Families from schools and homes concerned about the health effects of nine cellular antennas that Verizon Wireless plans to locate near two elementary schools have organized a colorful and musical protest march from the planned site across from the North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS) and Anna Yates Elementary School in Emeryville to a local Verizon store on Friday, November 19th at 3pm.

Parents and neighbors have formed an organization called East Bay Residents for Responsible Antenna Placement (EBR-RAP). They are concerned about the potential health risks of the planned Telcom base station, such as cancer but also slowed motor skills, memory loss, behavioral and cognitive impairments. Preliminary research has linked electromagnetic (EMF) radiation to long-term health problems, including cancer. The National Research Council has called for more research into the safety of cell towers and antennas, particularly as it relates to vulnerable populations, such as children. “They are at special risk due to their smaller body mass and rapid physical development, both of which magnify their vulnerability to known carcinogens, including radiation,” wrote the President’s Cancer Panel earlier this year, which also advised that more study of EMF radiation is “urgently” needed.

EBR-RAP is not alone in sounding the alarm for school-aged children in the Bay Area. On Thursday, November 18th, the day before the protest, the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco is hosting over a dozen medical experts from around the world who will speak on health outcomes from cell antenna EMF exposure.  

"The school is too close,” said NOCCS parent Gordy Slack, “The kids will be saturated in radiation all day long and nobody really knows what it will do to their brains. Maybe it's not a problem. But maybe it is. I don't want my son's brain to be part of that experiment."

No long term epidemiological studies have proven the safety of cell antennas. As a result, EBR-RAP, along with Green Audit, an independent scientific research group, is conducting a health study to measure the short and long-term effects from the antennas’ EMF. Researcher and Engineer Lloyd Morgan, has already conducted baseline measures of “dirty electricity” at NOCCS and the neighborhood.

"Research on the health effects of the EMF-RF radiation from cell towers in the United States has been predominantly funded by the Telecom industry, and has accordingly found little or no adverse health effects,” said Eurydice Galka, a NOCCS parent of three children, “In Europe where the research has been funded by independent sources, the findings of adverse health effects is dramatically increased. Children are especially susceptible to the adverse effects of this radiation because of their developing skulls and brains. One hundred feet from an elementary school is the last place that a cell tower facility should be placed."

The World Health Organization states in Fact Sheet 193 that, “Siting base stations near kindergartens, schools and playgrounds may need special consideration.” The European Parliament, the Los Angeles Unified School District and other entities have called for a precautionary approach, recommending 1,500-foot buffer zones around schools and day-care centers until more research is complete.  

Heidi Flato, a Verizon spokesperson said that this proposed facility is “more than 1000 feet from the school.” In reality, NOCCS is 100 feet from the proposed site and another, Anna Yates, is 400 feet away, with more than 500 children enrolled at the two schools.

Both the Oakland and Emeryville Planning Commissions have approved the permits for the antennas.  However, Oakland officials have recently denied permits in wealthier and whiter areas of Oakland, which tend to have zoning that privileges consideration of antenna placement aside from aesthetics.  In the end, EBR-RAP in could only question the design of the base station.  As Green-City Loft resident, Cynthia Carpenter said, however, “That’s just putting lipstick on a pig.”

Because of Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, municipal governments may not consider communities’ concerns about children’s health when deciding whether to grant permits.