Cell Tower's Radio Emissions Below Federal Regs, Expert Says

Radio frequency emissions from a controversial cell phone tower to be built on Bloomfield’s Broad Street would be well below government standards, according to an electrical engineer who testified at a township zoning board meeting Thursday night.

The 120-foot cell tower would be 1,300 times below the limit set by the Federal Communications Commission, explained Daniel J. Collins, who testified on behalf of T-Mobile Northeast, LLC, the applicant. It would in fact be a fraction of a typical household’s level of radio frequency emissions - at .0728 percent of FCC limits versus three to seven percent respectively, he said.

“Whether you live near an antennae or not, it doesn’t make a difference where you live,” Collins said. “One of the most interesting things is that a refrigerator motor is one of the most significant sources of RF (radio frequency waves).”

But testimony from T-Mobile’s expert did not seem to convince the contentious crowd who filled almost every seat at town hall to hear about the tower to be built on the same property of the Brookside Garden Center, 551 Broad Street, a business owned by Councilwoman Peggy O'Boyle Dunigan's family. Many voiced concerns during the three-hour meeting that the cell tower would harm home values, cause health problems, collapse on nearby buildings, and be an eyesore, though it would also double as a flag pole.

“I think it’s aesthetically a bad thing for the area,” said Kenneth James, who lives a block away from the proposed site. “Who do they think they are kidding?” he said referring to the flag.

Megan Wiley, who has coordinated other residents in opposition, said she won’t bring her two young children to the park near the garden center if the tower is built.

“I won’t go anywhere near it,” she said about the tower’s potential radiation. “And it’s right next to a brook. I would not trust the integrity of that foundation.”

Michael P. Basista, a doctor who owns a medical office next to the proposed cell tower site, also voiced concerns about the possibility of the structure falling onto his building. He also mentioned he was approached by T-Mobile who asked to build on his lot but Basista rejected their offer.

“It can bring down power lines and fall on gas stations. It doesn’t belong there,” said Basista, who has retained Fairfield attorney John Dusinberre to question T-Mobile.

John Palomaki, a local environmental activist who opposes the tower, dismissed Collins’ testimony because he said long term health effects from radio frequency emissions are still unknown.

“They used to say there’s no correlation between cancer and cigarette smoke,” he said.

The telecommunications company is seeking approval from the zoning board because the tower is 50 feet above town building code and would be located in an area that does not allow an antenna, according to town officials. It is also too close to certain property lines, according to an architectural rendering.

James Pryor, a Rockaway attorney representing T-Mobile, said the company would field three additional experts at subsequent meetings - a site engineer, a radio frequency engineer, and a planner.

The zoning board also plans to have another radio frequency engineer and the town engineer testify.

Zoning Chairman Ed Michalski said a vote on the project will take place after expert testimony and statements from the public are done. For the tower to move forward, five people will have to approve it out of seven board members, he said.

The next zoning board meeting on the tower will be Thursday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Click here to watch the entire zoning board meeting, courtesy of WBMA-TV.