A Nuuanu church is defending its decision to allow a cellphone carrier to install antennas on its building, despite an outcry from some neighbors over radiation exposure.
The Rev. Stan Ponz, pastor of International Baptist Church, next to Pali Highway at 20 Dowsett Ave., said parishioners did their own research and found no "provable evidence of harm from the antenna."
T-Mobile General Manager Roy Irei said the company proposes to erect three to nine antennas on a panel, which will be affixed to an outside wall of the church building rather than on the roof.
"We try to stay away from building a whole new tower," he said.
Dr. Wayne Kyono, a pediatric blood and tumor specialist who lives down the street, said, "The World Health Organization says that radio-frequency electromagnetic fields are a potential cancer-causing agent and there needs to be more study. We see 30 to 40 new patients in Hawaii with cancer each year, and we can’t say what causes it."
But environmental causes are a possibility, he said.
Of particular concern is possible exposure to children at Queen Emma Preschool, across Dowsett Avenue from the church.
"Putting it across from a preschool is angering the community," Kyono said. "Nobody’s going to put an antenna site over a preschool to test it."
Nuuanu resident Betsy McCreary, whose house and garden are 25 to 30 feet from the church, said the antenna’s radiation at 1,900 megahertz can extend for a half-kilometer (1,600 feet) and that there are concerns it raises the body temperature of those who work nearby.
As with cigarettes, it might take years to document and prove its harmful effects, she said.
"We’re not ready to be the guinea pigs," said McCreary. "It’s going to be a public health crisis — to be radiated 24 hours a day. The closer you are, the worse it is."
T-Mobile has been looking for a site in Nuuanu due to complaints of inadequate coverage in the area.
The firm went before the Nuuanu/Punchbowl Neighborhood 18 months ago with a proposal for a site at Nuuanu Elementary School. That didn’t fly, so it next approached the church.
Irei said good coverage requires that the cell site be located within a few blocks of the church, especially due to dense vegetation.
He said the company always takes feedback from the neighborhood into consideration.
But T-Mobile does not always defer to community objections.
In 2007, despite community objections, T-Mobile won a city conditional use permit to erect an 85-foot tower on agricultural-zoned property in Waimanalo. The company complied with nine conditions detailed in the permit, including appearing before the neighborhood board.
Irei said that the company adheres to all federal guidelines required by wireless carriers for antenna safety.
He said the company understands the health issues raised but that there is nothing proving antennas are dangerous.
Irei said the company will have a team speak with the neighborhood board again.
T-Mobile must get approval from the city Department of Planning and Permitting to proceed.
Irei declined to give an estimate on how much the company would offer to compensate the building owner, saying the parties have not reached a point of negotiation.
Ponz, the pastor, denied any financial motive.
"We don’t need this funding," he said. "The reason we’re doing it is there are people in our community who need a better signal. There’s a group that will like it and a group that won’t. So we’re caught in the middle."
T-Mobile has an 80-foot cell tower in lower Nuuanu, at 2313 Nuuanu Ave., according to the Federal Communications Commission.
McCreary, the nearby resident, said she is concerned for the frail seniors and children in the neighborhood.
"We need to put a halt to the proliferation of these things for the health and welfare of people rather than the health and welfare of corporations."
