Sponsored by a local community coalition opposing AT&T’s plans to site a 5G cell tower along La Jolla’s popular bike path, a Feb. 13 town hall warned of the danger posed by cell tower radiation.

A day later, on Feb. 14 following the public forum at La Jolla High School co-hosted by La Jolla Town Council and the Save the La Jolla Bike Path Coalition, the utility withdrew its application for a 5G wireless tower. That tower would have been in the heart of the community along the heavily used bike path stretching between LJHS and Bird Rock.

There were no AT&T representatives at the Feb. 13 public forum.

The cell tower would have been a 30-foot, standalone wireless communication facility with a roof and ancillary equipment in a 50-foot enclosure with an equipment cabinet and diesel generator. The tower would have been located 100 to 750 feet from private residences, a senior care facility, a park, and a preschool.

“We’re not against cell towers,” said LJTC president Mary Soriano introducing the Feb. 13 informational public forum at LJHS’s Parker Auditorium. “It’s about the location of this specific AT&T tower permit.”

“Over 1,200 members of our community have signed a petition to oppose AT&T’s plan for a 30-foot cell tower on the bike path,” said Patti Garay, chair of Save the La Jolla Bike Path Coalition. “Only together will our voice be heard.”

La Jolla Realtor and community planner John Shannon, a beekeeper, spoke of his negative personal experience operating close to cell towers. “In 2010 I began amateur beekeeping,” said Shannon whose mentor was a Benedictine monk who’d kept over 100 hives since the 1970s generating $30,000 monthly (in today’s dollars) in honey. “He (monk) told me a story of one day all the bees being gone,” said Shannon adding, “Yet nothing had changed.

“To make extra income, the monastery had installed some radio towers and antenna on the back of their property some years prior,” continued Shannon. “[The monk’s] bees seemed unaffected – then suddenly they disappeared. He surmised it had something to do with the cell towers, as he found he could only keep bees in a narrow canyon out of the view of the towers, where he couldn’t get cell phone reception. Everyone thought he was crazy except for me. I did some measurements and found the radiation to be off the charts.”

The educational forum’s keynote speaker was Dr. Kent Chamberlin, Ph.D., an electrical engineer and expert on wireless radiation’s impacts on community health, safety, and quality of life.

“I’m affiliated with several organizations including the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Wireless Radiation,” said Chamberlin adding he chaired a state commission exploring the health and environmental impacts of wireless radiation.

Chamberlin joined that commission believing then in the harmlessness of RF emissions. “But after serving on the commission I found out something different,” he said. “I found out the harm; it’s very real, but the industry is keeping that secret from us because of money. If we had more realistic standards for radiation exposure – it would cost a lot of money to do that.”

During a slide presentation, Chamberlin pointed out he wasn’t paid to appear at the La Jolla town hall. “I’m doing this because what I learned at the commission is something you’re probably not going to hear from other sources,” he said. “You’re not going to hear it from the news media because utilities are major advertisers for the news media, or even own them. I’m here talking to you citizen-to-citizen.”

Chamberlin pointed out that cellular radiation “is not like a death ray. But over time, it does cause harm.”

Discussing the purpose of his RF presentation, Chamberlin noted he wanted participants when asked after the forum if there was “solid science showing wireless radiation is harmful,” that they’d be unequivocally able to answer yes.

After reviewing numerous scientific studies regarding RF radiation, and displaying charts clearly showing an upward trend, Chamberlin said during his Feb. 13 presentation that his commission found there is an association between “greater exposure to wireless radiation,” and a pronounced increase over time in numerous afflictions including diabetes, as well as neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

SAFETY CONCERNS

According to the Federal Communications Commission, radiation levels emitted by cell towers are well below safety limits and do not pose a health concern based on current scientific research. The FCC does not have a specific rule against discussing potential harm from cell tower radiation. However, the federal agency’s stance remains that discussing potential harm based on current standards on radio frequency exposure is not supported by current scientific evidence. The FCC does regulate the amount of radiation emitted by cell towers and requires manufacturers to comply with specific limits on RF exposure from cell towers, measured in terms of power density.