Letter From Harvard Trained Scientist Dr. Ronald Powell to Eleanor Roosevelt High School on Proposed Cell Tower

-----Original Message-----
From: Ronald M. Powell, Ph.D. <ronpowell@verizon.net>
To: Reginald McNeill - Principal <rmcneill@pgcps.org>; Ayana Briscoe - Assistant Principal <ayanna.briscoe@pgcps.org>; Arnita Dew - Assistant Principal <adew@pgcps.org>; Sandra Lyles - Assistant Principal <slyles@pgcps.org>; Clinton Shands - Assistant Principal <clinton.shands@pgcps.org>; Benjamin Pryor - Assistant Principal <benjamin.pryor@pgcps.org>; Avery Taylor - Assistant Principal <ataylor@pgcps.org>; Eleanor Roosevelt High School PTSA <erhsptsaweb@gmail.com>
Sent: Mon, Apr 24, 2017 9:46 pm
Subject: Proposed Cell Phone Tower on the Grounds of the Eleanor Roosevelt High School

April 24, 2017

TO:

Reginald McNeill, Principal
Ayana Briscoe, Assistant Principal
Arnita Dew, Assistant Principal
Sandra Lyles, Assistant Principal
Benjamin Pryor, Assistant Principal 
Clinton Shands,  Assistant Principal
Avery Taylor, Assistant Principal
ADMINISTRATION

Anne Gardner, President
Aisha Blaine Bey, Vice President
Vernita Johnson, Treasurer
Justine Desmarais, Recording Secretary
Charlean Thompson, Correspondence/Membership Secretary
PTSA

Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Greenbelt, Maryland

Dear Officers of the School Administration and the PTSA,

I understand that a cell tower is under consideration for installation on the grounds of your school.

Please know that such an installation is definitely NOT in the interest of the health of the students, faculty, and staff of the school.  The radiofrequency radiation produced by cell towers is a form of electromagnetic radiation, and electromagnetic radiation presents many health risks.  I attach a paper that explains why, with documentation.

I also attach a second paper, with documentation, that explains that the use of many other wireless devices in the school, including Wi-Fi, also presents health risks.  In fact, the Maryland Children's Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council (CEHPAC) has just issued an important report about electromagnetic radiation.  The report recommends that Wi-Fi be phased out of Maryland's schools because of the health risks to the children.  In its report, CEHPAC indicates that it will next address cell phones in the schools.  CEHPAC advises Maryland's Governor on the health of the environment in the schools in our state.  You can read the report here:

http://phpa.dhmh.maryland.gov/OEHFP/EH/Pages/WiFiCEHPAC.aspx

Whatever the status of the use of Wi-Fi and other wireless devices in your school, adding to the electromagnetic radiation in your school by installing a cell tower on school grounds is very much to be avoided.

Any payments that may be offered to your school by the provider of this cell tower, as inducements to accept the cell tower, will pale in comparison to the health risks for everyone, not only those in the school but also those in the surrounding community.

If interest persists in having a cell tower located on school grounds, do consider the following actions, undertaken with the assistance of an attorney, especially for the second and third suggestions below:

INSIST that the company providing the cell tower give the school, at least 6 months in advance of any decision by the school to proceed, written documentation proving the safety of the cell tower for the health of children and adults.  You can then have that documentation reviewed by impartial experts.  Remember that the burden of proof of safety is on the company providing the cell tower.  There is no burden of proof on YOU to prove that the cell tower is not safe.

INSIST that the contract with the company providing the cell tower acknowledges that the company accepts liability for all harm done to the health of anyone caused by the electromagnetic radiation that the cell tower produces.  

INSIST that the contract with the company providing the cell tower states that the company will remove the cell tower, and all supporting equipment, from the school grounds, at no cost or penalty to the school, if the SCHOOL later determines that the cell tower presents a health risk.

If the company providing the cell tower insists that the cell tower is safe but WON'T accept the above three requirements, then you will have your answer about how confident the company is that the radiation from the cell tower is truly safe.For the sake of the health of the children in your school, the health of the faculty and staff in your school, and the health of the community surrounding your school, DO REJECT the installation of a cell tower on your school grounds.  There is not need to make this tragic mistake.
Please feel free to share this message and the attached two papers with anyone one you wish.
Who am I?
I am a retired U.S. Government career scientist.  I hold a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University.  Additional information about my background is contained in both of the attached papers.

The Health Argument against Cell Phones and Cell Towers.pdf

Message to Schools and Colleges about Wireless Devices and Health.pdf

Regards,

Ronald M. Powell, Ph.D.
20316 Highland Hall Drive
Montgomery Village, MD  20886-4007
United States of America
E-mail: ronpowell@verizon.net
Tel: (301) 926-7568