Why Cell Towers Do Not Belong on School Grounds
My testimony to Montgomery County Public Schools which has numerous cell towers on school property
I recently testified before Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) about a longtime and well-documented pattern: cell towers are disproportionately placed on schools serving lower-income families.
I just presented on this issue at the American Public Health Association, highlighting how Montgomery County exemplifies a national trend in which schools are treated as cheap, convenient real estate for the telecommunications industry. There is an an unequal distribution of cell towers across the county’s 25 high school campuses. Schools serving larger populations of low-income students, measured by participation in the Free and Reduced-Price Meals (FARMS) program, are more likely to host cell towers on their property. Using MCPS data on FARMS rates for the 2022-2023 school year I found:
MCPS high schools with cell towers have an average FARMS rate of 51.88%
MCPS high schools without towers have an average FARMS rate of 30.69%
It is long past time for a change.
Children deserve protection.
Cell towers are not safe. Cell towers on school property bring many health, safety, and liability risks, from fire, hazardous materials on site, to the fall zone and property value devaluation which impacts school funding. Schools exist to protect children and support learning, not to serve as long-term RF radiation exposure sites for commercial, industrial cell towers whose “safety” limits have not been updated in nearly 30 years. In Montgomery County, cell towers are even considered HAZMAT sites due to the hazardous chemicals at the tower compound. Plus, cell towers emit RF radiation, linked to numerous harmful effects in several peer reviewed and published studies.
A 2022 review examined research on people living near cell towers and wireless antenna sites and found the majority of studies reported impacts, primarily radiofrequency sickness, cancer, and altered biochemical markers.
Children absorb higher rates of RF radiation and are biologically more vulnerable to the RF radiation emitted by cell towers. Scientific studies, expert recommendations, and international policies increasingly support stronger protections and greater setbacks for cell towers from schools.
Other School Districts Have Banned New Cell Towers- Why Hasn’t MCPS?
Across the country, school boards are stepping up. New cell towers on school property have been banned or restricted in districts including Los Angeles, Palo Alto and Temecula Valley Unified in California to Loudoun County, Virginia.
These districts recognized that precaution, transparency, and public trust matter—especially when it comes to children.
MCPS must do the same.
I formally requested that the Board overhaul its current cell tower siting, leasing, and oversight process, which is unsafe, deficient, and non-transparent.
U.S. RF Radiation Limits Are Outdated and Inadequate
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission allows radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposures from cell towers that are 10 to 100 times higher than limits set in several other countries.
Why?
Because U.S. federal RF exposure limits have not been updated since 1996.
These limits only protect against short-term heating effects. They do not account for long-term health risks, including impacts to:
Cancer risk
Brain development
Reproductive health
Immune system function
“FCC RF radiation exposure standards are for acute short-term thermal effects…but today’s exposures are long-term, low-level, chronic. Any biological effects below that thermal threshold are simply unregulated.” -Amicus Brief by the Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council
Children are simply not protected under the current antiquated regulatory framework.
I Sued the U.S. Government Over This Failure
I, and others, challenged this regulatory failure in federal court. We won. In 2021, a federal appeals court ordered the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explain how its RF radiation limits adequately protect the public, especially children, from long-term exposure (and much more).
Nearly five years later, the FCC has still failed to respond to the court’s order. If cell tower RF radiation is so safe then why can’t the FCC simply explain how they know this?
This is not a minor oversight. It is a profound regulatory breakdown.
Given this failure at the federal level, local school boards have a responsibility to act.
Parents have a right to know what their children are being exposed to—on school grounds, every day.
“Proprietary” Data Should Not Trump Children’s Health and Safety
T-Mobile has stated to me that it conducts regular RF compliance testing. However, when I requested the RF radiation reports for Wheaton High School, I was told the data was “proprietary.”
Let that sink in.
Commercial telecommunications equipment is installed on school grounds, exposing children to continuous RF radiation, yet parents and the public are denied access to the actual exposure measurements.
This lack of transparency would be unacceptable in any other context involving children’s health. The failure is on our side though. It should have been required as part of the deal.
Other Countries Monitor RF Radiation at Schools. The U.S. Does Not.
In several other countries, continuous RF radiation monitoring at schools is regularly conducted. Yet, as detailed in my recently published paper “U.S. policy on wireless technologies and public health protection: regulatory gaps and proposed reforms,” here in the United States:
There is no national RF measuring or monitoring program.
There is no pre-market safety testing.
There is no post market medical survellience.
There is no federal oversight ensuring compliance.
This regulatory vacuum leaves children, teachers and staff unprotected. Cell towers do not belong on school grounds.
A Full Airing of the Cell Tower and Children’s Health Issue is Needed at MCPS
I submitted extensive written testimony to MCPS documenting these concerns and providing policy recommendations.
MCPS should affirm that student health, equity, and safety outweigh commercial revenue considerations and at a minimum:
Adopt a ban on new cell tower and wireless infrastructure leases on school property.
Transparently post all the cell tower information for the county and schools with cell towers, along with the feeder schools.
Ensure yearly RF radiation measurements for all sites transparently posted in an accessible way.
RF radiation compliance reports should measure locations throughout the school and outdoor areas, rather than just simulations.
Revisit the cell tower approval process and oversight policies.
If you want a deep dive into the health and safety risks of cell towers near schools, watch my cell towers master class below.
And there is so much more. Be sure to join our Wireless and EMF Program newsletter. Here is the link.
Excellent work Theodora! Thank you for shining a light on this.