PULASKI COUNTY, Va. – Better cell service is coming to underserved parts of Pulaski County.
The Board of Supervisors recently held a public hearing about a cell phone tower they claim will help with economic development.
People have mixed feelings about the topic.
“I think it’s great,” said John Acosta, who lives in Pulaski County. Acosta thinks having a cell phone tower in the county is needed.
“It’s beneficial for the community and surrounding areas, cause where I live at. A lot of times, calls are dropped,” Acosta said.
At a recent Pulaski County Board of Supervisors meeting, some community members felt the cell tower had harmful effects.
“It does say they substantially underestimate the adverse impacts of the new technology, cancer metabolic disturbances, neurodegenerative disorders,” one resident said.
10 News reached out to Pulaski County leaders about the effects, which they said are sensitive to public health and public safety.
“The Board of Supervisors is working with the zoning department and state corporation commission, to make sure all the certificates, all the testing like any other cell tower in the country are followed and adhered to,” Pulaski County Administrator Jonathan Sweet said.
The Towers, LLC, the company wanting to build the tower, sent a letter to the county. It read, in part, “Based on research, federal agencies have concluded that equipment has been deployed in a manner that complies with the safety standards poses no known health risks.”
According to Cancer.org, “There’s no strong evidence waves from cell phone towers cause any noticeable health effects.”
10 News checked another source, Radia Smart, and that site says a safe distance to be from a cell tower is roughly 400 meters or 1,200 feet.
Diagrams show the nearest residents are roughly 300 feet away from the base of the cell tower site.
10 News asked county leaders about people living close to the site.
“Those are homes but the cell tower is behind the water tanks,” Sweet said.
County leaders plan to move forward to work with the companies to erect the cell tower, but no construction date has been set yet.