Group asks for ballot warning about 5G radiation
Emily Lanxner lobbied the Hardwick Selectboard to add a question to the town meeting ballot that asks the town to inform its residents when cell phone towers or other sources of 5G radiation are being locally constructed.
Lanxner, a local citizen, recently sent a petition to the Hardwick Gazette outlining both her and the local community’s concerns.
Known as a “Right to Know” petition, Lanxner stated that she and others want to improve communication between the town government and its citizens whenever telecom companies submit proposals for the construction of new wireless infrastructure.
“Our town government has the legal right to make decisions about the placement of wireless infrastructure,” Lanxner wrote in her letter. “Petitioners want that right to be respected and facilitated by our town officers.
Lanxner also stressed that she and others believe that a citizen has the right to know and say about what goes up in the neighborhood.
“Aesthetic impacts can affect property values,” Lanxner wrote. “With the new small-cell antennas, thousands of studies document severe health impacts to humans...We don’t need another health crisis.”
However, the concern over cell phone tower radiation may not be as serious as Lanxner suggests. According to the American Cancer Society, there is no strong evidence that exposure to radio frequency waves from cell towers cause any noticeable health effects.
Compared to UV rays, gamma rays, and x-rays, RF waves rank relatively low in the amount of radiation they produce. According to EMF Explained, RF waves do not emit enough energy to break apart chemical bonds and cause cancer.
However, the concern over telecom giants constructing cell towers in natural areas still poses a real concern. In Dec 2020, AT&T gave up on a controversial plan to build a cell tower on Hardwick’s famous Buffalo Mountain, according to VTDigger.
While AT&T said their tower would expand cell coverage in the local rural areas, Hardwick residents were resistant to the tower ruining their natural scenery.
Buffalo Mountain is a major part of the town’s iconography, and is a big draw for hikers, skiers and snowshoers. The mountain has also been central in Hardwick’s push to support its outdoor tourism and recreation identity.
While the question will not appear on the ballot, Lanxner plans to join other citizens together in an effort to make communication more open for any other future plans.
“We are joining many other Vermonters asking our town officials to provide a more reasonable plan to facilitate the notification process,” Lanxner wrote. “We are hopeful that more citizens will join in our request for a town resolution that addresses this concern.”
