Smart meters: Ready or not, here they come
Area residents raise concerns over unknown health effects
By Shelby Maloney 04/12/2012
Smart meters, the digital, wireless versions of analog electrical meters, are quickly making meter readers a thing of the past. If you live in Ventura County, there is a good chance that you already have a smart meter, a fact that concerns many residents.
Corix Utilities, a subcontractor of Southern California Edison (SCE), began installing smart meters last month as an integral part of a nationwide plan by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a smart grid. According to the DOE, the smart grid, which would be replacing the current grid that was originally developed in the 1890s, would improve efficiency and facilitate a more environmentally friendly approach to electricity transmission.
SCE officials said that customers will be provided with more specific energy use information, which they expect to result in less energy consumption, especially during peak hours. “By using less energy, customers can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and smog-forming pollutants,” said SCE officials.
Smart meters use radio frequency (RF) radiation, or radio waves, to communicate energy usage information to the power company. RF radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation, similar in frequency to cell phones, microwaves and wireless routers.
Ross Stein, a Ventura County resident involved with the Occupy Ventura movement, said he is concerned that the smart meters may have unknown health effects. “In my particular apartment building, there are 12 of them clustered together on a wall that’s maybe five inches thick right behind my and my neighbor’s head, where we lay our heads and sleep,” said Stein. “I don’t tape 20 cell phones to my head and go to sleep at night.”
Signal frequency is not the only thing to consider when evaluating the exposure effects of RF radiation. Power density, commonly called signal strength, is also key information when assessing potential effects on human health. According to a report put out by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) in April of 2011, the power density of smart meters is significantly less than cell phones, though the frequency is similar (as shown on p. 30).
The duration and the distance from the signal are also important factors when gauging RF exposure. According to the SCE website, the smart meter transmits only a few minutes every hour, making the duty cycle (the amount of time the device is actually transmitting) less than 5 percent. Data in the CCST report is based on a 50 percent duty cycle, meaning that the smart meter would be transmitting half the time and receiving half the time, which is the maximum-use case. Though currently the duty cycle is much lower, as stated in the CCST report, “Theoretically, the transmit time could increase substantially beyond today’s actual operation level if new applications and functionality are added.”
Theoretical smart meter RF levels are well below FCC standards. Many people, however, including Rae Amey, a Ventura County resident and developmental consultant for Rae Amey Enterprises Inc., feel that the FCC standards are outdated and need revision. “Those standards are really old,” said Amey. “Standards change. … We have to be flexible and open.”
Amey has personally been investigating electromagnetic current in the body for several years. Amey said she worries that smart meters may be adding to the problem already created by cell phones and other RF devices. “It’s not necessarily the smart meters by themselves, it’s the cumulative saturation of electromagnetic waves,” said Amey. “If there are any health effects, this saturation is the problem.”
Amey said she worries that RFs in the range of smart meters may have a similar effect on human biology as extremely low frequency radiation that some studies have suggested can affect signaling in certain biological systems, an issue that remains highly debated in the scientific community. The frequencies referred to in the studies, however, refer to a considerably lower frequency than those emitted by smart meters and cell phones.
Although the health effects of nonthermal RF radiation are under investigation by several research groups, according to the CCST report, there is currently no conclusive evidence linking non-thermal RF radiation exposure to human health risks. The report also states, “Due to the recent nature of the technology, impacts of long-term exposure are not known.”
“I’m not saying that new technology is bad, as far as these smart meters and all that. … There’s just not been enough testing on this stuff yet,” said Stein. “We’re surrounded by microwaves anyway. I don’t feel the need to subject myself to a concentrated amount of them.”
Health concerns are not the only hot topic in the smart meter debate. “Also, there’s the right to privacy,” said Stein. “It’s a data collection information device. They can tell when you’re home, they can tell when you’re not home by the usage of your electricity.”
According to the SCE website, though smart meters are capable of communicating time-of-day energy usage information, the data communicated is nonspecific to what type of appliance is using the energy. In addition, “All information transmitted between the customer meters and the utility is encrypted using U.S. Government-approved and -recommended standards,” said SCE officials.
Soon there may be a way to opt out of having a smart meter installed at your home if you live at a private residence. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will be voting on April 19 on a proposal to give the opt-out option to residents, but at a cost. According to the CPUC website, if approved, residents choosing to opt out of smart-meter installation could do so for an initial fee of $75 and a monthly charge of $10 (Qualified California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) residents would have a reduced fee of $10 initially and a $5 monthly charge.)
Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett said he has heard from several residents who oppose the installation of smart meters. “I believe that people should have a choice in the matter,” said Bennett. “If they have personal objections, for whatever reason, to smart meters, they should not be forced to have one on their home against their will.”
In response to alarmed Ventura County residents who object to the mandatory installation of smart meters, on March 27, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted to send a letter to the CPUC pressing it to adopt a provision that would allow residents to opt out of smart-meter installation at no cost. The letter was sent days after the board hearing.
“Right now you can choose not to have a cell phone, you can choose not to have a laser printer in your office or in your home, or you can put it somewhere where you can get away from it,” said Amey. “If you’re in a community where these meters are going night and day on forever, you have absolutely no choice.”
If you do not have a smart meter currently installed and would like to opt out of installation you can call 1-800-810-2369 to be placed on a delay list, which will postpone your installation, pending the CPUC decision regarding the opt out option on April 19. According to the SCE website, if you want to opt out but you already have a smart meter, you may be out of luck, at least until the decision is made.
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Comments
What a load of B.S.
Neither scientifically illiterate journalists nor the great, ignorant boobwasie are qualified to weigh in on a technical subject.
For that you need to listen to the scientists:
http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN12/wn03...
However, the chart does point out that emr is anywhere from 50 to 250 times stronger from your cell phone at your ear than from a smart meter 3 feet away, and I don't know about you, but my meter is OUTSIDE my house so I am very seldom closer that 25' or more to it.
If everyone adopted smart meters the grid would work more efficiently and we would experience many fewer brown-outs, and, heaven forbid, black-outs. (Brown-outs and black-outs are coming, but a smart grid could postpone them for a while, hopefully until I have left this mortal coil.)
But, as usual, ignorance will prevail, so the worst will arrive sooner rather than later.
Choice - PG&E RF Signal #'s - Human Rights & Democracy - People Being Made Ill
1. Many people choose not to own or use any wireless technologies. Just because something has been invented doesn't mean it's a good thing.
2. Only because a Judge ordered it did PG&E in California finally confess (in November 2011) the real number of RF signals/pulses relayed per day from one smart meter.
PG&E's Big Confession - EMF Safety Network - November 03, 2011 (includes # of RF pulses from SDG&E and SoCalGas report pdf's):
- http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=6030
"about 10,000, per meter, per day and the maximum number of 190,000".
And this is before Wi-Fi-enhanced home appliances add their loads to a household.
As well, "PG&E electric meter transmits at 900MHz with 1 watt of transmit power. It has an antennae gain 4.0 dBi for a peak level power of 2.5 watts." which is 2.5X more than their safety data stated.
Then you need to add in the RF loads from wireless gas and wireless water meters.
We are all guinea pigs. And it's not right. This is an enormous and non-consensual experiment on people, animals, insects, and plants. I thought the Nuremberg Trials ended these kinds of experiments.
Choice - PG&E RF Signal #'s - Human Rights & Democracy - People Being Made Ill
3. The whole smart meter issue has brought human rights and democracy to the forefront. People have the rights to protect their health, privacy, safety, and security. And in these times of financial duress around the world, no business or government should be forcing people to spend billions of dollars to replace something that still works.
4. People all over the world are being made ill by the installations of wireless smart meters on their homes/businesses and in their neighbourhoods.
- http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org...
- http://stopsmartmeters.com.au/2012/03/30...
- http://citizensforsafetechnology.org/Ele...
- http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20120...
- http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=6959
- http://www.emfacts.com/2012/01/electroma...
- http://citizensforsafetechnology.org/Eff...
- http://smartmeterskill.com/?p=692
- http://chly.ca/b-c-hydro-reverses-smart-...
- http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/13147587...
- http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/10/13/refug...
- http://www.commonground.ca/iss/243/cg243...
- http://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/12/02/se...
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canad...
- http://smartmeterhelp.com/
- http://stopsmartmeters.com.au/2012/03/26...
- http://stopsmartmeters.com.au/2012/03/27...
Some new research & reports.
Smart Meter Lawsuits Multiplying - Stop Smart Meters! - April 13, 2012:
- http://stopsmartmeters.org/2012/04/13/sm...
Environmental Physicians Issue Stern Warning on Biological and Health Effects from Electromagnetic Field Exposures - Electromagnetic Health.org - April 12, 2012:
- http://electromagnetichealth.org/electro...
&
Electromagnetic and Radiofrequency Fields Effect on Human Health - American Academy of Environmental Medicine - April 12, 2012:
- http://aaemonline.org/emf_rf_position.ht...
Hacking Expert David Chalk Joins Urgent Call to Halt Smart Grid - Business Wire Press Release - MarketWatch - April 12, 2012:
- http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hacking...
Big business ignores smart meter security risks for short term profit - Companies push dicey rushed roll outs by Andrea Petrou - TechEye - April 11, 2012:
- http://news.techeye.net/security/big-bus...
Germany: Shielding Against Radio Frequency Radiation is Tax Deductible - Stop Smart Meters Australia - April 09, 2012:
- http://stopsmartmeters.com.au/2012/04/09...
National security threat: hacking the smart grid by Sylvie Barak - EETimes - April 05, 2012:
- http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/...
Two Smart Meter Letters to Mayor of Naperville from residents of Naperville, Illinois:
- http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org...
Smart Meter Interference - Assessment of Chatham-Kent Hydro Smart Meter Implementation (Ontario, Canada) by Austin Wright - VE3NCQ - Chatham, Ontario - Citizens for Safe Technology - March 31, 2012:
- http://citizensforsafetechnology.com/Sma...
Open letter to the Premier from a Doctor - Stop Smart Meters Australia - March 30, 2012:
- http://stopsmartmeters.com.au/2012/03/30...
Smart Meters - Smarter Practices November 2011 & Addendum March 2012 - EMP & Cyber Security by Dr. Isaac Jamieson - EM-Radiation Research Trust - March 20, 2012:
- http://www.radiationresearch.org/index.p...
&
Addendum March 2012:
- [Smart Grid/Meter] Vulnerabilities to Space Weather, Manmade EMP and Cyber Attacks – Summary
CIA Head: We Will Spy On Americans Through Electrical Appliances - Global information surveillance grid being constructed; willing Americans embrace gadgets used to spy on them by Steve Watson - Infowars.com - March 16, 2012:
- http://www.infowars.com/cia-head-we-will...
Ready or not, back come the Analog Meters!
SIGN THE PETITION TO BAN SMART METERS IN VENTURA COUNTY:
Serious concerns have been identified regarding the installation of Smart Meters, including:
Damage to Our Health - according to a growing international body of scientific evidence
Increase in Our Electric Bills - due to higher rates charged during daytime peak hours
Invasion of Our Privacy - by recording our use of certain appliances and electronic devices
Selling of Our Privacy – to marketing companies who want to study our living habits
Control Over Our Lives - by controlling what we can turn on and for how long
Not Secure – because hackers can steal our personal info, and turn off our power
Not Safe – when they spike and damage our electronic equipment, or start electrical fires in our homes
The CCST report has been completely discredited as fraudulent junk science. Rather than being an independent, science-based study, the CCST largely cuts and pastes estimates from a brochure by the Electric Power Research Institute, an industry group. The EPRI estimates are incorrect in a number of regards.
Smart Meters produce cumulative whole body exposures far higher than cell phones or microwave ovens. Smart Meters Radiation Exposure can be up to 160 times more than cell phones!
Daniel Hirsch, California radiation expert and UCSD instructor, criticizes the industry-influenced CCST report that incorrectly minimized smart meter risks, based on the widely distributed industry-generated Tell Associates report. CCST is a partner with US DOE (US Dept. of Energy), funder and promoter of smart meters.
On January 19, 2012, The American Academy of Environmental Medicine, an international association of physicians and other professionals that provides research and education in the recognition, treatment and prevention of illnesses induced by environmental exposures, called for the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) to place an immediate moratorium on Smart Meter installation and to hold hearings on Smart Meter health impacts, stating that:
As representatives of physician specialists in the field of environmental medicine we have an obligation to urge precaution when sufficient scientific and medical evidence suggests health risks which can potentially affect large populations. The literature raises serious concerns . . .
AAEM’s position statement also called for CPUC to provide immediate relief to those requesting it and to restore the analog meters. It states that FCC guidelines are “inadequate for use in establishing public health standards.”
http://aaemonline.org/images/CaliforniaP...
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DIVISION, IARC CLASSIFIES RADIOFREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AS POSSIBLY CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS
Lyon, France, May 31, 2011 ‐‐ The WHO/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer1, associated with wireless phone use.
For further information and what you can do to prevent the installation of Smart Meters, go to:
acerbas on 4/14/12 @ 07:40 p.m.,
I find it very ironic and laughable that after you illogically rant about "scientifically illiterate journalists", you then post a link to an opinion piece lacking in any real scientific proof of the author's dubious claims!