I am EXTREMELY worried about the Smart Meter invasion. Nevermind the privacy issues (that's a disgusting topic in itself), I am posting here because I am terrified about the implicit HEALTH HAZARDS. (And, this is still the best health forum ever! <3 )

The emissions released by smart meters have recently been classified by the WHO in the same class of carcinogens as DDT! Smart meters bathe your house in those radiofrequencies 24/7! One of the frequencies also particularly interferes with female reproductive health. I want to have happy, healthy kids!

It takes about 0.05 seconds, and a quick Google search will produce a mountain of people livid about the disgusting negative impacts on their health (hair loss, sleep loss, ringing in the ears, migraines, digestive problems) that coincide with the installation of the meter.

These are a dime a dozen, but here's a link to one video:
[www.youtube.com]

This is of great concern to me because A) I am a renter, and I am moving very soon. I live in British Columbia (I know Ontario outlawed mandatory Smart Meters in apartment buildings, and those interested must instead go through with a detailed approval process). We are NOT SO LUCKY here...

I will never own a cellphone, and my internet connection is wired. The problem about renting is that I do not own the house/building, so therefore it is not my decision whether or not the owner wants to install these toxic meters.

What rights do I have? What can I do? Are any kinds of buildings safer than others? I'm moving soon, how do I drum up this conversation with new prospective landlords without sounding completely whacked? "Would you refuse to upgrade your power meter and allow me to pay you the $25/month penalty charged by BC Hydro because I am EMF-sensitive and don't want to be bathed perpetually in toxic radiofrequencies?" Or maybe, "Do you mind if I build a Faraday cage on the side of your house?"

I'm sure you all know the feeling, when people look at you like you are an ALIEN for caring about your health! It's kind of cute when it's because you have a shopping cart full of fruit... not so cute when it's suddenly because you don't want to be stuffed full of tumors and made infertile against your will.

I find it so frustrating and upsetting that our health is constantly under assault from so many sources beyond our control, it's like we don't even have the RIGHT to clean air/food/water anymore. As if Fukushima isn't enough... In BC, anyway, they want smart meters installed everywhere by 2012.

I just don't know... WHERE... I am going to live!! =*(

Thanks, everyone.

The privacy thing is scary. The radio frequencies....well not so much. RF are not ionizing, I don't see how they are cancer causing, or causing any other problems. RF are very long frequencies and low energy. Natural radiation from the sun is probably more of a problem in my opinion.

Well I'm not happy about it. Being sensitive to cell phone and WiFi signals already, the more waves etc that are flying through the air bombarding me the worse I feel. I suspect that before long all of this is going to be recognizably linked to many health issues. Too bad money talks and testing things properly walks. Sad.

My professor for radiography seems to think there are a lot of duplicated tests around RF. He wonders why there are continued testing around cell phone use, and each one comes up with zero evidence of any health problems...so why does more money get pumped into repeating studies and tests? hes not so concerned with RF from cell phones because they are so low, but thinks that perhaps higher intensity rf and magnetic energy from MRIs should be done. Those are WAY higher than anything that the average person would ever encounter natural or unnatural, unless of course you get an mri. As it is now you don't need a licence to perform an mri, but you do for xrays. But usually someone with a radiography licence will do it anyway. That might change in the future.

I don't really care what the studies say, as far as I'm concerned they aren't finding the answer because they're not asking the right question, not because there isn't an answer. I have always gotten an instant headache from cell phones, the minute one gets close to my head a horrid buzzy pain starts up that can quickly escalate to a migraine. I never wanted to believe this because I was young when I bought my first cell and thought it was so cool but I had to eventually face the fact that they make me sick. And now with WiFi, the same. And the whatever-it-is in my step father's fancy new jeep too, all the gadgetry gives me instant buzzy head pain. It's distinct and distinctly unpleasant.

I don't know what to think. I don't know what an MRI would do to you, but that seems like it would be a big problem. Perhaps you are right, the studies must be somehow eliminating problems such as what you experience.

Is it just rf? What about magnetic fields? Like around vacuums, blenders, food processors, juicers? Microwaves, tvs, computers? High voltage wires?

I honestly don't know, I was never prone to headaches though I did get the occasional migraine starting in my early twenties (once every year or two but incredibly painful requiring hospital treatment). When cell phones first came out not everyone had one, the service was terrible even in a big city like Toronto, there weren't towers everywhere... I only got a headache while using one. Thinking back I started to get headache more frequently in the past 3 or 4 years but still very infrequent migraines. When I noticed the frequency and severity of them escalating I started to track the commonalities in the experience and pinpointed visits to the library with the time they installed WiFi. Then I started to take note when the specific pain would occur (it's distinct) and would ask wherever I was if they had Wifi, the answer was always yes. But now it's everywhere and I'm always borderline ill with nausea and headache. My health is otherwise very good, my life low stress. I don't know what to think but I read about people with symptoms like me more and more, I have a friend now who forwards me information. Actually, I've been forwarded info by several friends so it is in the news these days. I suspect nothing will be done about it though, it's very lucrative and that's what rules the world. A few people made unbearably sick by it will make no difference. I mean, you can hardly get people to stop sending peanut butter in their child's school lunch and that's DEADLY for other students who are allergic! I don't really know what to do.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2011 04:11AM by coco.

Apparently, when the meters are in an "inactive" state, the energy emitted is far less than cell phones... BUT, when they transmit, the pulses are thousands of times greater than cell phones. Companies claim they only pulse once a month or whenever they collect data, but some studies have found them "pulsing" several times a minute.

If I can find the link again, I will share. @.@

Things are never as advertised...

I noticed an article on the opening computer page. It was about radio waves reducing fertility rates in men. The cause was the use of laptops on the lap using wireless connections. So, maybe even radio waves are not that innocent. So it has me rethinking all the information I have been told in class. Are they really being honest about what is really known about various sources of radiation? Maybe, as this study is pretty new. There is a skeptical part, how they determined that. It was by examining sperm samples several hours after collection, how many were still moving with or without rf exposure. Gosh I never thought about them living for that long outside of...well usual environments you might expect them to be living in.

Not sure what a "smart meter " is.
On a personal note,I used a cell phone for many long conversations.holding it in my left hand,and my thumb is almost totally locked up from something.
Arthritis?
Dont know.
But that thumb wont bend anymore.
Vinny

Vinny, get a headset! Mislu, sperm can live for up to 4 days inside of the body, just waiting for ovulation to occur... Not sure about outside the body but they are strong little suckers with a will to live, those wiggly dudes.

I was warned that PG&E would be putting smart meters in, and one day there they were, I didn't even notice when it was installed. Did not notice any adverse health affects for family, even the cat likes to hang out in the room that the smart meter is outside of. I did notice however that our bill was almost $300 this month. PG&E is marketing the smart meter to be some green tool for energy consumption, but that, I believe it a lot of garbage. Still would be interested if anyone has any concrete data about the adverse health affects from smart meters.

Hey Phantom , im out here in Mission, Bc and its pretty worrisome out here too about this push for smart meters

here is a couple sites i found lately you might be interested in if you havent seen them already

[www.stopsmartmetersbc.ca]

[www.citizensforsafetechnology.org]

[emrabc.ca]

I really hope this can be stopped before its just rammed down our throats it makes me ill everytime i hear public radio touting how safe it is .. when there are studies done from many places in the states to the contrary

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2011 12:02AM by Jgunn.