This commentary is by Philip Etter, a resident of Worcester.
A friend recently commented that broadband is a necessity but cell service is merely a convenience. When did we lose sight of that fact?
High-speed internet is necessary for citizens working from home, seeking news, shopping, medical information, Zoom meetings, etc. Many of our remote neighbors have a device for cellphone connections through their internet. So why are cell towers so important?
It seems cell towers are important only for the convenience of being connected while the wheels are rolling. I don’t disagree that, while traveling, cellphones may be convenient and, at times, critical. Our commissioner of public service has expressed that it is vital to her to be able to conduct business from her car. Is it? And is it even a good idea to tout cell service as a way to occupy travel time, or is that encouraging distracted driving, a growing problem in Vermont?
Is this rush toward cell service worth ignoring the impacts of cell towers on human health and the environment? Is it worth letting out-of-state tower companies dictate to Vermont villages that they “need” cell towers and where, even when villages have expressed a priority for aesthetics? Is it worth stripping towns of local control?
Worcester is but one village that has had its ordinance and Town Plan trampled by a tower company, but it is perhaps one of the most alarming of examples. Industrial Communications came into town and signed a lease with a private landowner without the knowledge or consent of any town officials or neighbors. It proposed a tower 200 feet high within 300 feet from the neighbor’s home. Its proposal was incomplete at best and it still cannot or will not say how many businesses or households might be served.
In 2020, New Hampshire established a commission to study the health and environmental impacts of EMF, such as from cellphone towers, and it heard testimony from 10 recognized experts in the fields of physics, epidemiology, toxicology and public policy. The study states: “All but the presenter representing the Telecommunications Industry acknowledged the large body of peer-reviewed research that shows that the type of RF-radiation generated by wireless devices can have a deleterious effect on humans, especially children, as well as animals, insects, and vegetation.”
Why has Vermont, in the interest of human and environmental health, not convened a similar commission?
In a commentary in VTDigger, Public Service Commissioner Tierney states, “…. we have a rigorous regulatory process that appropriately considers and protects our health, our natural resources and ensures cell towers are sited in a manner that maintains the integrity of Vermont’s environment and the natural beauty of the communities that host them.”
Sounds good, but later, in a legislative committee hearing on Feb. 22, she acknowledged Vermont relies on the regulations of the FCC, which are neither rigorous nor protective. In fact, in August 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., ruled the FCC had failed to respond to record evidence that exposure to RF radiation at levels below the FCC’s current limits may cause negative health effects unrelated to cancer, and sent them back to review such data and develop a new standard. This puts present FCC standards in question.
The health effects of electromagnetic radiation from cell towers may be long-term and cumulative and serious effects on human health and the natural environment are real, as demonstrated by the many hundreds of legitimate scientific studies.
These studies show EMF exposure to be a widespread and long-term global issue like acid rain, chemicals, tobacco, DDT, pesticides, mercury, lead and other heavy metals. Like EMF, all these things quietly crept into our society, causing devastating effects. Do we want people 50 years from now looking back on the age of cell towers and saying, “What were they thinking?”
We need our state officials to responsibly slow down the process, look at all the data, revise the 248a process for more community input and establish setbacks for towers.
