Report - City of Tustin

The City also maintains control aver the actual real estate licensing and business
terms and conditions under which a cell site on any city owned property would be
subsequently licensed by the City after it is location and design is approved by the
Community Development Department or legislative body as may be required
pursuant to City codes However the City may not reject a zoning approval of a cell
site or tower due to health concerns under federal law
Q Are there health dangers
from cell sites and or towers
A
There is no credible US scientific evidence which attributes negative health
effects to exposure to wireless transmissions from cell site and towers
www fcc pov cqb
consumerfacts rfexposurehtml
The federal government also regulates wireless transmissions through the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA and the Federal
Communications Commission FCC In 1996 the FCC adopted guidelines for
evaluating human exposure to radio frequency RF fields from fixed transmitting
antennas such as those used for cellular sites These guidelines are used by all
wireless carriers in testing to ensure their compliance with OSHA and FCC
requirements The FCC guidelines for cellular sites are identical to those
recommended by third party agencies the National Council on Radiation Protection
and Measurements NCRP and similar to guidelines recommended by American
National Standards Institute and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 created the regulatory environment that
provides for ubiquitous wireless coverage in the United States Because the
Telecommunications Act was enacted by Congress and because federal agencies
regulate wireless transmissions federal law pre empts any State or local laws
concerning telecommunications The Telecommunications Act provides that cell
tower applications may not be rejected by municipal governments on the basis of
health concerns in part because there is no scientific evidence to suggest that cell
towers present risk to health Although residents may have concerns about health
effects related to cell towers the City cannot legally reject zoning applications based
on this factor
There have been numerous studies done measuring the levels of radio frequency
exposure near typical cellular and wireless carrier installations especially those with
tower mounted antennas These studies have concluded that ground level radio
frequencies and energy power densities are thousands of times less than the limits
for safe exposure established by the Federal Communications Commission FCC
Safety guidelines already in place establish minimum requirements that must be
followed by the cell carrier industry This makes it extremely unlikely that a member
of the general public could be exposed to radio frequency levels in excess of FCC
guidelines due to cellular or wireless antennas located on towers or monopoles
FCC guidelines establish Maximum Permissible Exposure MPE for use by the
wireless carriers in the development and placement of their antennas and