Handout+-+Smart+Meters

HANDOUT - SMART METERS



**What Power Companies are not Telling the Public!**
Transmitting smart meters are being installed nationwide on gas, water, and electrical services, driven in part by funding for the Smart Grid Program approved as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This is of great concern because the exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation from these meters is involuntary and continuous. The transmitting meters may not even comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "safety" standards (see http://sagereports.com/smart-meter-rf/). However, those standards were initially designed to protect an average male from tissue heating (cooking) during a brief exposure. These standards were not designed to protect a diverse population from the non-thermal effects of continuous exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation. Therefore, these "safety" standards were not designed to protect the public from health problems under the circumstances which the meters are being used. The transmitting meters most often being used transmit continuously, every few seconds. This is picked up by a receiver and logged by the utility. **You are exposed to the transmissions from all the meters within transmitting range. The meters often have a range of over 2 miles. Thus, the exposure is continuous and the "safety" standards the meters comply with are irrelevant to the situation.** On May 3l, 2011, the World Health Organization (International Agency for Research on Cancer – IARC) classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) as a potential carcinogen to humans (Group 2B). This classification places RF EMF in the same category as other potential carcinogens, such as lead, DDT, chlordane, exhaust, chloroform and pesticides. This action has not influenced the government nor AEP to modify their Smart Meter Program here in Ohio. There is an abundance of credible scientific and documented evidentiary reports of the negative consequences of Smart Meter radiation. Following is a brief summary of facts on the related issues.

Contrary to what the government reports, the microwave radiation that is emitted is high (as much as 4,000 microwatts per square centimeter, vs. maximum allowed of 600 microwatts per square centimeter) during the signal "spikes" which occurs several times a minute every day, all day. People are being exposed to these high doses of microwave radiation within their homes from their own meters, and from their neighbors' meters, which are signaling to distance receivers.
 * 1) Health**

In late 2010, Canadian Magda Havas, PhD, an electrosmog and electro-sensitivity expert, published results of a groundbreaking study in the prestigious peer-reviewed European Journal of Oncology. The study demonstrated that some wireless EMFs can adversely affect heart function, causing arrhythmias and other disturbances in heart rate variation (HRV).

Meters keep records of personal daily use, recording what appliance is being used and when. Companies in the U.S. have declared these records propriety information and have sold it to marketing companies, insurers, and others. This truly is an invasion of privacy in the worst way.
 * 2) Privacy**

Wireless technology is notoriously insecure and can be easily hacked into. Hackers can access private information, determine by-usage patterns when homes are unoccupied (safest time for a robbery), or even interfere with the delivery of electricity.
 * 3) Security**

Smart meters interfere with household electrical appliances, even medical devices and home security systems, often causing them to malfunction or damage the appliance.
 * 4) Harmful interference**

Smart meters have exploded and many smart meter-related fires have been reported, most recently a major fire in Santa Rosa, California, where several businesses were severely damaged. The fires are believed related to smart meters interfering with Arc-fault circuit interrupters. Several lawsuits are pending in California.
 * 5) Safety**

No energy is conserved by the meter. It merely reports usage, as does an analogue meter. Unless the user is educated on conservation techniques, no reduction in utilization will occur. The smart meter contributes in no way to conservation—this is a false premise. It is the educated user that is key, and the same reduction could be realized with the current safe, efficient analogue meter.
 * 6) Conservation**

More than 80 per cent of smart-metered homes in Ontario report significantly higher monthly bills, often more than 50 per cent higher than prior to smart meter installation. In California, many report bills doubling and tripling. This is without any change in utilization patterns.
 * 7) Increased utility bills**

We cannot afford a program which has no benefits and, most likely, no cost recovery potential. Better to spend this money on technology or products that will result in reduced energy utilization, such as better insulation, more efficient windows or furnaces, or solar panels.
 * 8) Program cost**


 * More Information on Smart Meters**

Must see video presentation: //The Dark Side of Smart Meters// []

Important article: //Transmitting Smart Meters Pose a Serious Threat to Public Health// []

People for Safe Technologies http://peopleforsafetechnologies.wikispaces.com/Smart+Meters

Electrical Pollution Solutions []

EMR Health Alliance of British Columbia []

Refuse Smart Meters []

Smart Meters []

Stop Smart Meters []

**[|Bi-fold Smart Meter Handout (PDF)]**