San Marino parents raise radiation worries
School district to reveal study results from two cellphone towers this week.
Source: LA Times, October 05, 2012
By Joe Piasecki, joe.piasecki@latimes.com
"Worried
that cellphone towers on school grounds could expose children to
harmful levels of radiation, a group of parents is fighting to have the
two towers dismantled.
A tower designed to look like a tall pine
tree was installed between Valentine Elementary and Huntington Middle
schools in 2006. Another went up behind San Marino High School shortly
thereafter.
School
board members approved both and signed off on decades-long lease
agreements with cellular companies that earn the public schools about
$48,000 each year, San Marino Assistant Supt. Julie Boucher said.
Then
along came Ming Jiang, a former Motorola engineer who in August noticed
a strange-looking tree while dropping her son off at Valentine. Jiang
has organized a group of about a dozen parents and others calling for
the tower’s removal."
"“It’s
always been difficult to prove the link between any physical agent and
cancer,” said Valentine parent Mike Chen, a neurosurgeon at City of Hope
hospital who specializes in brain tumors. “How many years did it take
for us to figure out that tobacco causes cancer? That Agent Orange is
dangerous? We should be cautious if we can.”
Chen said several
studies suggest that radiation from cellphones and towers might
interfere with DNA reproduction and impact the human brain. Conclusive
proof, no, but “sufficient scientific evidence to raise a warning,” he
said."
"In response to parent pressure, San Marino school board
members voted Sept. 18 to hire a biophysicist to measure radio frequency
emissions from campus cell towers. The board also hired the Planning
Center, a Santa Ana consulting firm, to analyze those readouts.
Officials are expected to announce results of those studies on Tuesday, and are organizing an Oct. 23 forum on cellphone towers."
Note that both experts hired by the San Marino school board have repeatedly provided expert testimonials on behalf of cell phone companies.
"Meanwhile, the threat of legal action already hangs over the district.
“We’re
monitoring the situation and hoping the school district does the right
thing,” said Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, who sent a lawyer from
his firm to attend the Sept. 18 board meeting. “Otherwise, we might have
to get involved in a more formal way.”
The tower near Valentine
and Huntington schools is owned by Verizon Wireless. The one behind San
Marino High belongs to Global Tower Partners, which leases it to
Verizon, MetroPCS, Clearwire and AT&T, according to Boucher."
"The
Los Angeles Unified School District banned cellphone towers from school
property in 2000, a move Jiang is hoping San Marino schools will
emulate."
"But parent Cindy Yung, a pharmacist, said any uncertainty is enough to prompt caution.
“A
lack of conclusive proof [of danger] does not mean there is no risk,
and these are our children we’re talking about,” said Yung."
 |
| A cell phone tower next to the Huntington Middle School campus looks like... (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) |
