Last week’s article, “Tower Tussle,” has ignited a lot of debate in the comments section of our website. The story discussed the debate over a proposed 5G cell tower at Trinity Episcopal Church, located adjacent to Amity Creek Magnet School in downtown Bend. Church leaders have not made a final decision about whether to allow Verizon to install the tower, which would garner income for the church—a church that does much to support the lower-income people of our community.
As the article points out, some studies have indicated a link between some types of cancer and chronic exposure to radiofrequency radiation. Some European countries even go so far as to mandate a barrier of 1,500 feet between cell towers and schools.
Other studies have been less conclusive about the link between cancer and RF radiation, and the Federal Communications Commission has said that the exposure at “ground level” is thousands of times less than the federal limits.
Some studies say one thing. Other studies say the opposite. Because of that uncertainty, we agree with one commenter who pointed out that when there’s doubt, we should err on the side of caution. While it’s nice to imagine that this debate is needless and that none of us are at risk from the exposure that higher-powered cell towers pose, looking at the research from both sides does not give us a conclusive answer.
We are not taking the position that yes, this type of RF exposure does indeed cause harm to the developing body. But nor are we taking the opposite position that there is no harm. Arguments for and against are both strong—and when that’s the case, we believe a cautious approach is best. Given the uncertainty, church leaders should act in the best interests of their community and look for other ways to raise revenue.
Meanwhile, the church and the school are neighbors, and if one is struggling, the wider community could step in to support the other. Keeping the “separation of church and state” ever in mind, many public school communities have developed meaningful relationships with churches in which both sides offer manpower, financial support, assistance with fundraising or other forms of mutual support.
Perhaps the next step, then, is for the Amity community to reach out to the Trinity community and ask, “How can we help?”
But for now, let’s err on the side of caution, in the interest of protecting children.
This article appears in Jun 14-21, 2017.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
amazing with tens of thousands of studies a church or school board would be willing to throw our kids under the bus (with wifi) for their filthy greed. this culture has little to save while all are drunk on wireless and mind controlled by their distracting little toys that do everything for them. are we worth saving?? i don’t think we are but the kids don’t deserve to die because of our stupidity.
Wifi like all radiation comes with risk. Exposure over time can lead to issues. Stay out in the sun too long, you get burnt. Radiation no matter what the form can be harmful. Read the warnings on your cell phones and wifi equipment. I’m not sure how much the church stands to make on this deal but why risk it?
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/science-environment/can-you-figure-out-if-sdsu-has-a-coincidence-or-cancer-cluster/
http://mieuxprevenir.blogspot.com/2012/11/san-diego-state-university-brain-cancer.html
RF/Microwave frequencies have way, way more detrimental influences over our biology than the general populace understands at this time. The big one is opening up the Blood Brain Barrier causing compounds, toxins and known carcinogens to get into places they do not belong. All anyone need to do is to go onto PubMed and look up the thousands of studies previous done and ongoing by putting in key words like EMF, RF, Radio-frequency, microwave, etc. Few people take the time to educate themselves.