To the Editor,

Calling all residents of Cranston!

Were you aware that all public officials in RI take an oath of office, which requires them to support the Constitution of RI and of the United States?

Both Constitutions affirm the right of everyone to live in safety, and for our environment to be protected. However, the misguided 2017 RI Small Cell Siting Act was pushed through the General Assembly without our legislators ’ being informed of the serious downside s to pulsed/modulated radio frequency/microwave radiation, which emanates from the “small

cells” that the wireless companies are in the process of installing on utility/light poles every 2 to 12 houses across RI.

Attorney Andrew Campanelli has successfully brought lawsuits on behalf of many cities to prevent the installation of cell towers near residences. He said there was no legitimate purpose to laws such as the SCSA, stripping municipalities of the right to oversee the small Wireless Telecommunication Facilities (sWTFs). Rhode Islanders deserve better.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against the FCC on August 13, 2021. In refusing to reevaluate its 1996 safety guidelines for radio frequency emissions [e.g. from cell phones, routers, baby monitors, laptops, cell towers, and “small cells ” for 5G], the FCC failed to address 11,000 pages of testimony regarding:

l impacts of long term wireless exposure

l impacts to children,

l the testimony of people injured by wireless radiation,

l impacts to wildlife and the environment (including pollinators),

l impacts to the developing brain and reproduction.

Lloyds of London and Swiss Re have rejected insuring telecoms for 5G, as they classify this radiation as a pollutant. Wireless companies do not warn consumers or municipal officials about this vital information. Will taxpayers be responsible for paying claims from class-action lawsuits?

In order to have access to broadband internet that is safe, reliable, and secure, that access must be via wired fiber-optics to the premises rather than wireless. Rhode Island is in an excellent position to utilize fiber-optics to residences and businesses, since it already has more fiber-optic cable per

square mile than any other state.

5G Free RI has written numerous emails to the Cranston City Council and the Cranston School Committee. We have gotten virtually no response.

City officials can no longer say, “I had no idea.” Please inform yourselves and contact your city officials to tell them to do their job to protect the safety of all Rhode Islanders and our precious natural environment.

Sheila Resseger, M.A.

Cranston

Resseger, a retired teacher at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, is co-founder, 5G Free RI.