Damn the Torpedoes; AT&T Antenna Gets Approval

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

The York Water District Board of Trustees heard plenty of testimony about fears of cell tower radiation as it considered AT&T’s proposal to add a cell antenna atop the Roots Rock Road water tank in the York Heights neighborhood in Maine. But last week, the board voted in favor of the antenna deployment 4-1. Now the proposal goes to the town for a vote, according to the York Weekly.

In a new wrinkle, a resident brought up the August 13 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court ordered the FCC to explain why its 1996 radio frequency emission (RF) guidelines adequately protect the public against the harmful effects of exposure to radiation from 5G, Inside Towers reported.

“The York Heights neighbors cited that decision to bolster their argument that established safety standards may be insufficient to assess the potential health and safety concerns of the cell project proposal,” according to the York Weekly.

One York Heights resident Torbert MacDonald compared approval of the cellular antenna to his ancestors’ betrayal at the hands of the British army, who after being invited into their Maine home one night in 1692, commenced shooting the families at 2 o’clock in the morning.

 In a more recent and pertinent piece of evidence, MacDonald citing a New Hampshire study on the health effects of RF technology, said the “radio frequency radiation, the kind that is proposed to be put on top of the water tower, is in fact hazardous to the health of humans or vegetation or animals, just about everything.”  

Martha Fenn King, another York Heights resident, cited a study by the World Health Organization that classified non-ionizing RF radiation as a possible carcinogen, as well as a report by Frontiers in Public Health giving guidance for the public to minimize potential health risks of cell towers.

“If the trustees and the water district choose to ignore the current information and various effects of non-ionizing radiation, the responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of each and every one of our elected officials,” King said. “The reverberations from a yes vote will just not be worth one iota for the water district.”

By the time RF waves enter homes they are “feeble” so as not to overwhelm cell phones, which are very sensitive instruments, according to David Maxson, CEO, Isotrope, who spoke on “Practices in Cell Siting and RF Energy Safety.” Isotrope’s presentation was paid for, but not controlled by, AT&T, according to reports.

“When they reach the living rooms of the houses, even when the home is close to this water tank, they’re just incredibly weak from an energy perspective, but strong enough that a sensitive instrument like a cell phone can use them to receive information,” Maxson said. “The Water District really isn’t in a position to try and reinvent a safety standard.”

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.