Examples of school boards that no longer allow cell towers or cell tower antennas on or near schools.
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Los Angeles CA School District: Resolutions opposing cell towers on school property and a “cautionary level” for radiofrequency radiation 10,000 times lower than FCC limits.
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Palo Alto CA Unified School District: Resolution No. 2018-19.19 supports the City 1,500 setback and opposes cell tower “on or in close proximity to schools to ensure individuals, especially children, are protected from the potential negative effects associated with radiation exposure”
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West Linn-Wilsonville Oregon School Board prohibits cell towers on school property.
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Vancouver School Board: Resolution prohibiting cell antennas within 1,000 feet of school property.
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Montgomery County Maryland Schools policy does not allow cell towers on elementary schools.
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Portland Oregon Schools ended new leases for cell towers.
Examples of communities that have ordinances restricting cell towers on or near school property.
- Encinitas, CA- No antennas within 500 feet from residential dwelling unit, No antennas within 500 feet of daycare facility or school
- Calabasas CA- All Tier 2 wireless facilities must be setback at least 1,000 feet from schools, homes, and parks.
- North Hempstead, NY- No installations within 350 feet of a school
- Copake, NY -Fall zones: no facility may be within 1,500 feet from homes, schools, churches, or other buildings containing dwelling units
- Scarsdale, NY – no antennas within 500 feet from homes, schools, parks, and houses of worship.
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Published research on cell tower radiation
A review paper entitled “Limiting liability with positioning to minimize negative health effects of cellular phone towers” reviewed the “large and growing body of evidence that human exposure to RFR from cellular phone base stations causes negative health effects.” The authors recommends restricting antennas near home and within 500 meters of schools and hospitals to protect companies from future liability (Pearce 2020).
An analysis of 100 studies published in Environmental Reviews found ~80% showed biological effects near towers. “As a general guideline, cell base stations should not be located less than 1500 ft from the population, and at a height of about 150 ft.” (Levitt 2010)
A review published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health found people living less than 500 m from base station antennas had an increased adverse neuro-behavioral symptoms and cancer in eight of the ten epidemiological studies (Khurana 2011).
A paper by human rights experts documented the accumulating science indicating safety is not assured and considered the issue within a human rights framework to protect vulnerable populations from environmental pollution. “We conclude that, because scientific knowledge is incomplete, a precautionary approach is better suited to State obligations under international human rights law,” (Roda and Perry 2014)
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A 2020 review entitled “Evidence for a health risk by RF on humans living around mobile phone base stations: From radiofrequency sickness to cancer reviewed the existing scientific literature and found radiofrequency sickness, cancer and changes in biochemical parameters.
A study published in Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine found changes in blood considered biomarkers predictive of cancer in people living closer to cell antenna arrays (Zothansiama 2017).
A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found higher exposure to cell arrays linked to higher mortality from all cancer and specifically lung and breast cancer (Rodrigues 2021).
A study published in Science of the Total Environment 10 year study on cell phone antennas by the local Municipal Health Department and several universities in Brazil found a clearly elevated relative risk of cancer mortality at residential distances of 500 meters or less from cell phone towers (Dode 2011).
