Cell Tower News: 2 injured in tower collapse

by Jarad Matula January 30, 2015

written by Jarad Matula January 30, 2015

Nebraska tower collapse

It almost looked like we were going to get through all of January without a tower incident, but that changed yesterday. A strong gust of wind caused a tower collapse in Scottsbluff, Neb., injuring two men. The tower, owned by Viaero, is still under construction, which makes the fact that wind caused an incident like this make much more sense. If you’ve got fully built cell towers collapsing due to winds between 25 and 50 miles per hour, you’ve got a flawed tower.

Despite initial reports that the two men fell off the tower, it has now been confirmed they were on the ground at the time of the incident, working on an antenna array. When the tower collapsed, it pinned the men under the structure, trapping them until responders could arrive and get them out. They were then sent to an area hospital to be treated for only minor injuries, thankfully.

Don’t go local

Every so often a hyper-local story has universal appeal or something we could all learn from. Over in Watsonville, Calif., they held a workshop to explore cell tower safety and laws. Legal experts informed attendees that if they’re concerned about potential health effects from cell towers, don’t bother taking it up with local officials. While it may delay the process, no sweeping changes will take place and more often than not, the tower companies win those battles. The lawyers explained how telecommunications law has increasingly taken place at the federal level.

So what should a concerned citizen do instead? First you can write to the Federal Communications Commission, which has already determined a standard for protecting health. So if the standard needs to be changed, the FCC would be the one to do it. That sounds promising, but while the FCC is open to revising rules, no definitive scientific evidence has emerged suggested harmful effects derived from exposure to radio frequencies. The other option is to contact your congress person, or at least one you know will be sympathetic to the cause.

“I genuinely believe there are people out there who have (radio frequency) sensitivity, but city halls are not where you go to fight the fight,” said Jonathan Kramer, a radio engineer turned attorney with an expertise in telecommunication law.