Cell Tower Health Effects Testimony at Petaluma City School District Meeting
The Petaluma City School District has signaled the Board will consider prohibiting cell towers on school property, just as several other school districts have done. Parents and community members testified in opposition to school cell towers at the January 30, 2024 Petaluma City School District Meeting due to the recent request by a wireless infrastructure company to add more equipment on the existing cell tower site at Casa Grande High School.
The Board members did not move forward with the cell tower company request for more space and concluded by discussing their next step as a resolution to ban future cell towers on school property. Scientific letters were sent to Petaluma City School District by the Environmental Health Trust and Physician for Safe Technology.
School districts nationwide are prohibiting cell towers on school property, especially in California where Los Angeles Unified School District, Palo Alto CA Unified School District, and Temecula Valley Unified School District have passed resolutions opposing cell towers on school property.
This December, the Temecula Valley Unified School District passed a Resolution;prohibiting new wireless telecommunication installments on Temecula Valley Unified School District’s school grounds:
- prohibiting new wireless telecommunication installments
- prohibiting any extension or renewal of existing cell tower leases
- requests and supports that the City of Temecula immediately establish local municipal zoning setback rules of 1,500 feet or more for operations of wireless telecommunication transmitters near a school site
“Schools should be safe environments for kids. U.S. government FCC limits for cell tower radiation exposure do not ensure safety as FCC limits remain unchanged since 1996. They were designed for short term effects like overheating, not long term effects like cancer or neurological issues,” stated Theodora Scarato Executive Director of Environmental Health Trust. She highlighted how the Los Angeles School District Office of Health and Safety developed a “cautionary level” for radiofrequency radiation 10,000 times lower than FCC regulations because, “it is believed that a more conservative level is necessary to protect children, who represent a potentially vulnerable and sensitive population.”
“Extensive published scientific evidence indicates that radiofrequency radiation at levels compliant with federal government limits can cause cancer, increased oxidative stress, genetic damage, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, memory deficits, behavioral problems, and neurological impacts. We consider radiofrequency radiation (RFR) to be a human carcinogen based on the current body of evidence. Many of these effects could be irreversible with grave consequences for our children’s future.”
“You have an obligation not only to teach, but also to protect the health and safety of the children whose parents have placed them in your trust. Several decades of research in the military and occupational setting, as well as basic science indicates that the use of wireless technology poses a risk to the health, mental function, behavior, memory and learning of students. Considering all of the evidence, placing a cell tower directly on a school campus with a “wait and see” approach seems unwise financially and morally.”
Resources
https://ehtrust.org/cell-tower-health-effects-testimony-at-petaluma-city-school-district-meeting/ Source: Environmental Health Trust
