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Purpose of this Site
To inform Oradell residents of Verizon and other vendors' cell tower proposals, to present alternatives and issues, to keep citizens appraised of developments, and to promote constructive discussion.
A Special Meeting was held April 6, 2010
To help understand some of the health concerns with the proposed cell towers, citizens attended a presentation by Dr. Martin Blank from Columbia University, on Tuesday, April 6, 2010, at the Oradell Reformed Church in Oradell, NJ. See our flyer for details.
There is a DVD available for those who could not attend, so you can to hear some of the latest information from a cell radiation expert. It has also been broadcast on OPTV Ch.77.
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History
Verizon has proposed several cell tower designs in Oradell to improve their coverage in Oradell and the surrounding towns. They originally proposed a cell tower on top of the fire station on Kinderkamack Road, but this was rejected by the Fire Department. They subsequently proposed, as an alternative, two cell towers - one at the Veterans building and one at the Oradell Swim Club. As of Feb. 2010 they removed the Swim Club proposal, as it would reside in protected wetlands; thus the twin at the Veterans building was also removed.
The current proposal is for 3 cell towers ("flagpoles") ranging from 80 to 130 feet high at the Oradell Borough Hall on Kinderkamack Road, with the base station in the basement of the Borough Hall. This is located within 100 feet of the Oradell Public School and two church schools.
Oradell currently has one cell tower by the DPW, handling four providers. This location was zoned specifically as a municipal cell tower site.
Verizon has claimed that installation of the current 3 towers at Borough Hall is the only way to improve their current coverage in Oradell and the surrounding towns, and has additionally stated that federal law requires them to provide this coverage.
We will keep you posted on progress and issues raised during the discussion between the Oradell Borough Mayor and Council and its citizens, as well as current news on cell coverage, cell tower proposals, legal, technological and health issues and related information around the country.
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Objectives -- Our hope is that Oradell will:
1. ascertain the true cell phone needs of our residents - our own propagation map;
2. explore all technologies and research the ways we can minimize the RF radiation exposure, especially on our children, as a cautionary approach;
3. keep our town aesthetically appealing and protect our property values.
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The Main Cell Tower Issues
1. Health 2. Real Estate3. Safety4. Aesthetics
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Health Sites - these are some sites that may allow you to judge concerns for yourself:
Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center: Health Effects from Cell Phone Tower Radiation
BioInitiative Report:
A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for
Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF)
EnergyFields.org: EMF Protection, Shielding and Detection
Video: Cell Phone Dangers - Not Good for Children
Real Estate - see Appraisal Journal, Summer 2005 - property values can go down as much as 20%.
Safety - What is the Fall Zone of some proposed tower sites? Houses, Municipal Building, Gas Station?
Video: Cell Tower in Mass. collapses due to welding work on base
Aesthetics - see for yourself - Long Island cell tower article (NY Times) & two photos:
Red Flags for a Flagpole Cell Tower
Closter NJ cell tower downtown and single "flagpole" cell tower in Texas 89 feet high:
 
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Alternative technologies to Cell Towers
DAS - Distributed Antenna Systems - basically smaller low power antennas on top of utility poles or buildings, distributed to fill the gaps in the the RF coverage provided by the wireless vendor.
For the story of a recent DAS installation covering Yonkers and Mount Vernon, NY, see:
www.govtech.com/gt/702090
For more detailed information on efforts to use DAS throughout the US, including technical and legal issues, see:
www.thedasforum.org
For a more technical definition, see the Wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_Antenna_System
Cell Repeaters - these are installed in homes and building, and consist of a receiving antenna, a cable bringing the signal into the building, and one or more amplifiers and transmitting antennas inside the building. The receiver picks up the existing signal, amplifies it and transmits using very low power to the area(s) where the signal is needed. This is especially useful where the cell signal is somewhat weak and is blocked by the building materials, so the reception is poor or non-existent inside. They are generally inexpensive ($200-$500) and provide a good alternative for offices and individual homes. They also will handle the signals from nearly all wireless providers.
For more information, see the following:
dtvconverterboxes.blogspot.com/2009/03/cell-phone-signal-booster-reviews.html
www.digitalantenna.com
www.solidsignal.com
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Contact Us
If you wish to contact us to help out, find further information, provide further information or just add your name to our mailing list, please email us with your name, email address, phone (optional) and your request at:
info@OradellCellPhone.info
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