The Hawaii County Council voted on July 22 to halt 5G developments on the Big Island until the controversial technology is proven safe. The vote came following passage of a 5G Resolution by the Hawaii County Planning Board.
“After hearing hours of public testimony decrying the supposed health risks of the new cellular network technology, the council voted 8-1 to approve a resolution calling for ‘telecommunication companies and public utilities operating in Hawaii County’ to halt any 5G development until independent research and testing concludes it is safe for humans,” reported Michael Brestovansky for the Hawaii Tribune-Herald on Thursday, July 23.
Read the Hawaii Tribune-Herald article HERE.
Council to Vote on Resolution to Halt 5G Buildout in Hawaii County
July 8, 2020
A Resolution to halt 5G has passed the planning board and is set to be voted on by the Hawaii county council.
Resolution 678-20 “CALLING UPON ALL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES AND PUBLIC UTILITIES OPERATING IN HAWAII COUNTY TO CEASE THE BUILDOUT OF 5G WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTURE UNTIL SUCH TECHNOLOGIES HAVE BEEN PROVEN THROUGH INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND TESTING TO BE SAFE TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT” had the votes in the planning committee to move on to the Council after significant testimony in favor. (Read PDF of Resolution HERE)
The Hawaii County council’s Committee on Planning passed a resolution that called for “telecommunication companies and public utilities operating in Hawaii County” to cease development of 5G infrastructure within the county until it has been proven safe for humans through “independent research and testing.”
Residents seen in numerous testimony in opposition to 5G.
Dr. Paul Heroux also submitted a statement regarding the health implications of 5G. ” Electromagnetic Radiation will be labeled as a Class I carcinogen in the near future, because of the recent NTP and Ramazzini Institute experiments conducted on animals. It seems unwise to setup an infrastructure that increases citizen exposure to such as agent, when science is about to confirm the risks, and considering that the infrastructure you would deploy in the next months will set the table for decades to come. 5G will create a situation is which practically every citizen will be living very near to a cell phone tower.” (See PDF of Dr. Heroux testimony HERE)
The wireless industry – CTIA, claimed that the resolution conflicts with federal law stating that, “We have concerns that the Resolution will severely hamper the industry’s ability to meet our customer’s expectations for superior wireless service…the resolution conflicts with federal law” and “Resolution is based on the alleged health effects of 5G wireless facilities. Such action is expressly prohibited under federal law. As outlined in Section 332(C)(7)(B)(iv) of the Telecommunications Act, “No State or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions…” (Read it HERE)
Americans for Responsible Technology provided testimony refuting the CTIA letter that “This is completely false, lacks any merit whatsoever, and seems to be the result of a misreading of the resolution itself. The resolution calls on the purveyors of wireless technology to voluntarily cease their deployment of small cell antennas and related 4G/SG infrastructure until such time as exposure to the radiation from such devices has been proven safe through independent research, and public health and welfare can be assured.”
“Resolution 67820 does not legally prevent any company from ignoring the will of the people and continuing to build out its SG infrastructure; therefore, it is not preempted by federal law. It is, in fact, an expression of free speech, protected by the Constitution. If the wireless companies want to ignore it and force their dangerous and possibly harmful technology on the public without testing, they cannot legally be stopped at this time. I implore you not to allow yourselves to be bullied by the wireless industry. Their sabre rattling should be seen for what it is – a desperate attempt to stifle your right to free speech and prevent any negative publicity about SG”- Read Americans for Responsible Technology Testimony here
Hawaii Tribune Herald covered the news at Resolution calls for halt to controversial 5G development, July 8, 2020
Excerpts of Testimony Presented to the Council
"I fully support the Resolution 678-20
and stand in protection of our children, land and it`s people. "
"I am in strong support of Resolution 678-20 for Hawaii Island (I wish Maui County had the same Resolution). 5G needs independent
research on health safety before being implementing. Its wild card affecting our health, our keiki, our environment and the future of
our aina.
Please vote in support of this Resolution. "
"There is NOT enough compelling information that this is safe technology and it cannot be allowed to have infrastructure built
until FDA proves, undisputable and SAFE for humans.
From what I’ve gleaned 5G will require MANY MORE TOWERS, “purchase of new technology, more expensive and heavier
phones due to the demands of 5G requiring BIGGER BATTERIES for handsets as well as “warming” from the signal (maybe new
WiFi equipment too?) and likely HIGHER RATES for the access.
As I read, this technology will be the future for large corporations technology of “self driving cars, remote surgery in the
medical field, and a host of other industries that will require 5G to work. Why should the hard working citizens pay for the
infrastructure and upgrades of their handsets to pave the way for the big corporations to roll out their technology after we’ve
had to buy it? NO FAIR!
Have a great day, and VOTE TO STOP THIS DANGEROUS, UNPROVEN 5G on Hawaii island."
"Resolution 678-20: CALLING UPON ALL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES AND PUBLIC UTILITIES
OPERATING IN HAWAII COUNTY TO CEASE THE BUILDOUT OF 5G WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTURE
UNTIL SUCH TECHNOLOGIES HAVE BEEN PROVEN THROUGH INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND
TESTING TO BE SAFE TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
Mahalo for your consideration! "
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