The location of telecommunication cell towers and the emitted radio frequency radiation has become a very controversial subject that is not easily understood by most of us. This is a current issue that many Milton residents are experiencing and they’re fighting against the proposed location of a cell tower in the center of town. There are two types of RFR – ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing RFR causes cellular damage through a thermal mechanism, and non-ionizing RFR can cause cellular damage through a disruption of the body's production of antioxidants required to neutralize free radicals. The exposure limit for RFR is calculated and stated in a measurement called whole-body Specific Absorption Rate that informs the calculation of a safe exposure limit of RFR for human health. The whole-body SAR is a standard measure for the energy absorbed from RFR by biological tissues, and the measure informs Federal Communications Commission decisions of setting a safe RFR exposure limit for human health. In the last 15 years, much has changed, and we now know that non-ionizing RFR can be dangerous to human health. The more current research demonstrates that non-ionizing RFR can cause cellular damage through a non-thermal mechanism. There is a large, growing body of research demonstrating that non-ionizing RFR can be hazardous to human health.
The Environmental Health Trust and other organizations filed a lawsuit against the FCC for not considering the current research demonstrating that non-ionizing RFR can be hazardous to human health. A lower court found that the FCC did not consider the current science regarding non-ionizing RFR and it must reassess the SAR to include the current research. The FCC appealed the lower court's judgment. In August 2022, the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the FCC's appeal and ordered the FCC to reassess the 1996 RFR exposure limit to include consideration of the more current research findings in determining and publishing a safe human exposure limit of RFR, both ionizing and non-ionizing RFR.
The FCC website acknowledges that the power density of a cell tower's RFR transmission decreases as the distance from the cell tower increases. This means that the farther away the cell tower is located (from schools, hospitals and residences), it reduces the exposure risk of the RFR for human health. The scientific recommendations state that no cell tower should be located within 500 meters (1,640 feet) of any school, hospital or residence. The proposed cell tower location in Milton will be 50 feet from some of the residences. The uninformed decision by Milton Town Council and the planning and zoning commission failed to consider any of the published environmental health research findings to inform their decisions regarding the cell tower location. Hopefully, this information may help other small towns in Sussex County protect their residents’ health regarding the location of any future proposed cell towers.
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