Wednesday, May 14, 2008 By
Richmond Hill has turned down an application from Rogers Wireless to build a cell tower at the corner of Bathurst Street and Elgin Mills Road West after residents in the area protested.
The proposal to erect a 30-metre tower, came to council Monday night. It was unanimously voted against by town politicians, with a request to be sent to Industry Canada to place a moratorium on any further approvals for towers, until the town can finish updating its protocols for dealing with cellphone tower applications.
Since residents got wind of the possible tower, it has created controversy with nearby residents filling a meeting in November to tell Rogers representatives they did not want better service.
Some residents, who are Rogers customers, changed service providers over the issue.
About 250 people attended Monday’s meeting.
There were 12 delegations to council on the issue. Among them was Magda Havas, an associate professor of environmental and resource studies at Trent University who teaches a course on the effects of microwaves on the human body.
Ms Havas made a presentation outlining a number of studies that point to harmful effects of emissions from everything from cellphones, to towers, to other wireless devices.
Citing several studies done in Europe, Ms Havas said increased cases of electromagnetic hypersensitivity have increased, which symptoms’ include anything from depression and memory loss to fatigue and headaches.
“Whatever its cause, EHS is a real and sometimes debilitating problem for the affected persons. Their exposure are generally several orders of magnitude under the limits in internationally accepted standards,” Ms Havas said.
“My concern is not with Rogers, Telus or other cellphone providers. My concern is that Canadian Standards don’t protect us.”
Pointing to countries such as Germany and Israel that have banned antennas in residential neighbourhoods, the doctor suggested not allowing towers any closer than 400 metres from homes or schools.
For Luana Peters, a cancer survivor, the possible health threats from cell tower exposure is a major concern.
“These towers can really impair the immune system. You may not be able to conclusively assess the
risk, but it is impossible for anyone including Health Canada (to prove) cell towers are completely harmless. Do not gamble with our lives,” Ms Peters said.
While council voted unanimously against the proposal, their vote came with cautionary words that they do not have the final word on cell towers.
“Although it’s been said and it’s not something you want to hear, once this goes to Industry Canada whatever their word is, is final,” Deputy Mayor Brenda Hogg, said, expressing frustration about the situation.
According to a town report, an alternative for Rogers would be to move the tower 250 metres to the east of the Bathurst and Elgin Mills intersection, but that would place it in an established residential community.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place here,” Ms Hogg said.
Ms Havas’ presentation hit a nerve with Councillor Lynne Foster, who called it frightening.
Councillor Nick Papas agreed, saying over time all this technology will start to cause problems.
“All of these things, a little bit at a time, will cause health problems. Let’s use our head and make sure that big companies don’t take advantage of us. If you see it’s not needed don’t use it,” he said.
