N4T Investigators: 5G rollout in Tucson met with opposition – KVOA Tucson News
TUCSON (KVOA) – It’s the highly anticipated future for mobile service but for many Tucsonans 5G is not a future they asked for.
These days 5G towers are popping up just about everywhere, and many homeowners tell the News 4 Tucson Investigators that they are furious.
“They hid it from us until the last minute,” Bryan Goldkuhl said.
Goldkuhl is outraged after a 5G tower was put up across the street from his home.
“They started by jacking pipe underneath the street that was probably three months ago. When we asked them about it, they told us they were putting in fiber optic cable then when we found out otherwise now we’re being told it’s too late to do anything about it,” Goldkuhl said.
He’s not alone, a group of neighbors from Tucson’s Peter Howell neighborhood held a protest a couple weeks ago against the installation of several towers in the area, one by a school.
“We don’t feel there has been enough research done to prove without a doubt that it is safe,” said mother Sarah Salazar.
“They’re there because Verizon and AT&T would like to implement what our future should look like nobody asked us if we wanted this,” said Lisa Smith.
The telecommunication companies, mainly Verizon and AT&T right now, are able to move with such haste and not slowed by community concerns due to a State law passed in 2017. House Bill 2365 allows the companies to install small cell towers within City and Town rights of way without following normal permitting procedures. Arizona was the first state to pass such a law for the 5G rollout.
The law limits local government’s ability to have a say where the towers go.
“Based on work that the telecom industry has done lobbying congress at both the federal and state level, they have basically taken our voice out of where we can compel these things to go,” said Tucson Ward 6 councilmember Steve Kozachik.
Kozachik has been hosting discussions with representatives from the telecom companies, urging them to focus on what’s called colocation, which is installing the 5G tech onto existing infrastructure like power poles and street lights.
“Our constituents are your customers and you ought to care about that. The first question your site selector ought to ask is would I want that in front of my house if the answer is no then find another spot,” Kozachik said towards the companies.
Many of the concerned homeowners said they are worried about the towers lowering their home values and potential health impacts.
Dr. Russell Witte, a professor of Medical Imaging, Optical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Applied Mathematics – GIDP, Neurosurgery and Neuroscience – GIDP, said “there is significant hazard and dangers to increasing the proliferation of microwaves.”
Dr. Witte said he has reviewed thousands of studies on microwave radiation-like forms released from 5G towers and says there’s plenty of evidence the towers could be unsafe and cause various health conditions, even cancer.
“When you actually measure exposure in homes of people because of the close proximity of these small cells they are getting much more exposure from these cells sometimes a thousand times more than before those this is 24/7 exposure, they can’t escape it or turn it off,” Dr. Witte said.
We reached out to AT&T and Verizon about 5G safety. In a statement to the N4T Investigators in February, Verizon called claims of the towers being unsafe “baseless conspiracy theories” and said, “all equipment used for 5G must comply with federal safety standards. Those standards it says have wide safety margins and are designed to protect everyone, including children.”
AT&T said in an email that questions of safety didn’t directly involve them and referred us to CTIA, a company that says it’s the voice of the telecommunication industry. After our report Monday CTIA sent us the following statement:
“Radiofrequency energy from wireless devices and networks, including 5G, has not been shown to cause health problems, according to the consensus of the international scientific community, including expert organizations such as the FDA, WHO and American Cancer Society.”
Dr. Witte said that the general public should be shown that what he says are many peer-reviewed studies on the subject and able to make up their own minds without being labeled a conspiracy theorist to question 5G. He believes fiber optic cable is a safer option.
Steve Kozachik said he expects thousands of 5G towers to be installed in Tucson within a matter of months and admits there’s little the City can do to stop it.
If you have a story you’d like us to investigate email us at investigators@kvoa.com or call our tip line at 955-4444.
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