Can Your (Smart) Electric Meter Make You Sick?

[Wayne]

Hi All,

The heading of this thread is the title of an article (below) that was recently published in our local newspaper as a guest opinion. Rod Newton is a local chiropractor who a couple years ago spearheaded efforts to keep some cell towers from being erected a short ways away from his health practice. He was able to keep this from happening, and then just recently was instrumental in convincing the local city council to let people opt out of the smart meter plan the city envisioned foisting on local residents.

I thought his article provides an excellent synopsis and encapsulated a lot of what he has learned through extensive research in the past two years regarding various kinds of radiation and EMFs. I only recently discovered that a smart meter was installed on our house about a year ago, and am pretty dismayed that they would have the audacity to come onto a person's property without permission and do something like this that is so controversial.

Anyway, thought I'd pass this along. I suspect most pwCFS are much more susceptible to EMFs and various kinds of ubiquitous radiation than most people. And it might be a good idea to keep abreast of any similar local action in your area that might have a deleterious impact on your health.

Regards, Wayne

..............................................................

http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120601/OPINION03/206010301/-1/OPINION
​

GUEST OPINION

By Rod Newton, Jim Fong and Will Wilkinson

Posted: 2:00 AM June 01, 2012​

The city of Ashland has been replacing analog electricity meters on homes and businesses with "smart" meters, hoping to save money spent on meter reading. These smart meters radiate 86,400 spiked microwave signals per month, just so one of these signals can be read. The intensity of the spikes is substantial, the same intensity measured on the roof of the Ashland Springs Hotel where there are seven cell tower antennas.

Citizen groups around the world are concerned about health effects of 24-hour radiation from smart meters, invasion of privacy, accuracy of readings and whether they really save money. The California PUC has received thousands of complaints of health problems after smart meters were installed. 11 counties and 44 California cities oppose mandatory smart meter installation, 9 passed ordinances making smart meter installation illegal. The Maryland PUC denied permission for the deployment of smart meters due to privacy concerns. The Vermont state legislature voted a no-fee opt out. The city council of Mount Shasta created an "opt in" policy. The list keeps growing every month.

Established research on radio frequency radiation provides significant cause for concern about health risks. Dr. David Carpenter, a Harvard Medical School-trained physician who worked in the New York State Department of Public Health for 18 years and now directs the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany states:

"We have evidence "… that exposure to radio frequency radiation "… increases the risk of cancer, increases damage to the nervous system, causes electrosensitivity, has adverse reproductive effects and a variety of other effects on different organ systems. There is no justification for the statement that Smart Meters have no adverse health effects."

He further advises, "An informed person should demand that they be allowed to keep their analog meter." (see video: http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=3946)

The American Academy of Environmental Physicians, an organization that has been studying and treating the effects of environmental influences on human health for over 50 years, is calling for:​

• An immediate moratorium on "smart meter" installation until these serious public health issues are resolved. Continuing with their installation would be extremely irresponsible.
• Hearings on health impact "… along with cost evaluation and community wide opt-out.
• Provide immediate relief to those requesting it and restore the analog meters.

Last year, the World Health Organization released a long-awaited study with the results of years of evaluation by 27 scientists in 14 countries. The scientists classified electromagnetic radiation as a Class 2B carcinogen. The W.H.O. concluded that "the use of precautionary approaches is warranted."

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), is a condition the W.H.O. describes as "a phenomenon where individuals experience adverse health effect while using or being in the vicinity of devices emanating electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic fields (EMFs)... Whatever its cause, EHS is a real and sometimes debilitating problem for the affected persons (Mild et all, 2004)."

A collection of scientists and physicians recently conducted a double-blinded research study that concluded that: "EMF hypersensitivity can occur as a bona fide environmentally-inducible neurological syndrome (McCarty et all, 2011)."

Afflicted individuals often presented with symptoms such as headaches, weakness, sleep disturbance, emotional instability, dizziness, memory impairment, fatigue, and heart palpitations. A Public Health Division of Santa Cruz County report quotes studies estimating the prevalence of EHS at 1.5 percent and 8 percent of the population. That adds up to 300 to 1,600 people in Ashland with EHS. Dozens of citizens are probably already having their condition aggravated by smart meter installation. They may go to their doctors with headaches, rashes, stomach pains, etc, not knowing that they had a new meter installed. We've heard from families who didn't know why they were sick until they tracked it back to when a meter was installed.

But will there be cost savings? Smart meters cost three times as much and last half as long as analog meters. Potential savings would come many years down the road after repaying the $750,000 to convert the remaining 55 percent of Ashland to smart meters. Even then, the savings will be just a fraction of 1 percent of peoples' electric bills, since the entire budget for meter reading is less than 1% of the electric department's charges for services. Those savings will come at the expense of local employment.

Does it really make sense to expose our community 24/7 to radiation, just to save 1 percent on our electric bills years from now? We don't think so.

What can you do?​

• Get Informed — at www.respectashland.org.
• Opt Out — Submit a request to the city to opt out of "smart" meter installation.
• Talk to or email the City Council — let your voice be heard in-person at the June 5 City Council meeting and through emails.

Jim Fong is executive director of the Job Council in Jackson and Josephine counties, Will Wilkinson is a local writer, co-author of "Forgiving the Unforgivable," and Dr. Rod Newton is a chiropractor and co-owner of Hidden Springs Wellness Center. They are all Ashland residents.​

​

 

[Wayne]

Here's a link to a recent PBS segment on smart meters. From everything I've learned about them, I think they can potentially be very problematic for pwCFS. This segment is about 9 minutes long.

REPORT AIR DATE: July 20, 2012
California Activists Want Smart Meters Banned, Claim They're Bad for Health

 

[golden]

Wayne,

Thankyou for this thread. It was part of my research into SMART meters last week. I believe they are being forced into peoples homes using dubious techniques in some states of USA.

There are even trojan smart meters disguised as Analogues ! :-/

I have just sent my notice of Non-consent for mine here in the UK via information from:

http://stopsmartmeters.org.uk/film/

Best,
Golden

 

[leela]

There is a documentary you can stream for three bucks as well:
http://www.takebackyourpower.net/

 

[golden]

I apologise, I meant to link directly to the homepage. There is plenty of free information on the website.

I appreciate your link Leela , I think I miss a fair bit of info by only usually connecting with free stuff.


Golden

 

[leela]

I hear you, golden. I usually don't pay for stuff either but I think this one might be worth it.
Haven't watched it myself, though.

 

[golden]

I hear you, golden. I usually don't pay for stuff either but I think this one might be worth it.
Haven't watched it myself, though.

I agree -- Golden

 

[leela]

Hey, Golden...if we merged Couchland with Land of Clouds, we'd have a pretty comfy place!

 

[Wayne]

It sounds like the linked article below regarding a court ruling on smart meters could be a big deal. In the first paragraph below, it says that "smart meters are designed to reduce energy consumption". It should be noted that most people who get them notice their electric bills go up, sometimes quite dramatically.

The reason for this increase can be discerned from what's also written below: "...these devices collect energy usage data at high frequencies (every five, 15 or 30 minutes..." -- My understanding is that the meters require a very high spikes in energy to send these readings out, and cumulatively, consume a LOT of energy to do so. So, these spikes not only consume a lot of energy, but they send health destroying EMFs into your home in the process. So much for saving on energy or them being concerned about our health.

The business model of smart meters is actually very simlar to Facebook and other social media outlets. Harvest as much consumer data as possible and sell it at very high profits. Electric utilities apparently can make twice as much profit from selling your private energy usage data than they can make selling you electricity. -- They generally contract out this information business to outside contractors who specialize in the marketing of your personal data.

Court rules accessing smart meter data constitutes a government search

Rachel England, @rachel_england
08.23.18 in Politics

Smart meters are designed to reduce energy consumption, lower household bills and, by extension, help the planet along a little bit. But could they also be used by the government to spy on you? This is the question that was thrown into the spotlight this week when the Seventh Circuit handed down a landmark opinion ruling, stating that data collected by smart meters is protected by the Fourth Amendment.

Data provided by smart meters does not facilitate spying in the traditional sense, of course. But as these devices collect energy usage data at high frequencies (every five, 15 or 30 minutes, usually) it wouldn't be difficult for someone with access to that data to build a pretty clear picture of what's going on inside that property -- information that wouldn't otherwise be available without a search.

Previously, courts have ruled that the Fourth Amendment does not protect household energy data -– a precedent largely based on readings from traditional analog energy meters which don't really reveal anything at all, other than the total amount of energy used over a long period of time. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Privacy International filed an amicus brief urging the Seventh Circuit (a federal court with jurisdiction in the central and northern districts of Illinois) to reconsider this position, which they subsequently did, potentially setting an example for the protection of energy data throughout the US.

The court held that residents have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and government access of this data constitutes, in essence, a search. It added that the "ever-accelerating pace of technological development carries serious privacy implications" and that smart meters "are no exception." This ruling sets a critical precedent. According to the EFF more than 40 percent of American homes have a smart meter – a number set to rise to 80 percent by 2020. Some reports suggest law enforcement agencies are already trying to get access to data from energy companies without a warrant -- this ruling could be crucial in staving off unjust invasions of privacy.
​

 

[perrier]

I suspect most pwCFS are much more susceptible to EMFs and various kinds of ubiquitous radiation than most people. And it might be a good idea to keep abreast of any similar local action in your area that might have a deleterious impact on your health.

http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120601/OPINION03/206010301/-1/OPINION​

​

In our municipality in Montreal, if you want the regular meter, you have to pay a monthly fee, which is not cheap, considering.....

 

[Wayne]

In our municipality in Montreal, if you want the regular meter, you have to pay a monthly fee, which is not cheap, considering.....

We opted out a month ago, and will be charged a one-time fee of $137, and a monthly ongoing fee of $37. Nothing short of extortion! There's a local group that's challenging this, and there's a good chance this can be overturned by the state Public Utility Commision.​

 

[perrier]

We opted out a month ago, and will be charged a one-time fee of $137, and a monthly ongoing fee of $37. Nothing short of extortion! There's a local group that's challenging this, and there's a good chance this can be overturned by the state Public Utility Commision.​

Yes, there you are; seems Montreal is not the only place 'extorting' folks; yes, there is an installation fee and then this monthly Penalty, on top of the regular costs for the electricity.

 

[HowToEscape?]

“Can Your (Smart) Electric Meter Make You Sick?”

No. ​

The article is scaremongering, by people who have an agenda.

 

[HowToEscape?]

“My understanding is that the meters require a very high spikes in energy to send these readings out, and cumulatively, consume a LOT of energy to do so.“

Absolutely, positively, completely wrong. The privacy issue is potentially real, the others are BS.

You can easily find the total number of kilowatt hours that the smart function uses over a year. It ain’t much, as the microcircuitry would burn up if it consumed more than a few watts, and it only uses a fraction of a second to tranmit. That’s less than the tiny little motor on the old meter, but both are so trivial it’s below a dime per month unless you live in New York or Hawaii.

If you want to avoid all EMFs, then don’t use the toaster, electric oven, electric shaver, vacuum cleaner, electric lights, don’t ride in a hybrid or electric car, carry a cell phone (much less ever use it!), ever take a subway…
Or use a computer.

Time wasted on this nonsense takes away from time that could be spent on either relaxing or finding ways to get well.

 

[Wayne]

Just ran across the following (partial post) on a tinnitus forum. Well worth reading for those who have real concerns about smart meters. It was on a thread entitled, "Smart Meters Don't Like Me". -- The forum has another thread by a guy who claims his late model vehicle with all the EMF emitting features gave him chronic tinnitus.
-

I did not initially make the connection between the arrival of smart meters in my area and the concurrent sudden onset of 24/7 tinnitus after 64 years of it not being a problem. That it did begin concurrent with the arrival of Duke Energy’s smart meters in my neighborhood might have been merely a somewhat bizarre temporal coincidence.

Six weeks later, however, I had occasion to leave my area for a few hours and noticed while gone that the tinnitus eventually completely ceased for the first time since it started. Unfortunately, when I returned to my area the 'whining' in my ears also returned. That did get my attention, but I thought it might have been a second temporal coincidence, albeit a very improbable one. A few weeks later I again left my area and after a few hours absence the tinnitus completely ceased again for only the second time since its onset. Unfortunately, and very annoyingly, it also came back again for the second time when I returned to my area.

Any of those three geographic and temporal coincidences occurring alone would have been highly unlikely and for any two of them to happen unlikely in the extreme bordering on impossible, but for all three of those events to be geographic and temporal coincidences is virtually impossible. That notwithstanding, just to play it very safe on the chance there was an underlying organic issue, I talked to my regular physician about it and he referred me to an ear, nose, and throat specialist.

That physician found no acoustic neuromas nor other health issues that would explain the sudden onset of tinnitus with no prior history, especially so in the context of its repeatedly observed very area-specific nature. Based upon its geographic-specific and temporal history and the negative medical examination findings it seems certain beyond any reasonable doubt the tinnitus that is constantly annoying and distracting me, and occasionally keeping me from sleeping, is due to a new broadly distributed element in my local environment that is toxic to at least some of the population and there is but one candidate in my area at for that element, the smart meters.​