Renderings from Milestone Communications confirm that a cell phone tower is to be built near an elementary school in Fairfax County, causing parents to worry about the health of their children.
Mothers and fathers of students at A. Scott Crossfield Elementary School are protesting the plans for the cell phone tower, which will be built next to the school’s playground.
“[The tower] would expose our kid to long-term radiation very close to where there is a permanent population,” said parent Randy Griffin.
Parents like Lisa Namerow, whose son will start kindergarten at Crossfield Elementary next year, are banding together to ask the school system to reject the proposal.
“They have control over what happens here, so if they want to withdraw the application – which is what we’re asking for – they have the power,” said Namerow.
A recent study from the National Toxicology Program revealed a link between cell phone radiation and cancer. The study was conducted in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and its findings were reported worldwide.
Researchers continuously exposed 3,000 mice and rats to high levels of RF for two years and found that eight percent of the subjects developed brain tumors and other complications as a result.
“I think this is a signal,” said Dr. David McCormick, the lead researcher on the project. “I don’t think this study is definitive in saying yes we have a smoking gun here. However, it’s a signal that something may be going on.”
According to McCormick, the location of the cell tower antenna is a major risk factor. He noted that RF radiation decreases dramatically as one moves further away from the tower.
“If this is at the level of the roof that antenna could be pointing more or less directly into a classroom or an occupied space,” he said. “You know, 25 feet from the tower is an awful lot different than if it’s 100 feet or 200 feet away from the tower.”
Other experts say that if there is a clear and unobstructed view of a cell phone tower facing your location within a distance of about 984 feet, you are advised to consider radiation shielding solutions.
Fairfax County Public Schools, however, told local NBC affiliate News 4 that “Radiation emitted by cell towers is well below the limits set by the FCC.”
Regardless, parents are concerned that if this plan is approved, cell phone towers will soon be built at dozens more schools across the county and the state.