OUR MISSION

The Cellular Phone Task Force is dedicated to halting the expansion of wireless technology because it cannot be made safe. We provide:

education to the public concerning electromagnetic pollution (electrosmog)
advocacy for an electromagnetically cleaner environment
support for individuals disabled by radiation from wireless technology and other sources.

FCC TO RECONSIDER EXPOSURE LIMITS

The sea of microwave radiation in which every human being is bathed in the twenty-first century was authorized (at least in the United States) by the Federal Communications Commission in 1996, in what has been called The Largest Biological Experiment Ever. The consequences have been disastrous.

On March 29, 2013 the FCC announced that it will take comments on whether it should revise those absurd limits. Once this “Notice of Inquiry” is published in the Federal Register, the public will be able to submit comments to the FCC for 60 days. The beginning of the comment period will be announced on this website, and is likely to be sometime in May.

We caution that the FCC is not interested in protecting the public’s health, and is going through the motions of this inquiry only to placate the public, which has been putting pressure on the FCC for years. Please contact us [Hannah, please link to the Contact Us page] with ideas as to how to organize an effective response to this opportunity.

UPDATES ON PROPOSED SANTA FE CELL TOWERS

See Santa Fe news page for complete information

Hotel Santa Fe

To passersby, it looks like the hotel is building a fourth story. But it is really a façade for antennas: AT&T is installing a cell tower on the roof of the penthouse, whose walls will be extended upwards another nine feet to hide it. The hotel’s spa and fitness center are on the second and third floor, just twenty feet away from where the nine antennas will be installed.

The hotel is owned by the Picuris Pueblo.

This project is under appeal in New Mexico District Court, but construction continues and is expected to be completed by the end of March, 2013.

Marcy Street Tower

AT&T’s application for replacement antennas at the 142-foot height, and a new tier of antennas at the 77-foot height, plus structural reinforcement of the tower to bear the additional weight, was approved on the fall of 2012, but the permits have not yet been issued. One problem holding up the project is the fact that the ugly 195-foot tower is itself not legal under current city ordinances. It is grandfathered in because it was built before current height and zoning restrictions were adopted, and normally grandfathered “nonconforming” structures cannot be added onto.

On March 27, 2013 the Santa Fe City Council will consider adopting a new ordinance, drafted specifically for AT&T, that will define each antenna as a separate “structure.” This will enable the new antennas to be considered “new” towers — a legal fiction that will allow AT&T to add onto the existing tower despite the fact that it is a grandfathered structure.

Saint John’s Methodist Church

This AT&T tower, concealed in a false chimney, is in operation. It was turned on on September 22, 2012, with disastrous consequences for the neighborhood. At least one person has already had to leave their home, and several others are seriously ill and looking for new homes

Baillios

A new 75-foot monopole at this site, across the street from Vitamin Cottage, went into operation early this year.

Capital High School

A new 100-foot-tall fake pine tree, adjacent to both Capital High School’s football field and its day care center, is also up and running.

Burger King

This project will require a public hearing because AT&T is applying for a height exemption, and also because it is a new tower in a historic district. An Early Neighborhood Notification Meeting, held May 21, 2012, was packed with neighborhood people opposing this project. At this writing, no public hearing has yet been scheduled.