Many schools are allowing cell phone towers to be built on school grounds. Schools and supporters say that this is a source of revenue in a tough economic climate. There are large financial gains for the school from leasing the space and from contracts with cellphone companies.
Parents worry about the harmful emissions. Federal regulations state that “when cellular and PCS antennas are mounted at rooftop locations it is possible that a person could encounter RF levels greater than those typically encountered on the ground.
However, once again, exposures approaching or exceeding the safety guidelines are only likely to be encountered very close to and directly in front of the antennas.”
I think that as there is no long term evidence of the safety of these structures, I would rather err on the side of caution and not allow these towers to be built in proximity of schoolchildren.
What do you think?
photo credit: The Pug Father
I like the camouflaged tower used in the photo. As if we don’t all know that it really is a cell phone tower and not an unusual pine tree. This is a tough issue, since most of us have cell phones. “Can you hear me now?” isn’t just an advertisement catch phrase but what we want to avoid in our cell phone conversations. With studies still underway trying to measure the impacts and emissions of these towers though, I still don’t think they should be located on school grounds.