an extra dose of chronic radiation where they live and sleep.  The issue of the amendment for the contract with Crown Castle to allow for more of these transmission units is coming up but has not yet been announced by the city.  I expect Crown Castle will make a presentation citing industry funded studies attesting to the safety of these devices.  I urge citizens to do a little reading about this issue and write to our councilmembers asking them to find a way to stop the proliferation of these devices.  A list of cities that have passed resolutions on this issue is here http://www.cloutnow.org/localres/.

 

Jennifer Brinley

Encinitas

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