Radio towers put on pause

EVERETT, Wash. – Two AM radio towers in the Snohomish River Valley should not be built until the potential health dangers of electromagnetic energy are analyzed, a Snohomish County official has ruled.

Deputy hearing examiner Edward L. Good cited a study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology in August that found children who live within 12 1/2 miles of AM radio antennas are twice as likely to develop leukemia than those living farther away.

That doesn’t prove AM towers cause leukemia, “but the study does convince the examiner that such a causal link is plausible,” Good wrote.

Angela Day, of Snohomish, who lives about a mile from the proposed site for the two 199-foot antennas, submitted the study to Good.

“Most people don’t realize the implications of what these radio towers have for them or their children,” Day said. “There’s no scientific consensus on the health effects. There’s a lot of evidence out there suggesting significant potential for harm.”

The Skotdal family, which owns KRKO 1380-AM and a proposed new 1520-AM frequency, asked Good to reconsider his ruling.

The family wants to add the two towers to four that have been approved for a 40-acre site south of Snohomish, survived court challenges and are awaiting federal construction permits. The proposal to add two towers required a new application, county hearings and federal review.

KRKO General Manager Andy Skotdal predicted the two towers would be approved and built.

“Health issues were raised in 2002 and were defeated in those hearings,” Skotdal said. “One new study with questionable data isn’t going to change anything.”