Pass a cell tower zoning ordinance limiting contribution to electrical pollution

Suggested wording for a zoning ordinance to require companies building cell towers to comply with the IEEE-519 and incorporate the features necessary to prevent emission of radio frequencies from the strobe light is below.

All telecommunication facilities shall also be designed and constructed so that they comply with harmonic distortion limits within electrical power systems as described in Public Service Commission rules PSC 113.0701 through PSC 113.0705 of the Wisconsin Administrative Rules. The guidelines identified to be utilized when corrective action is necessary are outlined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in the 1992 IEEE Standard 519 or as might be amended in the future. Strobe lights are required to incorporate features already developed to prevent emission of radio frequencies from the strobe light. Demonstration of compliance shall be documentation from an electrical engineer or qualified electrical technician or utility, that the electrical system meets prescribed limits for harmonic distortion and/or demonstration of installation of appropriate harmonic filter equipment to bring the distortion into compliance. If the Planning and Zoning Committee determines that additional measures are necessary to verify compliance with the above provisions, they may hire an electrical expert of their choice for such verification and the tower owners or the parties responsible for the equipment shall pay a fee equal to the actual costs incurred by XXXXXXXX County for such verification.

The following documentation should help provide the information your Zoning Committee will need to understand why they should pass a similar cell tower ordinance. The first document is in Microsoft Word format. The other requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Original informational letter sent to Zoning Committee to provide background for the necessity for the ordinance

Magnetic Fields in Homes and School: Source and Mitigation in Our Home, May 2005

Cell towers, Firefighters, and Radio Wave Sickness

Firefighters based in stations with cell towers placed on them are experiencing the symptoms of radio wave sickness. A press release titled INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS (IAFF) VOTES TO STUDY HEALTH EFFECTS OF CELL TOWERS ON FIRE STATIONS - Call for Moratorium on New Cell Towers on Fire Stations Until Health Effects Can Be Studied
mentions that firefighters from stations with cell towers placed on them are experiencing symptoms such as: slowed reaction time, lack of focus, lack of impulse control, severe headaches, anesthesia-like sleep, sleep deprivation, depression, and tremors, which are consistant with radio wave sickness. The symptoms put the firefighters at risk and impair their ability to do their job. At this time a study has not been done to distinguish whether the cause of the radio wave sickness is the transmissions from the cell tower, the electrical pollution from the equipment running at the cell tower, or a combination of the two.