Papamoa residents are irate a second cellphone tower is being installed in a residential area close to local kindergartens.
Papamoa Panel and Paints' Daniel Olds says he's disgusted to see the tower being installed, especially after being told another 12 will be put in the area.
Graham Strange is not happy about the installation of a 2 Degrees cell tower on Enterprise Drive.
'It's a bit disturbing. I looked at the 2 Degrees website and it says they will not put towers up around schools, only in industrial areas – this is not an industrial area, it's light industrial,” says Daniel.
'When I went to talk to the guy installing the tower, the owner of the land was there and he had no idea so many people were against it.
'He's now going to his lawyer to try and stop it from happening.”
The new tower, being erected by the workmen here, is close to the Vodafone tower.
The electorate's MP, Minister of Health Tony Ryall is also involved to see what can be done about the tower on Enterprise Drive in Papamoa.
'I've often seen communities concerned about these towers, but we do need to check exactly what the facts are here.
'If people are concerned there's information about cellphone towers on www.nrl.moh.govt.nz/faq/cellphonesandcellsites.asp#cellsites,” says Tony.
Daniel says the installation of this tower is having an impact on schools and day care centres.
'I've spoken to the playcentres (in the area) and they have already had parents threaten to take their kids out of school.
'I even spoke to the guy installing the pole and he says he would take his kids out of school if a tower was being put up by it,” says Daniel.
Papamoa business owner Graham Strange says he's been unable to lease one of his buildings because of the tower.
'My staff and I have been getting headaches and I am angry I haven't been able to get a tenant for my building.”
14 comments
Fear Factor
Posted on 24-06-2011 09:02 | By RawPrawn
Everybody wants a piece of the burger, but no-one wants the cow. Dust off your hypochondria mask!
Some hypocrisy possibly
Posted on 24-06-2011 10:12 | By LatifahDedah
No doubt the same parents threatening to take their kids out of school will almost all have cellphones themselves and not worry about the potential damage. No doubt they'll all use microwaves or electric ovens and sometimes eat fast food. Does the panel and paint shop use paints or vegetable dye? This enamel paint I believe is very dangerous and not exactly good for health. Not sure about gas or electric welders - potential gas fumes for a start and potential electric fields. Must pop out for some healthy exercise - oops, electric power and phone lines means huge radiation fields.
Progress...
Posted on 24-06-2011 10:12 | By Chaudog
They may have some valid concerns about health and safety but instead of complaining about the tower, maybe they should think of alternative sites for the remaining towers. Papamoa is going to keep growing and the need for these towers are going to increase. I bet most of these people will get up in arms when they can't get a full signal on their phones.
Risk??
Posted on 24-06-2011 10:33 | By Andrew B
Why are people so concerned with the perceived risk of being close to the minimal output of a cellphone tower when there has been a new primary school built over the fence from a huge transmitting tower that is powerful enough for it's signal to be received over a lot of the north island. That is just down the road at Golden Sands. Are these people withdrawing their children from that school too?
A liitle knowledge is dangerous!
Posted on 24-06-2011 10:58 | By bigted
We are bombarded daily with radio frequencies. These are emitted naturally, varying in intensity. e.g. sunlight. Let's ban sunlight and sound, as we are given "doses" of these as well.
Get real
Posted on 24-06-2011 11:40 | By silverhair
We all use cell phones and living in Papamoa has plenty of risks so get over it and if you are really that worried, move down to the bottom of the South Island where there is no cell phone coverage, oh and dont take your telvision or your computer or your microw wave, in fact dont use electricity.
Govt
Posted on 24-06-2011 11:42 | By Capt_Kaveman
failed to concieve the idea of making all the companys use the same towers = less towers more coverage having towers next to each other is plain dumb, vote for new govt and not the usless Lab / Nats/ Act
ID
Posted on 24-06-2011 11:47 | By Capt_Kaveman
like the hot pools returned to the Mt people along with the Mt itself kick Tga bk over the harbour vote for a breakaway since most of us did not want the amalgamtion anyhow
Humour
Posted on 24-06-2011 12:19 | By dgk
I laughed at the quote - This isn't an industrial area, it's an industrial area.....it was so funny. People want cheap cellphones, which can only happen with competition, but apparently they don't want those cheap phones to actually work in Papamoa. Why don't they just take a walk outside amongst all the cancer causing car exhaust fumes.
Lack of notice issues
Posted on 24-06-2011 13:14 | By CONDOR
Every cellphone tower installation should require an RMA consent plus all adjoining owners should be notified.
Choices
Posted on 24-06-2011 13:49 | By The author of this comment has been removed.
I can't believe how cynical people are about this!? Did nobody watch "Inside NZ" on Wedn night? Wireless and cell towers are NOT in the same league as TV's, cell phones and Microwave ovens! We can actually CHOOSE if and how much we want to use those! We can also CHOOSE if we want to stand behind an exhaust pipe and breathe it in (duh!), eat junk food or use toxic products. But once the cell tower is there we can't CHOOSE NOT to be affected by it! The impact it's having and going to have on humans and the environment as it becomes more wide spread will be detrimental!
disgusted that panel and paint is close to school
Posted on 24-06-2011 14:41 | By LatifahDedah
I'm disgusted that a panel and paint shop is near a school. What if they smell the fumes from the paint, or if they walk past? There's no certainty that fumes are safe even in the most tiny and diluted amounts. You can't be sure of anything these days. Even worse, a panel and paint shop being near a school could influence students to one day want to drive cars, polluting the environment even more with their dangerous carcinogenic pollutants. Also, why is a cellphone tower or a panel and paint shop allowed in an industrial or commercial zone? Businesses shouldn't be in industrial and commercial zones. Only cafes and bookshops. Must go and pop down for a latte before the roads clog up with all those environmentally conscious mothers and fathers descending on the schools in their over-sized cars and 4WDs belching diesel and petrol fumes.
Geez, whizz
Posted on 24-06-2011 18:20 | By KiwiSteve
I bet all these whingers have a cellphone, I bet all these whingers have a microwave oven. Where the hell do thease people expect to put these things? Are they deadly? Papamoa is, in my opinion, getting over-populated! Loose the N I M B Y attitude. NIMBY, for these backward, thinking people stands for Not In My Backyard! P.S Are where meant to have them in rural areas, so that our steak is half micro-wave cooked?
The 'fear industry' rather than 'fact' ...
Posted on 25-06-2011 08:40 | By Murray.Guy
If the American Cancer Society has no concern, I really think we should bow to their expertise, who state, "What expert agencies say ... The 3 expert agencies that usually classify cancer-causing exposures (carcinogens) -- the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- have not classified cell phone towers as to their cancer-causing potential. According to the World Health Organization: Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects. In commenting on cell phone towers near homes or schools, the Federal Communications Commission states: Radiofrequency emissions from antennas used for cellular and PCS [personal communications service] transmissions result in exposure levels on the ground that are typically thousands of times below safety limits. These safety limits were adopted by the FCC based on the recommendations of expert organizations and endorsed by agencies of the Federal Government responsible for health and safety. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that such towers could constitute a potential health hazard to nearby residents or students.
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