WYANDOTTE, Mich. – Parents are concerned for the health and safety of their children after a cellphone tower went up right next to an elementary school in Wayne County.
T-Mobile put up the tower at Washington Elementary School in Wyandotte, and parents say part of it is on the playground.
On the playground was the generator for it, with signs that read danger. Parents asked why Wyandotte schools agreed to put the tower there.
“It’s scary,” said Josh Castmore. “There’s no other way to say it.”
Castmore has two young daughters that go to Wyandotte’s Washington Elementary School, an educational facility his family loves.
He and the other parents saw their kids on the playground, and with the help of Drone 4, parents saw their kids playing below the T-Mobile cell tower. On the playground, the generator to power the cell tower was fenced in, with warning signs on it.
For parents, there were health concerns with the tower and safety concerns with the equipment.
“High voltage on the kids’ playground,” Castmore said. “The two things just don’t make sense going together.”
Wyandotte schools reached a deal with T-Mobile in 2018 as they will get $1,000 monthly, and T-Mobile will get its new tower.
The problem is cell towers emit low-energy radiation, and experts say a developing child’s brain is vulnerable to electromagnetic radiation, and concerns about the health effects are increasing. Caution around the exposures is recommended until the health impacts are more clear.
The tower is about to become operational, with kids around it all day.
“They are going to be exposed to radiation,” Castmore said. “That is with all the research that we’ve done. It is not safe eight hours a day, five days a week, nine months a year.”
“The tower was approved by the board of education in 2018. Like many other school districts, we partnered with T-Mobile to provide greater coverage to our community. Due to the pandemic and construction delays, it is now just becoming operable. T-Mobile has complied with all federal, state, and city requirements.”
Wyandotte Superintendent of School Catherine M. Cost, Ed.D.