Environmental Inspections
Tower falls as Coomera school wins
THE Coomera Springs school community has had a win -- the Gold Coast City Council has approved the removal of a 32m Telstra phone tower from the school grounds.
The tower had a 10-year lease at the Old Coach Road site and remained in place when the State Government built Coomera Springs State School in 2007.
For the past two years, parents and students arriving at the school have had to park in the tower's shadow and concern has been raised over its long-term effects on students.
The expiry of the decade-long lease prompted Education Queensland to order Telstra to move the tower away from the school.
Deputy Director-General of the State Government's Infrastructure Services Alan Wagner said the department had inherited the telecommunications tower when the land was secured for future school purposes.
Subsequently the school carpark and set-down facility were built around the phone tower.
Mr Wagner yesterday denied the removal of the tower was due to health concerns despite World Health Organisation recommendations for phone towers to be kept away from kindergartens, schools and playgrounds.
The WHO states that RF field levels around base stations are not considered a major health risk but further research is needed to determine long-term effects.
Mr Wagner said it was not department policy to accommodate mobile towers or any overhead power supplies on or over school sites.
He said the main reason for moving the tower was aesthetics.
"In this particular case at Coomera Springs State School, the tower detracts from the visual amenity of the school and restricts any further expansion of school facilities," he said.
But the decision comes after scientists at the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia conference on the Gold Coast last week warned of the dangers of electromagnetic energy released from phones on brain health.
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