Tests conclude cell tower poses no danger
Test results should put worries to rest,
officials say
This cell tower is similar to one that is being proposed to be erected near Chittick School.
EAST BRUNSWICK — Results from recent emissions testing on the Cellular One tower, located near Chittick School, found the structure to be harmless.
The $8,000 test was completed this week by SSI Services of Limerick, Pa., at the request of township officials.
A total of 50 interior and exterior locations were tested at Chittick School in order to measure what, if any, impact the tower’s 12 antennas had on the area.
Upon completion of the tests, current radiation levels were reported to be well beneath 0.58 megawatts per square centimeter, the maximum amount allowed under Federal Communications Commission standards.
Outside levels were found to be at less than 2 percent, or 0.0116, of the maximum, while indoor levels did not exceed 4.7 percent of the maximum, the report said.
The largest amount of radiation — 25 percent, or 0.145 megawatts — was discovered in the school’s parking lot, next to the trash receptacles.
According to Township Attorney Mike Baker, the low radiation levels mean that he will no longer be able to argue the issue of safety upon his return to state Superior Court, New Brunswick, later today.
Instead, the township’s case against Cellular One will rely solely on the issue of zoning, as recent evidence has led officials to believe that permits were obtained for only nine of the tower’s 12 antennas.
Baker first appeared in court on Oct. 17, seeking an immediate injunction against Cellular One for a cease-and-desist order on operation of the tower and arguing it was a possible safety hazard for schoolchildren.
Superior Court Judge Joseph C. Messina denied Baker’s request based on a lack of evidence to support that claim; however, the judge ordered that Cellular One allow the municipality to conduct testing on the tower.
Messina ordered the company to provide the municipality with information and engineering specs for the three antennas in question.
"This information will help determine whether the tower is, in fact, operating under any false pretenses with relation to the township zoning laws," Baker said.

