(Photo | Pexels)
Bend City Council today is contacting numerous state and federal officials regarding Resolution 3181, which requests the US Federal Communications Commission to update studies on the potential health effects of 5G radio frequency wireless emissions and make its findings “publicly available in a timely manner.” Pursuant to the City Council Issue Summary, the resolution passed at the December 4, 2019 City Council meeting was based on,
[C]oncerns from community members about potential health effects of 5G emissions, especially as they relate to one particular wireless facility in southwest Bend. In particular, those concerns have centered on risks and potential health impacts to children when wireless facilities are located near schools.
On October 2, 2019, Stop Cell Towers at Schools (SCTS) and dozens of community members attended a Bend City Council meeting and voiced their opposition to the Verizon cell phone tower now transmitting immediately adjacent to Elk Meadow Elementary School in southwest Bend. Resolution 3181 does not cause the telecom giant to move its tower away from the school, but it marks a positive change in how the city approaches the wireless safety issue. SCTS Media Coordinator Paul Bacon says, “Before the councilors heard our concerns, they said their hands were tied by the FCC. Now they’re taking a bold, appropriate step by asking the federal government to revisit its position that our nation’s growing wireless infrastructure is totally benign.”
The City of Bend’s examination of wireless hazards is part of a larger trend of state and local legislators challenging federal policies regarding wireless technologies. This year, US Senator Ron Wyden co-sponsored S.2012, Restoring Local Control Over Public Infrastructure Act, which seeks to repeal FCC rules limiting state and local government control over telecom infrastructure. In addition, US Senator Jeff Merkley and US Representative Anna Eshoo wrote to the US Food and Drug Administration asking for the agency’s research into safety limits for cell phone RF energy exposure. And in Portland, the city council unanimously approved a resolution pressing the FCC to study the health hazards of 5G wireless technology.
SCTS formed in July 2019 when construction started on the Elk Meadow tower without notice being mailed to a vast majority of Elk Meadow parents during the City of Bend’s land use permitting review process in 2017. The group has obtained more than 1,800 signatures on a petition appealing to Verizon to move the cell tower a safe distance from the school. In addition, on November 12, 2019, the group presented Verizon with a compilation of 36 published scientific studies noting the health hazards of radiofrequency radiation including links to cancer. SCTS requested that Verizon respond in kind by providing the sources of its science-based standards and guidelines into the applicable public health safety issues that go beyond the act of complying with FCC regulations. Verizon has acknowledged the request but has not responded.
Bend City Councilor Chris Piper stated in an email to SCTS today that a copy of Resolution 3181 was sent to the FCC Commissioner last week. In addition, he stated the resolution is being sent to the following officials:
Jeff Merkley, United States Senator
Jamison Building
131 NW Hawthorne, Ste 208
Bend Oregon 97703
Ron Wyden, United States Senator
Jamison Building
131 NW Hawthorne, Ste 107
Bend Oregon 97703
Greg Walden, United States Representative, 2nd District
1051 NW Bond Street, Ste 400
Bend Oregon 97703
ADM Brett P. Giroir, M.D.
Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
Michael O’Rielly, Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554
Brendan Carr, Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554
Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554
Geoffrey Starks, Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554
