Electrosensitivity 



Smart Meter Protection


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Smart Meters News


French Appeal Court orders Removal of Smart Meter:
Public Service Duty to Protect Users


On 28th November 2023 three judges in an Appeal Court in Lyons ruled that Joseph Cascina from Saint-André-le-Puy (Loire) had won his court battle to have his smart meter removed.


Smart Meters Dangers


There are five particular dangers from Smart Meter radiation:


Smart Meter radiation:

  • can be at very high levels, even if transmitting for only a short duration.
  • can be close to living and sleeping areas.
  • is from the same place each time, making it extra dangerous at night when people are asleep.
  • can form mesh or grid networks with other meters and even appliances in the property, causing much higher levels of radiation in some properties.
  • for condominiums, apartments and blocks of flats, banks of meters can give off almost constant radiation at very high levels.

Because of the very high spikes from most Smart Meter radiation, it is particularly active biologically, with repetition especially at night making it worse. On top of existing radiation, such as from cellphone towers, digital radio and TV, and neighbors' WiFi, this is medically harmful especially to people very sensitive to it.


Smart meters are not only dangerous because of their microwave emissions. They also put 'dirty' electricity and thus very low frequency waves back onto the power cables, thus polluting the house or condominium within perhaps 2 meters of all power cables. 


Fiber optic cables are the obvious safe preference to dangerous smart meter radiation.

Information on the established health dangers of wireless Smart Meters:



Videos:


Measuring radiation from smart meters:


Rejection of Smart Meters

New Mexico, USA:

"The conditions of the portion of the population who believe they are electromagnetically sensitive deserve acknowledgment and consideration as decisions are made regarding the implementation of an AMI Project."

Virginia:


Removal of Smart Meters


Legal action against Smart Meters


Legal requirement for Utilities not to force EHS people to have Smart Meters or to be charged extra:

  • “The Commission believes it is inappropriate to require customers who maintain that they need to avoid exposure to RF emissions to the extent possible to protect their health to pay DEC’s proposed smart meter opt-out charges. Therefore, the Commission will require DEC to amend its Rider MRM to remove the customer charges for those customers who provide the Company with a notarized statement from a medical physician licensed by the North Carolina Medical Board that the customer must avoid exposure to RF emissions to the extent possible to protect their health. Upon receipt of such statement, the Company shall waive both the one-time and the monthly fees under Rider MRM. The Commission further requires that such medical statements must be handled and processed by the Company in a secure and confidential manner to protect customer privacy.” 
    ​         (page 14, North Carolina Utilities Commission, Docket No. E-7, Sub 1115; E-100, Sub. 147; E-100, Sub. 153, June 22 2018)


Reports:


Comments on Smart Meters


Protection from Smart Meters

This is important for everyone, and especially for people sensitive to radiation. ​


1. Retain a meter without radiation

Non-radiation meters

Most utility companies now accept that some people are made ill by radiation from Smart Meters.

You should be able to request to retain, or change to, an 'analogue' meter. This is the old type of meter which does not send any radio signals.


Equality and disability legislation 
Some countries and some states within the USA have stated that customers have the right to meters without any radiation signals and utility companies cannot insist on Smart Meters with radiation  (e.g. in England the government Energy Minister announced this on November 29 2011; report).


No extra charges

Under equality and disability legislation it is now normal for customers not to be charged extra for keeping existing meters or changing to analogue meters for health reasons. You should check with your utility company and the utility commission for the current provisions in your state or country. If there are difficulties see the Legal pages for some of the people who have confirmed their equality and disability rights in this area.


Customers' own meters

Some countries or states allow customers to fit their own meter which does not emit radiation. Usually this has to be done by a qualified electrician using approved appliances. If the existing meter is owned by the utility company, even if it is on private property, it will need to be returned to the owner.


2. Meters which send information by cable

Some countries have realised the health dangers of radiation from meters. They therefore use wired links, either on power cables or on data cables, to send information from the meter.


3. Protection from radiation

Some customers have reduced their exposure to Smart Meter radiation by protective covers and shields. The radiation being screened, of course, has been classified since 2011 as a 2B carcinogen by the World Health Organization, It is therefore reasonable for citizens to protect the health of their children and themselves by shielding them from a toxic agent, especially when the customer concerned has not requested this toxin on their premises. Doctors advise especially on the need for sleeping areas to be free from carcinogenic radiation which also has known neurological effects.

The key areas to protect are the property behind the meter and the property's sleeping and living areas. It is essential to use a measuring device to check the radiation levels before and after any protection is fitted. The protective cover may need to be earthed or checked so that it does not send radiation along adjacent wiring or metal pipes. In addition, some people screen on the outside of the meter, to reduce radiation around the outside of the property. It is again essential to use a measuring device to ensure that this does not increase radiation back into the property.  It is also essential to ensure that the utility company can take readings, so it needs to reduce the signal mostly but not completely.



4. Protection from other people's Smart Meters


If your property is directly between another property's Smart Meter and its receiving tower base, or mesh or network base, then your property may be irradiated at high levels from external sources. At present few countries have introduced the legislation necessary to deal with such infringements of personal rights and property rights, so protection may be the only option. This should be at the expense of the polluter.


5. Legal right to refuse Opt-Out Contracts

  • You have Right of Contract. There is no contract if you were coerced into signing. Only you can decide whether to sign or not. If you choose to refuse and not to sign, that is sufficient.
  • Therefore Opt-Out Contracts do nothing except transfer all the power and advantages to the other party. Never sign any Opt-Out Contract for any reason. You have the right to refuse any contract.
  • If you do want to sign a contract, require that the utility provider chief executive personally signs for responsibility for all negative consequences of installing a radiation smart-meter.

Jerry Day: "How to say no to vaccinations and smart meters" (2016, 14 mins)

"So when you refuse to allow the pirate to rob you, the pirate hands you an opt-out contract where you agree to pay him for not robbing you. It’s pretty ludicrous. Your refusal is the opt-out. Opt-out contracts do nothing for you."

  • England: Consumer Council for Water: "Electromagnetic sensitivity and Smart Water Meters":
    "There is currently no government directive for water companies to roll out smart water meters, as has happened in the energy sector. Defra state that it is a matter for the water company to decide how to deal with objections to the installation of water meters on medical grounds. Each water company will therefore have its own policy in this area. The Consumer Council for Water expects water companies to take any customer concerns seriously and to deal with them sensitively."


6. Smart meters not required

The European Union has decided that Smart Meters are no longer required.


Australia from 2019 does not require wireless radiation smart meters:


7. Fibre optic cables or Power Line Communications (PLC) instead of wireless radiation

Because of the health problems of wireless radiation, some countries use wired systems for reporting data, such as fibre optic cables or Power Line Communications (PLC). Wired PLC is used instead of wireless in Italy, largely in Sweden, and in some trials in Germany.


8. Smart meter companies bullying customers


Smart Meter Safety Distances

Smart Meters are required to comply with existing safety standards.


An example, requiring no other wireless devices in the vicinity and a safety distance of at least 20 cm from all people:

"The 3G S4e Gridstream Endpoint Module and the Landis+Gyr S4e Meter

FCC Compliance Information: Model: FASY-0825;  FCCID: TEB-HUNTSU825; IC: 5931A-HUNTSU825

Landis+Gyr Confidential Information; 98-9103 Rev AA

3G S4e Gridstream Endpoint with ZigBee Data Sheet; Landis+Gyr Compliance Statement (Part 15.19)

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and

2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Landis+Gyr could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Endpoint Location To comply with FCC’s RF exposure limits for general population/uncontrolled exposure, the antenna(e) used for this transmitter must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20 cm from all persons and must not be collocated or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter."

      (Landis Gyr Technologies HUNTSU825 3G S4e Gridstream User Manual 98 9103)


UK government aware of health risk from smart meters


Invalid defence of wireless smart meters by ICNIRP and England's PHE:
Regulators, like England's Public Health England following the ICNIRP, claim wrongly that smart meters are safe but make no reference to biological guidelines and health studies:


1. Public Health England's Dr Azadeh Peyman,  in an advert paid for by the smart meter industry: 

  • "The evidence to date suggests exposures to the radio waves produced by smart meters do not pose a risk to our health … we advise that the exposure to radio waves from smart meters is well below the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) Exposure to radio waves does not provide a basis to decline having a smart meter."

             "Smart meters on trial: how safe are they and how will they affect my bills?" (Sponsored by SMART ENERGY GB, Express, May 17 2018)


Dr Peyman's research has shown that children absorb more radiation than adults because of the higher water content in children's bones. This results in about a ten times higher dialectric conductivity than for adults and therefore a much higher absorption rate. She has not, so far, highlighted this serious risk through Public Health England or ICNIRP. It has been suggested that the reason was her significant conflicts of interest, in that her MTHR research was financed by the wireless industry and government.
                  See: "Children and Cell Phones: Time To Start Talking Sense" (Microwave News, July 10 2015)


2. Public Health England's Dr Azadeh Peyman, comparing levels with heating limits, not biological limits: 

  • “The maximum equivalent power density measured during transmission around smart meter devices at 0.5 m and beyond was 15 mW/m2, with an estimation of maximum duty factor of only 1%. One outlier device had a maximum power density of 91 mW/m2.”

             Peyman A et al.: “Exposure to electromagnetic fields from smart utility meters in GB; part I) laboratory measurements” 2017.

3. Health effects from smart meters:

  • “The most frequently reported symptoms from exposure to smart meters were (1) insomnia, (2) headaches, (3) tinnitus, (4) fatigue, (5) cognitive disturbances, (6) dysesthesias (abnormal sensation), and (7) dizziness. The effects of these symptoms on people's lives were significant. Review of some key studies, both recent and old (1971), reveals that the participants' symptoms were the same as those reported by people exposed to radiofrequency fields emitted by devices other than smart meters. Interestingly, the vast majority of Victorian cases did not state that they had been sufferers of electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome (EHS) prior to exposure to the wireless meters, which points to the possibility that smart meters may have unique characteristics that lower people's threshold for symptom development.”

          Lamech F: “Self-reporting of symptom development from exposure to radiofrequency fields of wireless smart meters in Victoria, Australia: a case series” 2014.

4. International Safety Guidelines:

  • Readings: PHE smart meter maximum (at 0.5m = 20 inches): 15 mW/m2 = 15,200 µW/m2.
  • ICNIRP heating guidelines (one degree rise over 6 minutes): 9,200 mW/m2 = 9,200,000 µW/m2.
  • International Biological Guidelines (Bioinitiative 2012): 0.006 mW/m2 = 6 µW/m2.


5. Conclusion:

  • PHE’s own measurements show that smart meters emit wireless radiation at levels far above international biological safety guidelines. Therefore PHE’s reassurance about the imagined safety of smart meters is invalid and dangerous for the health of the general population. This is confirmed by the only study on health effects of smart meters, which showed the specific symptoms caused by wireless radiation of insomnia, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive disturbances, dysesthesias (abnormal sensation), and dizziness.
  • Wireless smart meters should be banned immediately, unless they can be made to comply with the international biological safety limits.


UK Water Meters

Some UK water companies, like Thames Water and South West Water, have apparently started deploying networked smart meters transmitting every 15 seconds to nearby towers. Because they are often in holes in the ground, they tend to operate at or near maximum radiation power. This is highly dangerous and has made nearby properties uninhabitable for some people.

Water Meters typically emit radiation at levels substantially higher than international biological safety guidelines, such as Bioinitiative 2012 and IGNIR 2018.


Power Flux Density in microWatts per meter squared:


Natural LevelIGNIR SensitiveBioinitiative ChildrenBioinitiative AdultsWater Meter 1 meter
0.000001136800 - 8,800




USA: 



Smart Meter Groups

See Links for many national and local Smart Meter groups concerned about the health damage from Smart Meter radiation. Some have letter formats available, giving legal rights against the imposition of radiation Smart Meters, along with other useful help and advice.


         To: Links


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