Page 66 - Summer 2019 Journal

TS: They’ve been talking about health for a long time in California. Health is a concern that they’ve raised. There is a CBS piece that shows interviews with firefighters and the researcher who found the neurological effects. There is one testimony where a firefighter compares this issue to cigarettes. He says, “This is not safe for us and remember when we thought cigarettes were safe?”
HG: Please tell us more about what we can do to protect ourselves. We can use landlines for our phones and wired Internet for our computers. What else can we do personally, and where do we go to get our voices heard?
TS: There is a lot you can do. Using wires is safe, so as much as you can, use wired technology. If you have long phone calls to make, make them on a wired phone. If you don’t have a copper line, you can get voice over IP (VoIP) or a phone through your Internet provider. Hopefully you can do this at work and in your house. It is a good idea to decrease exposure to your cell phone by keeping it away from your head and using the speaker. We have a list of ways to reduce exposure on ehtrust.org. Thinking about wired accessories at home is for more than just your computer, which can be wired with an Ethernet, but also your mouse, keyboard and speakers.
In terms of 5G, be an advocate first on your very local level. Educate and talk to your neighbors. We had a teach-in at Takoma Park where six people presented on the health issues, policy issues, what the city can do and what’s happening in other cities. Have meetings educating the community and start meeting with your local officials about an ordinance that they can pass to control the unfettered rollout. Then there needs to be action at the state level to halt streamlining bills, which strip away local authority. At the federal level, there are bills moving forward that will be nationwide, pulling out a lot of the authority of local governments to protect their communities. Regulations are moving forward with the FCC and in Congress to strip the rights of state and local governments to have authority as to where these small cells are to be placed. It is re- ally important to contact your federal elected officials and ask them to address this immediately by not supporting bills that are going to allow this rollout, sending them the International Appeal to Stop 5G on Earth and in Space (5gspaceappeal.org/the-appeal/) and asking that they ad- dress this issue.
The second piece is that at the federal level, our health and safety agencies are not doing their job. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be asking the EPA to do a systematic review of the sci- ence and develop adequate safety limits. Our elected officials should be asking the EPA and the FCC to ensure that our regulations are adequate to protect human health by doing a scientific review of the literature.
HG: Isn’t there some kind of act that limits our referring to health concerns when we’re talking about this new technology?
TS: Yes. I couldn’t believe when I was told, when working to keep cell towers away from schools, that you aren’t allowed to make a decision
64 Wise Traditions
about cell tower placement based on health. As I started to look into that, I found that the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was the most heavily lobbied bill if you look at the money, says in section 104 that as long as the radiation output doesn’t exceed FCC limits, you cannot object based on environmental concerns. This has been interpreted to prevent referring to health concerns, and many would say that it is an overreach of the statute. Your officials are going to be told that they can’t talk about health because it would violate that Act. How is it that we have a law that is being interpreted to mean that we can’t be advocates for our family’s health, when we’re talking about a cell tower in front of our home? There are numerous studies that have shown harmful effects.
HG: That is absurd and unthinkable.
TS: Yes. And cities can be sued if the policy- makers talk about doing this because of health concerns. Many legal experts are saying that this is an overreach of the statute. I know that in our meetings, the officials will say, “You know we can’t talk about health concerns because of the Telecom Act.” The people can testify and talk about it but the officials feel like their hands are tied.
HG: It may be an overreach in understanding of that particular provision, but that shouldn’t silence our voices. What is happening in other countries regarding 5G and wireless cell towers?
TS: It is really interesting. First, in the U.S. we have among the highest allowable radiation limits for cell tower radiation. We allow a lot more than several other countries like Italy, China, Russia, Switzerland and Poland. What is happening is that in those countries that have more protective rules around cell tower radiation and cellular antenna radiation, the industry is stating that they can’t roll out 5G because they need to change the governmental limits in order to fully deploy 5G. They are putting millions of dollars into advertising and lobbying to get these countries to change their laws. Many people are organizing in other countries. I just
SUMMER 2019