Tower foes fed up with restriction

The 1996 Telecommunications Act, signed into law by then President Bill Clinton, prohibits towns and local governments from fighting the placement of cellular towers based on health or other environmental issues.

With a public hearing planned for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Hall of Records in Los Angeles, concerning a planned telecommunications facility (cell tower) to be erected at 2540 Foothill Blvd., lots of folks in La Crescenta are up in arms about what — if anything — can be done to protest the proliferation of radiation producing mechanisms rapidly filling this community.

“We don’t feel 100% safe,” said Sonia Grigorian, an underwriter with Monarch Insurance Services, one of the about a half-dozen businesses located at the Foothill Boulevard building. Although her workplace is on the first-floor of the two-story structure, and a dance studio would be between her and the cell tower, Grigorian and some of her co-workers are concerned about long-term effects of cell tower radiation exposure. She and several co-workers recently attended community meetings and signed petitions against the tower.

“Sure they’ve done six-month testing on rats, but long-term testing on humans hasn’t been done,” Grigorian said. “It’s one thing if I choose to use a cellphone, but with this tower we’re not given a choice about exposure.”

Her co-worker Adela Rodriguez also expressed concern about the emissions that are expected to be a new part of her workday. “It’s a concern, especially since [the tower would] be right on top of our building,” Rodriguez said, adding that with working five days a week at that location, she could receive a significant amount of exposure.

But, according to the Telecommunications Act, workers in the building have no recourse and their health can’t factor into whether or not a tower is erected above them.

Crescenta Valley Town Council Mayor Grace Andrus is one of several locals who want federal legislation changed to allow residents the right to fight for their living space based on possible health concerns not addressed in studies paid for by cell companies.

Andrus said she’s “fed up” with federal regulations that are “taking away civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, and the right to a healthy life.