Maryland residents are fighting against the installation of 5G antennas in their communities, citing the potential of negative health effects.

Residents of Montgomery County took to a public hearing on to voice their opposition to changes of local zoning laws that would allow 5G antennas to be placed on utility poles and buildings near houses and schools.

“Our quiet suburban neighborhood is being targeted for 16 cell towers to be installed within 20 feet of our home. North Potomac is being targeted for a total of 16 cell towers,” Donna Baron, a resident of North Potomac, said during a county council public hearing night.

“These 5G towers would emit radio frequency radiation into our yards, our homes and our bodies, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Baron said, urging the county council to reject zoning law changes that would permit the potentially hazardous cell antennas.

Wireless industry representatives at the hearing argued that the installation of the new 5G antennas were vital for the continued growth of wireless systems and their ever-increasing demand.

“There’s an ever-increasing demand on the existing infrastructure in the county and additional sites are really needed to address the capacity and coverage issues,” Edward Donahue, a representative of T-Mobile, told the council.

While Donahue was able to provide statistics proving that data demands on the T-Mobile network have increased dramatically in 2018, residents were still eager to share their concerns over the health risks these antennas may carry.

“We are very concerned about the placement of wireless antennas in places where people play, sleep and work,” said Theodora Scarato, executive director of Environmental Health Trust. “There are hundreds of scientists who have concluded that this is a risk.”

Currently, there is a race by telecommunications giants like Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint to roll out the new 5G wireless technology which is being touted as essential to keep pace with ever-increasing intelligent devices.

The fifth generation of wireless network technology is said to be faster and more reliable than its predecessors 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE. It will pave the path for the “Internet of Things” and the implementation of smart cities with its increased bandwidth.

Over a hundred scientists and doctors have signed an appeal to the rollout of the 5G wireless network, saying that independent scientific study must be completed before the general public is exposed to the network’s radio-frequency electromagnetic fields.

“We the undersigned, more than 180 scientists and doctors from 35 countries, recommend a moratorium on the roll-out of the fifth generation, 5G, for telecommunication until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from industry,” an appeal from the Environmental Health Trust reads. “5G will substantially increase exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on top of the 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, etc. for telecommunications already in place. RF-EMF has been proven to be harmful for humans and the environment.”

The appeal warns that the 5G technology is effective only over a short distance, requiring dense antenna populations. This means that full-scale implementation of 5G will result in antennas every 10 to 12 houses in urban areas, thus massively increasing mandatory exposure.

The scientists and doctors cite previously published scientific studies that show that EMF generated by electric and wireless devices can cause increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, functional changes of the reproductive system and much more.