Shilshole Blog

Are you concerned about the microwave emissions coming from the anntennas Ecco Wireless has erected at the Marina? I am and I asked Ecco for data on those emissions. I have received no reply. Thanks to my brother-in-law this is what I’ve learned about cellular broadcast. Many years ago when cellular was first taking off and this subject was becoming important, McCaw cellular funded a study at the U of Utah. The primary factors are: frequency, power, exposure time. The frequency variable is not straightforward. The body absorbs more power at resonant frequencies. There are specific frequencies that are worse than others, where the energy transfer and heating to the cells is greater. In general and to date, cellular has not operated at biological resonant frequencies.
Still, the industry errored on the side of caution and modified phones to reduce their power output over time. Which is to say, the longer you talked, the lower the output power. Since the frequency is fixed and they couldn’t control the exposure time, they managed the power output, decreasing it over time to reduce the total energy absorbed. Today, this is much less of an issue because of the way consumers use their phones. The vast majority of users no longer hold the phone up to their head because they no longer make calls; they are primarily texting, emailing, and searching the Web. Held at arms-length, the exposure is greatly reduced. And, perhaps the most telling evidence: 100’s of millions of people have been using cellular phones for decades without any real evidence of health issues.
Cellular towers are another matter although the physics are the same. The output power is much, much greater but generally proximity is limited; there are restrictions placed on entering the near field of the antennas where the power is the greatest. You may think being/living directly under a tower would be the worst place but it’s actually a reasonably safe place. the antennas are highly directional and focus the energy on the horizon, not directly below. In fact if you enter the equipment shelter, cellular signals are generally quite poor. If you happen to live in a high-rise building, staring directly at the antennas, there may be some cause for concern. I would avoid such a location.
But everything is getting ready to change as the industry introduces 5G. 5G in and of itself is not a concern. What is a concern is much higher frequencies will be used because the existing frequencies are overloaded. Are these frequencies more harmful? Is there more absorption at these frequencies? The other problem with using higher frequencies is that the signal from towers does not propagate as far. This implies that many more cellular towers will be needed, the the extent they are considering installing minicell sites on lamp posts located on most every block. People questioning the health hazards of these new systems are not conspiracy theorists. There is legitimate cause for concern.
If you share my concern, please contact me and we can meet to explore what further steps we can take to obtain information. I’m considering addressing the Port Commissioners to poise my question to Ecco Wireless. My address is Dan Kruzich, P.O. Box 17352, Seattle, Wa. 98127. Thank you.