Cell towers under pressure

Cell tower sickness—coincidence or something more?

Sunday Newsday interviewed residents of Ted Lane, Arima, in December about the impact of a cell tower in their neighbourhood.

Twenty-year-old Rescine Medford said her living room is located close to a cell tower. Since it was activated in 2005 she has been having “non-stop headaches to this day.”

She sought medical treatment and relies on pain killers. Medford said her mother has been taking sleeping pills because of difficulty sleeping while her sister is “complicated”, going from doctor to doctor trying to find out what is causing her rash, swelling feet, and sinus.

Medford called for the cell tower installed in her neighbour’s yard to be removed. She said residents had protested its installation and even went to Town and Country Planning but only got a “run around.”

Lyddiann Espinoza, whose grandfather lives in the area, said while a few people were concerned about the tower, many were unaware of the dangers and the relevant authorities were not informing people.

“They say the tower is for use of cell phones and upgrade but why not upgrade somewhere else?”

Espinoza and others said the cell tower is not steady and has been seen swaying.

Winston Woods, 60, said, “My house is in proximity. Every time I go to bed and there are heavy rains my mind is on this thing before I fall asleep.”

He said after the earthquake on September 29, the base of the tower “cracked up.” It was subsequently repaired.

Residents said they were not notified or consulted about the cell tower until they saw work on the site.

The people on whose property the cell tower is erected have been under pressure.

Sunday Newsday was told that garbage has been thrown in their yard and a dog poisoned. While residents did not comment on these allegations, they said there was a bottle pelting incident.

According to one man, “Residents pelt bottles in the night. The tower have them uncomfortable so she has to feel uncomfortable.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the daughter of the woman who rented the property for the tower, said they had talks with the telephone company for the tower to come down.

“We told them we can’t handle the abuse from neighbours,” she said.

The tower was activated this year and she admitted that neighbours “did not like it.” She said workers from the telephone company have also been verbally abused. The family had two dogs, one disappeared while the other suddenly died. Rubbish was thrown into the yard. Two weeks ago stones were thrown into the yard. A report was made to the police and the cellular provider involved.

She said her mother researched the health effects of cell towers on the Internet and consulted with various local agencies before agreeing to have the tower on her property.

Vincent Chung, of Alta Garcia Gardens, Maracas, St Joseph rears parakeets and other birds and is worried about a cell tower on the vacant lot across the road from his home.

Three of his birds have died over a three and a half month period since the cell tower was activated. A post mortem on one of the birds found it died of pneumonia and liver problems. Chung said the chest feathers on one of his birds fell off one month ago.

Clermont and Evelyn Andrews, who also live in the neighbourhood said their fish — mollies and hiliaries — which spawned regularly have not been reproducing like before. More fish than usual have also been dying.

The Andrews’ admit that they have no scientific evidence that the changes were caused by the cell tower but said the problems started after the tower was activated. They are consulting with a PhD student from the University of the West Indies (UWI) to find out what caused the fish deaths.

Michelle Jones, had several tests in the US to determine what is causing her sickness. In an interview from Brooklyn, New York, last Thursday, Jones said she was staying with friends at Aquamarine Drive, Diamond Vale when she was exposed to emissions from a cell tower.

She arrived in TT last July and stayed until October. Jones said she noticed changes two weeks after arriving. She described a range of symptoms from headaches, black mucous, a feeling that her brain was frying, a “static sound,” hair loss and joint pain.

Jones said when she took a bath there was a heat coming out of her body. Sores appeared on her mouth. She told Sunday Newsday that she returned to the US on October 29 and sought medical treatment the following day. A CT Scan was done but it was negative for any abnormalities. Jones also had several tests done.

“All the tests came back negative but I am still suffering. I have a headache for the past four days. I have sleepless nights.”

Asked if she made an official complaint about the cell tower, Jones said, “My lawyer will take care of that. By law that cell tower has no right to be in a residential area. It was 15 feet from the bedroom where I stayed and is near the Diamond Vale Government School.”

Jones said she is a natural health consultant but has not been working since she returned to the US.

“There are nights I can’t sleep. I am still feeling the effects.”

She plans to return to TT but will find other accommodation.

“It is very coincidental these things have been happening to people close to cell towers. The symptoms are very similar,” said Peter Permell, vice chairman and spokesperson for the Association for Radio Frequency Emission Control in TT (ArFECTT).

ArFECTT has been lobbying for more than a year to have cellular towers removed from residential communities, near schools, and medical facilities, due to health and safety concerns.

The group has been calling for Minister of Planning and Development Camille Robinson Regis to keep her word and deal with illegal cell towers.

AfRECTT has accused the providers of “flagrant disregard of the authority of the Minister and Town and Country Planning Division.”

Permell said ArFECTT has been unsuccessful in getting information on the locations of the illegal cell sites Minister Robinson-Regis spoke about.

Permell said the reason towers were being put in backyards, and near schools was because the infrastructure - electricity, telephone and roads were already there.

He conceded that telecommunications is the fastest growing industry and cell phones were a necessary evil.

“I have a cellphone and my colleagues at ArFECTT also have phones but they (cell towers) must be sited away from people. Telecommunications companies need to put these in safe locations away from people.”

What the authorities are saying

Last year, the Telecommunications Authority of TT (TATT) and Town and Country Planning Division (TCPD) issued a joint public advisory on cell tower approvals. They did so in response to concerns about possible health hazards from radio frequency emissions due to the increasing number of towers being erected close to homes and schools.

TATT is responsible for licensing all radio-transmitting equipment in TT. The Authority said RF emission levels established by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have been adopted for TT.

“TATT has mandated that all radio-transmitting equipment, including those controlled by mobile telephone companies in TT, be operated within limits imposed by these standards.”

TATT said the FCC’s maximum permissible exposure limits to which people may be exposed provide substantial margin of safety and are well below levels generally accepted as having the potential to cause adverse health effects.

The limits are included in the concessions and/or licences that authorise companies to operate in TT.

Erection of cell towers constitutes development under the Town and Country Planning Act (Chapter 35:01) and requires prior permission of the Minister responsible for town and country planning.

The TCPD developed a policy for cell towers which includes site and development standards and location criteria for erection of the towers. The standards regulate tower location, height and distance from buildings and residences (setbacks) “and take into consideration the visual impact of these structures and their potential effect on residential amenity values. The policy also addressed the issue of towers constructed over the last two to three years without the necessary approvals.”

Before a cell tower is erected, a notice is published inviting the public to new towers being constructed. The objections must go to TATT. It only deals with RF emissions while complaints about the locations of towers are forwarded to the TCPD.