Parents and community members in Fayetteville are concerned about the installation of a cell phone tower on the playground of McNair Middle School, adjacent to Vandergriff Elementary School.
The group, Protect Our Children – Fayetteville, says placement on school property would expose students and staff at both schools to daily radiofrequency radiation amid ongoing scientific debates about its long-term health effects.
The tower was initially approved by the Fayetteville School District in 2014, with final approval coming in 2023. Other concerns cited by the group include the “significant” reduction of playground space.
Group spokesperson Courtney Backus Norton noted the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s classification of RF fields as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” and said laboratory studies have shown potential links between prolonged RF exposure and tumor growth, neurological effects and endocrine disruption.
“The FCC’s safety guidelines for human exposure to radiofrequency radiation were developed in the 1980s and adopted in 1996 — nearly 30 years ago — long before today’s wireless technologies or the constant exposures our children experience every day,” she said in a press release.
A petition has been started to halt construction of the tower at https://chng.it/CcgZd96YtD.
“Children’s bodies and brains absorb more RF energy relative to their size and no U.S. agency has yet updated standards to reflect these vulnerabilities,” she said. “Making children more vulnerable than adults to environmental risks because their bodies and brains are still developing. If potential risk exists and scientific certainty is incomplete, take protective measures — especially for children — until proven safe.”
The group is calling for:
- An immediate suspension of construction on the McNair Middle School cell tower.
- A thorough, district-wide assessment of all existing cell towers on school properties.
- The relocation of any towers in proximity to students or staff areas.
- Transparent, inclusive processes involving the community for any future infrastructure projects affecting health and safety.
An open forum about the tower’s placement is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. at McNair.
Scheduled to attend are Fayetteville Superintendent John Mulford and other district representatives, as well as officials from Smith Communications, which is installing the tower. For more information, contact Norton at backus.courtney@gmail.com.
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