Center for Electrosmog Prevention PRESS RELEASE
San Diego County Board of Supervisors Poised to Vote on
Adopting FCC’s Controversial 5G Wireless Facilities Standards
Despite public opposition, San Diego county officials scramble to comply with
widely disputed FCC rules to accelerate the mass rollout of 5G-ready wireless networks.
San Diego, CA, February 8, 2019 – On January 25, 2019, the San Diego County Planning Commission quickly approved major changes to the county’s zoning ordinance relating to 5G “small cell” wireless telecommunications facilities, sending their recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors for their vote at the end of this month. Cities are expected to follow. Center for Electrosmog Prevention (CEP), a local non-profit, asks the public to learn more about the hazards of 5G and write or call their County Supervisor and city officials, without delay.
Proposed changes were prompted by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) September 2018 order to fast-track the deployment of 5G in the US, with the high-frequency, microwave radiation-emitting small cells planned to be installed right in front of homes, in a massive network, throughout the County, very soon — unless stopped.
Residents strongly opposed the changes, raising a multitude of health concerns linked to close-up exposure to strong millimeter microwave (MMW) cellular antennas, the conspicuous lack of independent safety studies of 5G technology, as well as the potential for widespread real estate depreciation. Despite these objections and more, commissioners approved the changes swiftly, claiming that the FCC order preempts state and local regulations and authority.
This FCC seizure of local control conflicts with Governor Jerry Brown’s 2017 veto of SB 649, a bill that would have curtailed local authority over 5G deployment. According to Joel Moskowitz, PhD, Director of the Center for Family and Community Health at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, “The Governor’s veto of SB 649 protects Californians from exposure to millimeter radiation from as many as 50,000 new cell towers.” Unfortunately, that protection was temporary and now the FCC’s ordinance changes await approval or denial from the County Board of Supervisors.
Indeed, many hundreds of independent scientists, experts, and organizations agree that this technology poses an alarming public health hazard. The FCC’s rules aim to install these antennas everywhere, including residential areas, giving homeowners and renters no notice and, unlike smart meters, no right to opt-out. In addition it will contribute to climate change as millions of street trees must be removed or halved for these small cells to send or receive signals, prompting many Sierra Club chapters to object.
Tens of thousands of peer-reviewed scientific studies show that microwave radiation is dangerous to all forms of life, particularly the closer one is to a cell tower or antenna. MMW radiation, a higher frequency in the microwave spectrum, is especially of concern, particularly in a vast network within the existing manmade microwave environment which is already allowed to expose us at levels a quintillion*[1], or more, times higher than exists in the natural world, according to independent researchers. Concerned scientists, public health experts, and physicians warn of greatly increased health hazards to children, seniors, pregnant mothers and their babies, as well as immune-compromised individuals. Health effects can include cancers, headaches, tinnitus, heart arrhythmia, heart failure, insomnia, seizures and neurodegeneration to name but a few mentioned by these experts. Data ensuring safety of long-term exposure to 5G emissions remains to be provided per Senator Blumenthal and Congresswoman Eshoo’s request to FCC in December. Previous application of MMW technology in humans short-term is as a directed energy weapon by the military (Active Denial System), which produces a burning sensation of the skin and eyes. Longer exposures to millimeter waves at certain frequencies approved by the FCC for 5G are found to produce irreversible ocular (eye) damage in experiments.
Under the “5G Appeal,” more than 200 scientists and doctors around the world have called for a moratorium on the spread of 5G, citing harmful effects to humans and the environment. Sierra Club of California has taken a position against 5G, as have a host of other environmentally concerned groups, individuals, physicians, and scientists – on yet another international 5G appeal there are already 40,000 signatories. Reduction of exposure to microwave radiation, not an exponential increase, has been recommended by the World Health Organization, California Department of Public Health, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, and many more. No one in government or industry seems to be listening, as profits and being “the first country to deploy 5G” are the focus, rather than safety. On Feb. 6, 2019, in a Senate hearing, industry leaders admitted that there’d been no health or safety testing, despite $25 billion dollars invested by the wireless industry in 2018.
Also at stake is the potential reversal of the FCC’s new rules, as the agency is embroiled in a host of legal and congressional challenges. A coalition of municipalities and associations have joined forces to appeal the FCC’s order, including the County of Marin and the National Association of Counties, whose president is none other than Greg Cox, Vice Chairman of the San Diego Board of Supervisors. Further, the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology are investigating the FCC for colluding with telecom companies. Additionally, on January 14, 2019, California Congresswomen Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier introduced HR 530 to overturn the FCC’s preemption of local authority. Based on this widespread dissension, many feel the County should not overturn its protective ordinances, and should institute more protective ordinances to halt the installation of 5G.
To learn more and download letters to the Board of Supervisors, visit ElectrosmogPrevention.org’s “Stop 5G Action Plan” and Public Health Alerts: “5G Small Wireless Cells”. Also, see the EH Trust brochure What You Need to Know About 5G.
Upcoming Events:
February 12 & 13, 9:00 a.m. Board of Supervisors Meetings [Feb. 13th Planning & Land Use]*
February 22 9:30-11:30 a.m., Ramona Town Hall, “Coffee with Dianne Jacob”
February 27 9:00 a.m. Board of Supervisors Meeting Board of Supervisors Vote on 5G/Wireless Ordinance Changes* is an Agenda item when members of the public may address the BOS for up to three minutes each. Members of the public who wish to speak must fill out a Public Communication Request to Speak form before the meeting begins (prior to 9 AM) in order to speak.
*County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310, San Diego, 92101.
Schedules/agendas can be found at www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/cob/bosa.html
About Center for Electrosmog Prevention:
Center for Electrosmog Prevention (CEP) is a 501c3 non-profit corporation formed for the purpose of preventing and reducing environmental electromagnetic pollution. CEP provides education and advocacy to prevent and reduce electromagnetic pollution.
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Contacts:
Susan Brinchman, M Ed, Director of Center for Electrosmog Prevention (CEP), La Mesa, CA
Email: director@electrosmogprevention.org
Dr. Beatrice Golomb, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Golomb Research Group, UCSD, La Jolla, CA
Dr. Golomb, radiofrequency (RF) radiation and health researcher, has written statements about the dangers of 5G. Email: golombresearch@ucsd.edu
Dr. Joel M. Moskowitz, PhD, Director, Center for Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA. Email: jmm@berkeley.edu RF research www.saferemr.com
Olle Johansson, PhD, Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of Neuroscience, head of the Experimental Dermatology Unit, Karolinska Institute and the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. World-renowned expert on RF radiation and health; signatory on 5G Appeal.
Johansson’s latest article on electrosmog pollution: https://newsvoice.se/2019/02/electrosmog-clearing/
Email: olle.johansson500@gmail.com
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[1] A quintillion= 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
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