Although the Berkeley City Council could not stop the installation of new cell phone antennas based on health concerns, they can still test for the threat.

Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmembers Dona Spring and Max Anderson are requesting the city purchase equipment to detect radiation levels before and after the construction of 11 antennas on a storage center near Shattuck Avenue and Adeline Street.

"They're concerned about exposure to radiation because there are health effects," Spring said.

Last November, the City Council approved the permits for Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communications to install the antennas.

Although some residents and council members protested the installation project based on fear of harmful radiation, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prevents local governments from intervening on the basis of health concerns.

The antennas are set to be installed in early April.

Council members will be voting Tuesday on whether to approve the move to purchase a mobile radiation detector and to train staff to operate the equipment.

The radiation detector would cost $7,000, with additional costs for training and operation, Spring said.

"We only need one," she said. "The measurer can go anywhere we want it to go."

Some residents near the site of the antenna installation support the purchase of a radiation detector because they say it will support their claim that radiation is produced by the antennas.

"Isn't this a small amount to pay for our health?" said Berkeley resident Charlotte Shimura.

The detection results would be used to keep track of how much the new antenna installations increase the radiation levels.

"We want to make sure the residents living close to the installation of the cell towers have a means of determining what the radiation levels are before the installation and at intervals after the installation," Anderson said.

Representatives from Verizon Wireless declined to comment. Nextel Communications did not return calls for comment.

The agenda item also includes a request for a moratorium on the approval of further antenna permits until a citywide regulation plan for the installation of antennas is established.

"It's our city, we can regulate it the way we see fit," Spring said.

Tags: CITY COUNCIL