Tower plan opposed

Article in http://www.bclocalnews.com
August 05, 2009
John Arendt Summerland Review

Brock Enderton, manager of real estate and government affairs for Telus, explains details of the proposed cellular tower at a public meeting in Summerland on July 28.

Tensions were high last week as residents opposed to a cellular telephone tower on Little Conkle Mountain spoke out at a public meeting last week.

The meeting, held on July 28, drew a full crowd in the basement of the library.

Paul Commandeur, one of the residents living near the tower location, said the electromagnetic emissions from the tower are unsafe.

“Although you can’t see or smell it’s emissions, they are there,” he said. “It appears that there could be some long-term effects.”

Commandeur said a better location for the tower would be on Conkle Mountain, farther from homes and schools.

He added that the cellular tower technology is still relatively new and as a result, more research is needed into the health and safety of the tower.

“We feel there’s sufficient controversy to call for a moratorium,” he said.

Walter McInnis, a Victoria-based electrical contractor who has studied cellular towers, questioned the Health Canada regulations which govern the towers.

“For the most part, Health Canada relies on the industry to conduct its research,” he said.

He added that the electromagnetic radiation from the towers will have effects on health.

“This energy is not powerful enough to rip apart our molecules, but it is powerful enough to affect our health,” he said. “We are blanketing the continent with a brand new form of radiation.”

He said cellular telephones, which are also small transmitters, have been linked to some health risks.

Brock Enderton, manager of real estate and government affairs for Telus, said the communications company is working to comply with the regulations.

“We are required to comply with the code. We take that very seriously,” he said. “We are here to comply with all government regulations.”

He explained that the site was chosen to provide the best service to the community.

“We believe this is a responsible location for a cell phone tower,” he said. If other sites were used, Enderton said portions of the community would not have service because of the topography.

Vicki Lightfoot, one of the opponents of the site, said Telus should build the site elsewhere.

“You don’t have our approval,” she said. “We don’t want that tower in the neighbourhood. We are the people using this technology and we don’t want it.”

McInnis said the health regulations are “totally meaningless” since they were set in place 60 years ago and do not adequately cover radiation from the tower.

“People are being exposed to levels of radiation which have been shown scientifically to harm them,” he said.