She moved into her current residence located in a rural area north of Duluth with her husband in 2008. Soon after, a guyed tower was erected nearly 1,300 feet from Haller’s house. The cell tower was later bought by SpectraSite which later merged with American Tower Corp. American Tower leases space to T-Mobile and AT&T.
Haller has been having debilitating health issues since the tower was upgraded to 5G in October 2019 and wants it removed. She thinks that the radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposure is why she has suffered from 51 strokes, and also blamed it for a host of other serious issues, including vision and hearing loss and cognitive impairment.
Wireless Estimator writes that it’s rare to find one contractor who provide upgrades for both AT&T and T-Mobile simultaneously. Moreover, AT&T didn’t roll out 5G in the region until six months later.
Haller is being supported by Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless program. Lawrence Behr, CEO of LBA Group is skeptical of some of CHD’s claims, saying:
The FCC standard for general population exposure at cellular frequencies rarely exceeds a few dozen feet from a cellular base antenna. I have never encountered a situation where the cellular RF exposure limit is reached even as much as 500 feet from the antenna.
These guidelines were set for a safety factor of 10 times. It might be noted that typical electromagnetic radiation from the sun on the human body is many times the maximum permissible exposure under the safety guidelines for cellular RF.”
Haller remains convinced of the adverse effects of radiation, reporting that when they moved away from the area, her health improved, but the symptoms came back when she returned.
The Hallers have constructed a Faraday cage room in their garage to protect Marcia from RF radiation. She wants American Tower, AT&T, and T-Mobile to modify the RF signals by reorienting antennas or buying newer antennas to beamform.
Whether Haller’s request is practical is another question as preventing RF signal leakage beyond the targeted area is not possible. The lawsuit has acknowledged that, but emphasizes that:
If the barrier removable is not readily achievable, then Defendants must provide access through other means, even if they are not the most integrated settings appropriate.”
AT&T and T-Mobile are expected to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit based on the safety of RF transmissions.
If the court sides with Haller though, the carriers will have to reduce or eliminate transmissions. This move could affect Haller’s neighbor.
