A cell tower that was once proposed for Crescent Beach – which was met with opposition from residents who raised health concerns relating to electromagnetic fields – will no longer be located in the neighbourhood.
“After hearing the communities feedback through correspondence sent to us and at the Crescent Beach Homeowners Association meeting on March 6, Freedom Mobile has decided not to proceed with the proposed streetlight telecommunications facility at this location in Crescent Beach,” Cypress Land Services representative James Shaw wrote in an email to Pixie Hobby, who was one of the residents opposed to the cell tower.
“Freedom Mobile will look at alternative locations over the next little while and investigate other options that were identified to help determine feasibility.”
RELATED: Residents raise health concerns after cell tower announced in Crescent Beach
Hobby and South Surrey resident Carl Katz contacted Peace Arch News earlier this month, and said the electromagnetic energy they anticipate to be emitted from the once-proposed cell tower, near 12189 Beecher St., not only harms wildlife, but could have an impact on human health.
Katz read a list of symptoms to PAN that people could experience if they have a hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields.
These symptoms included a ringing in the ears, sleep disturbances, blurred vision, dizziness, memory loss, brain fog, chemical sensitive, depression, anxiety and heart arrhythmia.
The “Radiofrequency Toolkit” on the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) website says that electromagnetic hypersensitive individuals make up one to 10 per cent of the population.
The document says that, in general, people who identify with having an electromagnetic hypersensitivity “do not reliably detect RF (radio frequency) when blinded to the source.”
The document says that studies are limited to examining acute exposure to radio frequency.
“Chronic exposure to RF on persistent human health symptoms have not been studied thoroughly,” the document states.
