What are the Health and Environmental Effects of 5G Deployment in Montgomery County Maryland and How Will the County Council Proposed Zoning Affect Our Neighborhoods?

Speaker: Theodora Scarato, Director of the Environmental Health Trust

Watch a replay of the webinar with Theodora Scarato below.

Click HERE TO JOIN THE LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN and PETITION

What You Need to Know About Montgomery County, 5G and the New Zoning ZTA 19-07

The Montgomery County Council has proposed a new zoning ordinance named ZTA 19-07 which allows 4G and 5G so called “small” cell towers to be deployed just 30 feet from your home. The street lights and utility poles in front of your home will be able to be replaced with 5G cell towers without any notice sent to you, nor public hearing required so long as the pole is at least 30 feet from your home.

Click HERE TO JOIN THE LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN and PETITION

ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

What do you need to know about the cell tower ZTA 19-07?

The Montgomery County Council Cell Tower Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 19-07 will:

Allow so-called “small” cell towers on utility poles, streetlights, and lamp posts just 30 feet from residents’ homes.
Towers will be permitted WITHOUT direct notice to any resident — Even if the cell tower would be smack in front of your home — so long as it is at least 30 feet away.
Towers will be permitted WITHOUT public hearings — so long as it is at least 30 feet away.
Several “small” cell towers would be possible per block in every neighborhood.
With a special permit, cell towers could be far closer. No minimum setback at all!

What is the link to the letter writing campaign to help halt the cell tower ZTA?

Letter Writing Campaign/Petition actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-zta-19-07/

Where can I find flyers to share with neighbors?

Local groups have created various flyers and factsheets.

MoCoSafeG Factsheets have fact based data on climate/health/safety
Techwisemocomd.org has infographics and printable flyers on the ZTA
The Montgomery Coalition Website has a variety of downloadable factsheets LINK HERE

Where is the video of the PHED Committee revising the ZTA ?

On March 10th, Couincilmembers of the PHED Committee radically revised ZTA 19-07 Video link here. The new version of ZTA 19-07 allows a 30 foot setback from homes in all neighborhoods, with no direct notice and no public hearing. With a special permit, cell towers could be closer to our homes.

Where do I find the videos from the Montgomery County cell tower community meetings where people put forward public testimony on the issue?

The Small Cell Forum in MoCo with the full Council can be found here.

How do I access the map of poles in Montgomery County where I can see the distance of poles to homes?

The MoCo Antenna ZTA map is at https://mcatlas.org/antennazta/

click on the above link
CANCEL the sign-in to get access
say OK to the next pop-up prompt
scroll down FURTHER @ left to choose the proposed >30/–foot street light pole layers

Where are the links to local groups you mentioned on the webinar?

mocoSafeG.org
SmallCellsinMontgomeryCounty.Blogspot.com
TechwiseMoCoMD.org
Montgomery County Coalition to Protect Neighborhoods mococoalition.blogspot.com
MC4T.org Montgomery County Coalition for the Control of Cell Towers

How do I stay in touch with updates on hearings and action steps?

Please send a letter here and we will update you through the action portal. Your email is never shared. actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-zta-19-07/
Get involved by contacting info@mocoSafeG.org

How do I reach Theodora Scarato to present to my homeowners association or local group?

Please contact info@ehtrust.org and put in the subject line: “Request For Presentation”

Where are the links to the court cases and the NRDC Amicus Brief signed onto by Takoma Park officials?

Research shows that unfettered 5G deployment would greatly increase the greenhouse gas emissions which are driving the climate crisis. Solutions exist to provide internet connections without forcing these cell towers into neighborhoods. Fiber networks are ten times more energy efficient, have no health risks, are cheaper and offer greater privacy protection.

Published research warns that cell tower radiation can harm bees, birds, trees, plants and wildlife. There are further substantial impacts to the tree canopy and wildlife from the digging and tree trimming necessary to deploy all of these antennas. Find more information about the impacts of wireless on our health and the environment at the scientific non profit EHTrust.org.

Link to Facts About 5G

Published research reviews warn that cell tower radiation can harm bees, birds, trees, plants and wildlife. There are further substantial impacts to the tree canopy and wildlife from the digging and tree trimming necessary to deploy all of these antennas.

The cellular antennas on these poles will transmit radio frequency microwave (RF/MW) radiation 24/7 which has never been safety tested on people for long term exposure. Many doctors and scientists recommend a halt to 5G until safety research is performed due to the substantial body of research that already exists indicating current 3G and 4G technology is harmful at legal levels. This issue is the center of a lawsuit in federal court launched by Environmental Health Trust- now awaiting a court verdict.

Learn about the latest proposed cell tower zoning for Montgomery County and why doctors recommend caution. Get your questions answered in this informative session on March 30th, Monday at 7:00pm with expert Theodora Scarato MSW, Executive Director of the scientific think tank Environmental Health Trust.

Click HERE TO JOIN THE LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN and PETITION

About 5G in Montgomery County

The issue of 5G and cell towers has been before the council for several years now and every year residents call to halt cell towers in residential neighborhoods. The issue has been the subject of several news stories and strong community opposition.

About Theodora Scarato MSW
Executive Director Environmental Health Trust

Theodora Scarato MSW is Executive Director of Environmental Health Trust (EHT), a scientific think tank that publishes research and educates policymakers on environmental health issues. EHT scientists are among the leading independent voices calling for reducing wireless worldwide and launched a historic lawsuit against the FCC regarding their decades old wireless radiation exposure limits.

Scarato directs EHT educational programs, publishes research and coordinates scientific conferences and programs in the US and internationally alongside EHT’s Senior Science Advisors. Scarato has co-authored several articles on electromagnetic field policy and is a lead policy analyst and researcher for the EHT database on international actions– the most comprehensive collection of information on policy actions on cell phones and wireless.

Examples include

Building science and radiofrequency radiation: What makes smart and healthy buildings, Building And Environment
If 5G is So Safe Then Why Do Wireless Companies Warn Their Shareholders but Not Consumers? Medium
The US And Europe Need Safer Technology For Children International Business Times
Europe and America have a Right To Know About #5G Cell Phone Safety EU Reporter
Everybody has the right to know about cell phone radiation, University of Maryland Mitzpeh
Why Isn’t Our Government Protecting Us?” Alert On Health Risks of 5G Rollout

She was invited to present to the National Institutes of Health, the New Hampshire State 5G Commission, the San Francisco Teachers Union, the University of California San Francisco, the Henley Business School at University of Reading and the American Federation of Teachers National Conference. She has presented at several US and international conferences on environmental health including the 2020 Tel Aviv Expert Forum, the Michigan State Briefing on 5G, the 2018 “The Dramatic Changes on the Planet and the Hellenic Roots of Ecological Ethics” held at the University of Patras, Greece, the Hebrew University Medical School Expert Forum on Wireless and the Health in Buildings Roundtable Conference held at the National Institutes of Health.

Scarato helped coordinate the 2019 US medical conference designed exclusively to train medical professionals on electromagnetic radiation and also presented on worldwide EMF policy at the 2021 EMF Medical Conference. She is on the board of PhoneGate Alert.

Scarato is a regular contributor to radio and news broadcasts and has been featured on NPR, Dr. Nandi, NBC, Fox 5, WJLA and several documentary films. Her work was instrumental in the Prince George’s County School System taking action to address long neglected lead contamination in the schools drinking water and in the Maryland State Children’s Environmental Health Protection Advisory Council’s actions to issue recommendations to reduce radio frequency exposures in the school setting.

She previously worked with EHT as Director of Educational Resources and Public Affairs, developing educational resources for communities and governments. Scarato has co-founded several organizations both locally and nationally that address environmental health and safety concerns. As a practicing clinical psychotherapist, her two decades of work with children and adolescents includes directing an intensive special education therapy program in Montgomery County Schools and working a psychotherapist at an ADHD clinic. Her research interests include not only the effects from radiation exposures but also the social emotional effects of technology overuse.