Planning Commission and Microwave Risks

As a resident of Cheviot Hills for 37 years, as a registered nurse for 45 years, and as a citizen whose main concern is for the welfare of my community and the surrounding communities, I am appalled that our City Planning Commission isn’t concerned about potential health risks from the microwave towers planned for the Fox Studios expansion in West Los Angeles.

The assurances that Fox has given to the public are based on their television station in Hollywood , which has only one microwave tower. There have been no models printed in the Environmental Impact Report or provided to the Planning Commission to demonstrate that the five towers planned for the Fox expansion will be built to protect the health and safety of those living and working near these new microwave dishes. To approve development projects on a “trust us” promise is not only unwise but also unlawful under California law. Fox has stated that these satellite dishes will have a maximum exposure of 5 , 000 microwatts per square centimeter. So why do responsible people like those at Hughes Aircraft and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab use only 100 microwatts as their standard? The 5 , 000 figure is outdated and no one who feels any sense of responsibility would suggest otherwise. Do we simply trust the promises of a developer to protect the health of the children in our community?

SHIRLEY D. LINDE

Los Angeles