Location of proposed cell tower inappropriate
Thank you, Mr. Barron for your article on Jan. 13. I and many of the neighbours I have spoken with are rightly upset about the proposed 108-foot tri-metal cell tower Rogers wants to erect in the public works yard.
The selected site for Rogers’ cell tower is right beside many homes, bordering a busy public pathway, and is a stone’s throw from the Cowichan River and trout hatchery. The proposed location for a tower of this proportion is extremely inappropriate, obtrusive, exposing nearby residents and city workers to even more radiation, 24/7. There are many seniors nearby, and young children live and play on the adjacent street. We have choices in what we use and operate in our homes and lives. We can turn things off, implement protective protocols and limit our exposure to Wi-Fi. We do not have any choice when it comes to cellular infrastructure being built right outside our bedroom windows.
The telecom wireless industry is self-regulating and relies on Industry Canada’s erroneous outdated Safety Code 6 guidelines and industry-paid research, which greatly differs from independent analysis. For example, 244 independent scientists from 41 countries appealed to the UN, calling for greater health protection, stating that the current EMF safety guidelines are inadequate because they do not take into consideration non-thermal effects in humans and on ecosystems.
It remains questionably misleading for Rogers or any other telecom company to compare the power of a wireless base station to a light bulb and assure us that it is safe. Particularly when the FCC has gone on record saying they have no scientific safety studies for 5G. It is a new untested technology. Scientists have been broadcasting the need for a moratorium and the Precautionary Principle, but are we listening? Fifth generation wireless service will require the placement of many smaller antennas/cell towers still closer to our homes.
Understandably the City of Duncan would benefit from having more revenue should they go ahead and lease a good portion of the public works yard to Rogers, but it will be at the expense of the well-being of the neighbourhood. A tower of this magnitude needs to be relocated further away. North Cowichan has since implemented a cell antenna policy, like many other cities and countries, and it would behoove the City of Duncan to do the same given the evidence of undeniable risk.
Karen Simmons
Duncan