As cell phone use grows, so does tower debate

updated 4:35 p.m. ET Aug. 21, 2005

ST. LOUIS - The Southampton Presbyterian Church has always suited its middle class south St. Louis neighborhood, quiet and friendly, a place so tight with its community that the neighborhood association met there.

But after two years of boisterous meetings and litigation, the 150-member church surrounded by closely-spaced red-brick homes is at odds with its neighbors over an issue that has nothing to do with theology.

T-Mobile plans to construct a cell phone antenna along the chimney of the two-story, 89-year-old white-stone building. In return, the company will pay rent to the church.

“That revenue is in exchange for our potential well-being, our peace of mind and our property values,” said David O’Brien, 33, who lives two homes down and remains unconvinced by studies downplaying the health threat of low-level radio-frequency emissions.

“None of us are willing to take that risk,” O’Brien said. “None of us are going to put our kids in a bedroom that’s 70 feet away from something that might cause cancer or other problems.”

In years past, cell towers and antennas stood anonymously in farm fields, on remote hilltops, on water towers. As cell phone use continues to grow, companies must find new places to keep up with demand — including residential areas like the South Hampton neighborhood.

Ten years ago, the U.S. had 24 million cell phone subscribers, said Joe Farren, a spokesman for CTIA-The Wireless Association, the trade group for the industry. Today, more than 190 million cell phones are in use.

To keep up, cell “sites” — towers and antennas mostly — have increased tenfold — from fewer than 18,000 in 1994 to more than 175,000 now. Without additional towers, calls are lost and reception suffers.

“Our companies are always running into this conundrum, which is, ’We want cell phone service, but don’t put that tower here,”’ Farren said. “When you’re dealing with communications through the air, you have to have antennas and towers.”

To meet demand, companies are increasingly turning to nontraditional sites — fire houses, churches, schools, even cemeteries and national parks. A cell tower now sits near Yellowstone’s Old Faithful, despite strong opposition.

Opposition is just as strong in residential areas. Washington attorney Ed Donohue, who represents several cell phone companies, estimated that more than 500 cases have been heard nationwide involving efforts to stop cell phone towers and antennas. In most cases, the cell phone companies have won.

That’s in part because federal law eliminates one of the key arguments against cell sites — the health factor.

No studies have shown conclusive evidence that radio-frequency emissions are harmful at levels allowed by the Federal Communications Commission. As a result, the law prohibits rejection of a tower based on health risk.

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