Parents demand removal of cell tower from elementary school after four students and three teachers develop cancer

Parents demand removal of cell tower from elementary school after four students and three teachers develop cancer

(Naturalhealth365) As communication companies intensify their efforts to institute 5G wireless across the nation, parents at a California elementary school are uniting in protest against a cell phone tower on the premises – which they say has caused seven people to develop cancer. At a recent, packed school board meeting, parents threatened to pull their children from the school unless the tower is removed.

The issue revolves around radiofrequency radiation emitting from the tower, which parents say has caused cancer in four students and three teachers. The World Health Organization acknowledges that RF radiation (also known as EMF, or electromagnetic field radiation) is a possible carcinogen, and animal studies have shown a link between brain cancer and EMFs.

For more on the growing controversy, keep reading.

Diagnosis of tumors in children and adults push upset parents to take action

On March 12, The Modesto Bee reported that parents at Weston Elementary School in San Joaquin County demanded that the Ripon Unified School District ask Sprint to remove a cell tower from school property.

The article quoted Monica Ferrulli, mother of the second child to be diagnosed with cancer, as saying that a doctor told her that her 10-year-old son’s tumor is “100 percent” environmental in origin.

The school board cites an obsolete American Cancer Society study showing no harm from cell phones, says Ferrulli, and is manifesting “denial” in its decision to leave the tower in place. (The cell tower has remained on school grounds since the controversy began in 2017).

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Ferrulli’s 10-year-old son, Mason, was treated for cancer in 2017, and is currently experiencing a relapse.

On March 8, a fourth child – 11-year-old Brad Rex – was diagnosed with a tumor wrapped around his liver.  His father, Richard Rex, said he has been advised of conflicting medical options, ranging from “shrinking” the tumor to undertaking a liver transplant – a situation Rex describes as “scary.”

Parents at the school also maintain that four teachers at the school have been diagnosed with cancer since the installation of the cell tower.

Parents throw down gauntlet before school board: Remove tower or shut down school

Over 200 parents attended the emotional meeting, with some calling for the school to be shut down until the cell tower is removed.

The Modesto Bee reported that over 200 children – more than half the student body of the 400-pupil school – stayed home from school that day.

School board president Kit Oase said that tests showed that the tower was operating within safety standards. Oase said he plans to confer with a county epidemiologist.

Engineers hired by the school board found that exposure limits from the cell tower were below federal safety standards.  However, Ferrulli says that tests arranged by the parents showed higher readings of EMF radiation.

The Modesto Bee reported that RUSD and Sprint have a 25-year lease agreement with no “out” clause – and that the two entities have to “mutually agree” to move the tower.

Parents will continue to pull their children from the school if the tower is not moved, Ferrulli promised.

As for Sprint, the company said it is “working” to address the parents’ concerns.

Cell phone towers invade residential neighborhoods

Proponents of 5G claim the new wireless networks will offer increases in data speed and capacity, in order to facilitate further connection with the “Internet of Things” – a linked system of cell phones, laptops, home appliances, security systems, wireless cars and drones.

According to EM Watch, a non-profit organization that focuses on helping people protect themselves from EMF radiation, there are 300,000 cell phone sites in the United States already.  Due to increased cell phone traffic – and the need to accommodate 5G networks – the number is expected to double over the next 10 years.

As a result, cell phone sites have sprouted in residential neighborhoods, often in close proximity to – and even on top of – homes and schools.

In photographs published by The Modesto Bee, the tower can be clearly seen looming over the campus, in close proximity to school buildings.

Warning: EMF radiation is being linked to genetic damage, birth defects plus many other health issues

Experts say that EMF radiation from cell phones and wireless technology disrupts cellular function – and does it at well below the thermal threshold mandated by the FCC.

According to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, peer-reviewed research has shown that EMF radiation can cause genetic damage, reproductive defects, kidney damage and developmental problems.

EMF radiation can interfere with the production of melatonin and serotonin, important neurotransmitters needed for stable mood and restful sleep.

For those who are hypersensitive to RF radiation – estimated at 3.5 to 5 percent of the population – adverse effects can include headaches, sleep disorders, memory loss, agitation, confusion, anxiety and depression.

EMF radiation is also associated with increased risk of diabetes, heart arrhythmias, inflammatory diseases and various cancers – including childhood leukemia.

Finally, animal studies have shown that exposure to 3G RF radiation – at amounts well below federally-mandated cell phone limits – promoted the formation of brain tumors.

Experts say that children are particularly susceptible to harm from EMF radiation, due to their smaller size and still-developing systems.  France and Israel have already moved to restrict wireless technology in schools – when will the United States follow suit?

Study links cell phone towers with higher rates of cancer

In a landmark German study involving 1000 participants, four doctors monitored residents who had lived around cell phone towers for ten years.

While there was no significant change in cancer rates during the first five years of the study, the last five years of the study revealed that the residents living within 400 meters of mobile telephone bases had three times more newly-diagnosed cancers than their counterparts living farther away.

The doctors concluded that the residents had an increased risk of cancers of the breast, prostate, pancreas, bowel, skin, lungs and blood.

Significantly, the residents not only developed cancer at a higher rate – but they developed it at younger ages.

The doctors cited an “immediate” need for epidemiological studies to monitor the health of the residents living in areas of high radiofrequency emissions from mobile telephone bases.

Reduce EMF exposure with common-sense techniques

EM watch advises the use of RF gauss meters, which can help identify safer areas in your home.  Note: experts recommend spending less time in rooms from which you can see the tower from a window.

You can also make use of special shielding – including window films, mesh curtains, EMF-resistant paints, and metal foils.

If you are considering buying or renting a home, it only makes sense to research the location of cell towers and WiFi antennas.  Remember, many are camouflaged to look inconspicuous, and can resemble loudspeakers or even “bug-zappers.”

Finally, you can cut your accumulated exposure by using landlines and wired internet whenever possible.  Keep cell phones at least six inches from your body, and use a hands-free headset or ear buds.

Of course, you can also band together with your neighbors to protest cell phone and wireless towers situated in close proximity to homes and schools.

As parents, teachers and students await the outcome of the cell phone controversy in San Joaquin County, it’s worth remembering the words of the doctors conducting the ten-year German study.

“It is no longer safe to assume,” the M.D.s wrote, “that there is no causal link between RF transmissions and increased cancer rates.”

Update: As of 9 pm on March 25, local news affiliate KCRA is reporting that the cell phone tower at Weston Elementary will be removed.

Sources for this article include:

ModBee.com
EMWatch.com
KCRA.com

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