Smart meters employ radio frequency radiation to send signals wirelessly 24/7 and, for some, this is cause for deep concern due to negative health impacts, including headaches, dizziness, sleep problems, tinnitus and nausea. There are also reports of pets being severely affected. Smart meters are already installed in certain areas of the country, and rollout is scheduled to start in British Columbia Spring/Summer of 2011.
You may wish to review information on Smart Meters before you have no choice in the matter. A website devoted to this subject is
http://www.stopsmartmeters.org [1] - our website also has information under Communities, Governments.
You can also download a notice on the front page of our website which can be PRINTED OUT AND POSTED ON YOUR CURRENT METER - see
http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org [2].
Further, you can phone BC Hydro at 604-224-9376 and let them know you refuse to have a smart meter on your home requesting that this information be included on your account status for BC Hydro employees to see before installing the meter.
Background:
SANTA CRUZ EXTENDS SMART METER MORATORIUM - MORE SMART METER HATRED
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/santa-cr.../ [3]
In response to concerns about the health effects of smart meters, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last Tuesday to impose a moratorium on meter installation through 2011, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The smart meters were already on hold, but the original moratorium expired at the end of 2010. The board said it was waiting for a report on health effects, which was released later that same day.
The concern over health effects, specifically electromagnetic field radiation, is not limited to Santa Cruz. Residents in Maine and OTHER PARTS OF CALIFORNIA [4] have expressed similar concern, but the report issued by the CALIFORNIA COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY [5] concluded that "Wireless smart meters, when installed and properly maintained, result in much smaller levels of radio frequency exposure than many existing common household electronic devices, particularly cell phones and microwave ovens."
Other studies have had similar findings that the SMART METERS ARE WELL WITHIN THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION STANDARDS [6].
Despite the study's findings, Santa Cruz plans to uphold the moratorium. Legally, if Pacific Gas and Electric continues to install meters, it will be a misdemeanor, if it is cited at all.
However, outraged people, even a few of them, can make a lot of noise.
Even if science does not back their claims, there needs to be serious acknowledgement of their concerns, and even potentially an opt-out clause, for utilities that are looking for smooth smart grid upgrades.
Links:
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[1]
http://www.stopsmartmeters.org
[2]
http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org
[3]
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/santa-cr.../
[4]
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/in-calif.../
[5]
http://www.ccst.us/publications/2011/2011smartA.pdf
[6]
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/can-smar.../