One sentence in the 1996 Telecom Act took away your town's power to block a cell tower on health or environmental grounds. R Blank goes live with Camilla Rees and attorney Scott McCollough to explain how that happened, who it protects, and what it would take to undo it.
Live, with your questions answered on camera.
A carrier picks the spot. Neighbors object. The town holds a hearing, and someone stands up to talk about the children in the school across the street. Then a lawyer explains that under Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, health is not something the town is allowed to consider. Courts have gone further and read federal law to shield carriers from liability for the harm they cause. That is why the infrastructure has kept going up for thirty years, right outside bedroom windows, with almost nothing standing in its way.
What We Cover
Camilla has worked on EMF policy for almost twenty years. Scott has litigated telecom law for forty, and in 2021 he took the FCC to court over its radiation exposure guidelines and won. Together they walk through the two problems at the root of all of it, and the campaign built to fix them.
The language that bars state and local governments from regulating towers on health or environmental grounds, how it got into the Act, and whether the Congress that passed it understood what it was doing.
The exposure guidelines are built on heating, not biology. Camilla explains what that misses, why closer transmitters and new modulation patterns change the risk, and what the science says about the harm.
HHS is collecting public comment on the biological and health effects of EMF, and the FCC is taking comment on its guidelines. Both close October 21. Camilla and Scott walk through how to file.
Bring the tower going up near your school, the hearing your town has scheduled, the letter you want to send your representative. This is a live conversation, so the questions in the chat shape where it goes.
Why Now
After thirty years of almost nothing, several things shifted this year.
Your Host & Guests
CEO, Shield Your Body
Host of The Healthier Tech Podcast. Co-author of 'Overpowered' with his father Dr. Martin Blank, the Columbia University scientist who spent decades researching the biological effects of electromagnetic fields, and author of 'Empowered'. Former faculty at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Senior Policy Advisor, NISLAPP
An award-winning health and environmental advocate who has worked on the biological and health effects of electromagnetic fields for almost 20 years. A former Wall Street executive, she founded Manhattan Neighbors for Safer Telecommunications and ElectromagneticHealth.org, co-founded the International EMF Alliance, and leads the EMF Education and Advocacy Project in Washington, D.C. She is a leader in the 704 No More initiative.
Chief Litigation Counsel, CHD EMR & Wireless
A litigator for more than 40 years in telecommunications, internet regulation, utility law, privacy and free speech. On behalf of Children's Health Defense, and with Environmental Health Trust, he won the 2021 case challenging the adequacy of the FCC's wireless radiation exposure guidelines. He is Chief Litigator for the 704 No More campaign.
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