American Workers Are Being Over-Exposed to RF Radiation
Did you know that hundreds of thousands of American workers are potentially being over-exposed to hazardous radio frequency (RF) radiation every year at their worksites? According to a leading insurance industry rating agency, AM Best, 250,000 workers per year come in close contact to transmitting antennas at cell sites.
RF radiation is invisible, silent, odorless, tasteless and its effects on the body are often not readily apparent at the time of exposure. Most workers are completely unaware of what RF radiation is and its effects on their body and cognitive abilities. Workers outside the wireless industry receive no training necessary to protect themselves on site.
Stealth Sites: Making the situation even worse, many cell sites are hidden or camouflaged as “stealth sites” whose transmitting antennas are virtually impossible to identify. Take a look at the picture below. What do you see?
Take a closer look.
This is not a church steeple. Inside the circle are coaxial cables, which are a clue that indicates the steeple is actually housing one or more wireless transmitting antennas.
These roofers are unaware of the dangers while working in close proximity to this seemingly harmless church steeple that is actually a wireless transmission site. Since RF radiation is tasteless, odorless and invisible, stealth antennas such as this one provide no warning to workers.
As the 5G network is rolled out, additional small cell stealth antennas will be placed in areas potentially near worksites.
Signs and Barriers Don't Protect Workers: At many sites, signs, cones and plastic chains are used as an attempt to maintain compliance and control access to hazardous areas but do not take into account situations where workers are required to enter into the hazardous area to perform their specific task. As depicted below, a HVAC technician would be working on equipment just inches away from a live antenna.
Now that you see how hard it is to avoid RF radiation while working on structures hosting wireless transmitting antennas, think of all the workers that can come in contact with these antennas: first responders, roofers, HVAC technicians, electricians, painters, window washers, sheet metal workers, and utility workers among others.
The difficult task of educating and protecting the workers who find themselves in harm's way has not been accomplished until now. National Antenna & Tower Safety Center (NA&TSC) recognizes the challenges of providing RF site safety for workers and has created a globally patented safety protocol and technology solution to ensure the health and safety of all workers at all wireless transmission sites. This advanced technology creates a 21st-century solution to solve a 21st-century problem.
The health and wellbeing of the American worker and their families depends on the NA&TSC’s safety solution.
Other blog posts:
- Addressing the Public Concern Over 5G RF Radiation Safety
- The Unavoidable Problem of RF Exposure
- The Comprehensive National Antenna & Tower Safety Center RF Safety Solution
- Carriers Alone Cannot Fully Protect Workers from RF Radiation at Cell Sites
- Insuring the Uninsurable
- Connecting the Dots Between Third-Party Workers and RF Radiation Injuries
- Protecting Tower Climbers
- RF Safety Obligations of Municipalities
- Site Owners Blind to the Consequences of RF Radiation
- RF and Tower Safety Obligations of Turf Vendors and Contractors
- NA&TSC's Response to FCC RF Safety Issue (Part 1)
- NA&TSC's Response to FCC RF Safety Issue (Part 2)
- NA&TSC's Response to FCC RF Safety Issue (Part 3)
- NA&TSC's Response to FCC RF Safety Issue (Part 4)
- NA&TSC's Response to FCC RF Safety Issue (Part 5)
- Firefighters Must be Protected from RF Radiation at Wireless Sites
- RF Radiation Overexposure: A Fact Sheet for the Public
- Support for National Antenna & Tower Safety Center’s RF Safety Solution
- The Public Demands RF Safety for Unprotected Workers