The following letter was sent to the Edgartown conservation commission, other town boards and the board for the Farm Institute and the Katama Association.

I have been a resident of Edgartown for 28 years and live adjacent to the Katama Farm. I am writing you on an important issue concerning the proposed installation of a telecommunication cell tower to be placed in the silo at the Katama Farm. I am not opposed to the technology, but I am concerned about the site that has been chosen. There are many documented studies done on the proximity of cell towers and the ill effects they have on humans and animals.

Enclosed please find abridged studies on the effects of electromagnetic radiation (microwave cell towers) on humans and animals. The unabridged studies can be found at emwatch.com, under cell tower health risk, which should be read to get the full understanding of the studies.

If you read the enclosed abridged study, it will open your mind to the potential dangers of electromagnetic radiation. Placing an electromagnetic radiation tower in the silo subjects the Katama Farm workers, the animals, the young children campers and people living adjacent to the farm to high radiation exposure which can lead to cancer (see the Naila Study, unabridged report). The Cow Study (unabridged report) shows the result of electromagnetic radiation on the health of the cows and milk yield. The Farm Institute should absolutely read the full study on the Internet — you will be shocked!

A book written by B. Blake Levitt (Cell Towers, Wireless Convenience? Or Environmental Hazard?) affirms that electromagnetic radiation cells placed into or onto conductive materials such as metal objects like roofs, metal water tanks, architectural girders, elevator cables or metal silos can cause hot spots. Katama Farm will be a radiation hot spot. What will the Farm Institute tell the vacationing camp guests? Guests must be told about the towers if their children will be spending a significant amount of time around this exposure. Telecommunication industries claim there is no hazard. Does electromagnetic radiation microwave sound healthy to you? I find it an oxymoron. We all know that radiation in abundance can cause cancer. Can we all remain silent? Maybe we can, but will we? Can we find another way to raise $28,000-plus a year? The telecommunication industry will have to prove unequivocally that electromagnetic radiation is not a health hazard.

Can the existing cell tower or radio tower in Edgartown be expanded to reach the distant locations without creating a new site? 75 per cent service is acceptable by the FCC, not 100 per cent.

It is contradictory how everyone is so conscientious about the effects of global warming, so we tout solar paneling (which our town of Edgartown is doing), recycling to save the dump, growing our gardens organically, feeding the beef grass and no antibiotics so as not to pollute our bodies, fighting the wind farm to save the birds and fish, turning our properties into conservation land so our grandchildren can walk on grass — and we turn our backs on the imminent danger, elcetromagnetic radiation, because we can’t feel it, touch it or see it!

I am sorry to say, if the cell tower goes into the silo, I will not support the Katama Farm by visiting, purchasing produce, sending my grandchildren to the camps or recommending the farm to visitors.

What if all the studies are proven correct a few years from now and there is an imminent danger from cell tower exposure! Are we willing to take that chance? Please rethink and err on the side of safety and do not gamble with the health of our children and animals by putting the towers in close proximity to them.

Maria Gilsenan
Edgartown