In Ripon, California, Weston Elementary School faced alarm in 2016–2019 when four students were diagnosed with rare childhood cancers (brain tumors, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lymphoma), plus cases among teachers and nearby preschoolers. Parents blamed a Sprint cell phone tower on campus for radiofrequency radiation exposure, despite measurements showing levels far below federal safety limits. Under pressure, the tower was shut down and removed in 2019. Investigations later highlighted a more plausible cause: longstanding groundwater contamination from trichloroethylene (TCE), a known carcinogen from a former industrial site nearby, with traces found in school water and concerns over vapor intrusion. Major health agencies find no proven link between cell towers and cancer, while TCE is clearly tied to the cancer types seen. No confirmed cancer cluster was declared, and new cases largely stopped after 2019. The incident underscores the need for thorough environmental testing beyond initial fears.

Long Version

The Weston Elementary School Cancer Cluster in Ripon, California: Cell Tower Concerns, Environmental Investigations, and Ongoing Debates

In the small city of Ripon, California, a series of pediatric cancer diagnoses at Weston Elementary School beginning around 2016 triggered intense community concern. Reports started with two students diagnosed with cancer and grew to include four children at the school with various forms of childhood cancer — brain tumors, liver cancer, kidney cancer, and lymphoma — along with cases involving teachers and nearby preschool children. Parents and residents quickly focused on a cell phone tower operated by Sprint that had been installed on the school campus about ten years earlier. The tower generated roughly $2,000 in monthly lease revenue for the school but became the primary suspected source of radiofrequency radiation believed by many families to be linked to the illnesses.

Community members organized petitions and filled school board meetings, demanding the tower’s shutdown or relocation due to fears of exposure to RF waves, electromagnetic fields, and non-ionizing radiation. Independent radiofrequency measurements commissioned by parents sometimes differed from those conducted by the district, though nearly all results remained well below federal safety standards and FCC limits. Under sustained pressure, Sprint deactivated the tower in March 2019 and later removed it entirely — a decision viewed by some as a precautionary success and by others as a response to unsubstantiated alarm.

What Constitutes a Cancer Cluster?

True cancer clusters are rare and require rigorous statistical evidence showing incidence rates significantly higher than expected in a given population. Most reported clusters ultimately prove to be the result of random variation or the clustering illusion rather than a single identifiable cause. In the Weston case, no state or county health authority declared the diagnoses a confirmed statistical cluster, and broader cancer rates in Ripon were consistent with or lower than regional averages.

Early attention centered on radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from the tower. Radiofrequency radiation is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 2B possible carcinogen, primarily based on limited evidence related to heavy cell phone use rather than environmental exposure from base stations. Decades of large-scale epidemiological studies and reviews by major health organizations have found no consistent evidence that cell tower emissions at typical real-world levels increase the risk of brain cancer or other cancers in children or adults. Exposure near cell towers is orders of magnitude lower than from phones held against the head and remains far below safety guidelines established to prevent tissue heating — the only conclusively demonstrated biological effect of non-ionizing radiation at these frequencies.

An Alternative Environmental Factor: Trichloroethylene (TCE) Contamination

As scrutiny of the cell tower continued, investigators identified a separate and longstanding environmental issue in Ripon: groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE), a volatile industrial solvent and established human carcinogen. A former coffee-processing facility approximately 1.5 miles from the school had used TCE for decades, creating a contamination plume that affected local soil and aquifers. Cleanup efforts overseen by regional water authorities have been ongoing for years.

Testing in 2019 detected low levels of TCE in municipal water supplies serving the area, including traces at the school’s drinking fountains. Although concentrations were below the maximum contaminant level, they occasionally exceeded notification thresholds. Additional concern arose over vapor intrusion — the process by which TCE evaporates from groundwater and enters indoor or outdoor air. Unlike radiofrequency radiation, TCE exposure is clearly associated with elevated risks of kidney cancer, liver cancer, lymphoma, and other malignancies, making it a biologically plausible contributor to the observed cases.

Scientific Consensus on Cell Tower Radiation

Extensive research, including large cohort studies, animal experiments, and population-level analyses through 2025, continues to show no established causal link between proximity to cell towers and increased cancer risk when exposures remain within regulatory limits. Health agencies worldwide maintain that current evidence does not support lowering exposure guidelines for radiofrequency fields from base stations.

Outcome and Broader Implications

After the tower’s removal in 2019, public reports of new childhood cancer cases directly connected to Weston Elementary largely subsided. Ongoing monitoring for TCE in soil vapor and water has continued, reflecting a shift in focus to known chemical carcinogens rather than debated electromagnetic exposures.

The Weston Elementary experience highlights the challenges communities face when confronting rare diseases and potential environmental triggers. It underscores the value of comprehensive, multi-factor environmental testing, transparent communication between schools and families, and reliance on rigorous scientific evaluation when assessing health risks. While fears of cell tower radiation mobilized swift action, evidence ultimately pointed toward historical industrial contamination as the more credible concern — a reminder that both established and emerging environmental hazards warrant careful, evidence-based attention.