Great concern for electrical 'Smart Meters' being installed in North America

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Oct 27, 2007, 3:59:33 AM10/27/07

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Smart meters are being installed throughout Ontario and many other
places in North American. The wireless signals they transmit may cause
severe health problems. Here are a series of e-mails that highlite some
of the concerns. Thanks to Mary Sue, for submitting this information.

Martin

----- Original Message -----
*From:* Mary Sue
*To:* lea...@greenparty.ca <mailto:lea...@greenparty.ca>
*Sent:* Wednesday, October 03, 2007 11:02 AM
*Subject:* Wireless & EMF - infrastructure, not just health affected

Dear Ms. May:

Thank you for taking a stand on this subject.
(RE: <http://www.greenparty.ca/en/releases/02.10.2007b>

At a meeting of the corrosion engineers in Ottawa in September 2007, the
effect of electromagnetic frequencies on the water delivery system was
examined in detail. It has long been the practice of electricians to
ground all wiring to the water mains. The only reason that civic
administrations don't sue them for it is that the regulation doesn't
actually say in print that they have to do this. However, all
electricians say it's essential for safety, and do it routinely.

On the subatomic level, these frequencies happen to excite the hydrogen
atoms in the water, which then become interactive with the water pipes
and cause them to degrade faster than planned. The up-front cost and
amortization of installing water delivery is high and is spread out over
the expected lifespan of the system. Because EMF shortens that lifespan,
our costs are higher. Further, to try to counteract the EMF corrosion,
local water authorities have been installing cathodes on the mains at
intervals -- at a further significant cost. Crews have to go around and
dig holes down to the pipe to attach these devices at fixed intervals.

The problem is exacerbated and pipes above ground can be affected when
wireless frequencies are involved too. Consider this news story:

<http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=34724&cat_id=1
<http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=34724&cat_id=1>>

Excerpt:

PIPES bursting, toilets collapsing, random power cuts and headaches:
paranormal phenomena, or is there a perfectly plausible scientific
explanation?
For five years, the tenants of a semi-detached house in Strovolos,
Nicosia, were experiencing all the above weird happenings.
The family living there must have changed their toilet seat and plumbing
40 times. The pipes would crack open, flooding the floor. Even a
100-year-old olive tree outside the house wilted and died.

Then one day, out of the blue, the episodes stopped.
Panicos Kafkalias, the owner of the house, says he had brought in all
kinds of experts to solve the mystery: geologists, civil and mechanical
engineers.
The geologist attributed the problem to possible gas leakage from the
soil. Others suggested the foundations were filled with water, warning
that the house might collapse any moment. All the opinions were speculative.

Frustrated, Kafkalias called in an expert on electromagnetism. After
conducting measurements, the expert found excessively high levels of
electromagnetic fields. This aroused their suspicions, and their
attention turned to a mobile antenna mast installed on a high-rise
building overlooking the house.

This report goes on to say that after the antenna was moved, the
problems with both the water pipes and the family's health ended just as
"mysteriously" as they began.

The point of bringing this up is to draw your attention to yet another
wireless system being imposed on everyone. The so-called "smart" meter,
which is being recommended for tracking consumption of both electricity
and water according to the time of day happens to be tied to a
technology that broadcasts the information in pulses emitted every 14
seconds --all day, every day. The kicker is that the signal is not going
anywhere except outward through walls and saturating the neighbourhood.
Only once in every two months will a truck drive by and pick up the
information!

So why must this wireless broadcast be continuous? It wastes energy and
makes no sense.

I was contacted by the city of Ottawa which wanted to use my house,
along with others, as test sites. Although I agree that time-of-day
metering is a good idea in principle, the more I learned about this
technology the more alarmed I became. Even if I could get my house
exempted, the meters on the neighbouring houses and businesses will
still cover my home with this pointlessly continuous broadcast.

Why was this technology chosen? Some committee met behind closed doors
-- probably to listen to a sales pitch from the manufacturer -- and
thought it was a good idea at the time.

Why is no alternative being considered? I was told by Michael Burt of
the City of Ottawa's water and sewer department that everyone must
accept the same system. (Echoes of "You must comply. We are the Borg.
Resistance is....??")

I have urged repeatedly that the system of recording information be
detached from the wireless aspect, and that all time-of-day meters
should report over the phone lines. This can take place outside of peak
hours, and be programmed to happen over a period of days or even weeks,
so as not to overload computers receiving the info. Bill mailings could
go out by districts, sequentially, rather than all on the same date.
(The system of vehicle licensing improved when the renewals were spread
out by birth month. Before that, everyone had to stand in lines for
hours once per year.) The biggest environmental benefit of the
phone-line reporting approach would be in getting some more vehicles off
the road.

It is unknown at this time whether the smart-meter frequency will affect
the water pipes themselves, but there are already cases of
electro-sensitive people who have had the wireless smart meter removed.
(Please see below, a response from Dr. Magda Havas of Trent University,
who advocates the Precautionary Principle in regard to new technologies.)

I hope that knowing about the aspect of infrastructure costs and
subjecting people unwittingly to a system that can cause anything from
insomnia to cognitive dysfunction will help you to bring EMF dangers to
the attention of more people. I recommend getting all of your members
and candidates to bring up both the health and infrastructure-cost
issues in election debates as well as press releases and interviews.
That would help to inform the public about the implications of decisions
that are being imposed without any public consultation, and in total
disregard of the precautionary principle which has been officially
recognized.

There is already a technological solution on the horizon. The
bio-resonance phone and the gravity-wave phone are in development, and
they do not require these damaging frequencies. Therefore we don't have
to be stampeded into installing systems that damage both our heath and
our water pipes. We could keep using fiber optics and wait for these
alternatives to wireless to become commercially available.

For more information about both EMF corrosion and communications
alternatives, please contact Dr. Andrew Michrowski of the Planetary
Association for Clean Energy, to whom this message is also directed. He
can be reached in Ottawa at 613-236-6265.

Thank you for your attention.

Mary-Sue Haliburton

--------

*From: * mha...@trentu.ca <mailto:mha...@trentu.ca>
*Subject: **Re: smart meter side-effect studies only beginning
"after-market"** *
*Date: *September 6, 2007 0:48:59 EDT (CA)

You should not be forced to participate in this pilot project. It is
ethically wrong for Ottawa to do studies that may have adverse effects
on health without the consent of the participants. When we do research
with human subjects at the University, our research has to be approved
by the University Ethics Committee and we can do the research only if we
have voluntary consent. I see no reason why the same ethical conduct
should not apply to your situation.

A family in New York had "smart" meters installed unknowingly and they
asked their utility company to remove them, which they did. The people
in this home were electrically sensitive and didn't want to be exposed
to this type of radiation.

I hope this information is useful.
-magda
*________________________________________________*

*Dr. Magda Havas, *B.Sc. Ph.D.
Environmental & Resource Studies,
Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, K9J 7B8
phone: 705 748-1011 x 7882 fax: 705 748-1569
mha...@trentu.ca <mailto:mha...@trentu.ca>
*________________________________________________*

On Sep 5, 2007, at 9:04 PM, Mary-Sue wrote:
Dear Dr. Havas:

Andrew Michrowski of PACE gave me your email address in response to my
search for detailed information on "smart" meters. I sent the message
below to the city of Ottawa functionary who is trying to make me accept
one as part of a pilot project.

Is there any data available yet about the effect of continuously-running
low-signal-strength, pulsed data transmitters? If the field extends 80
feet in all directions, we will forced to live in this continuously. I
am concerned that this will be an uncorrectible mistake, and am trying
to convince the city's elected and appointed officials to put the brakes
on and examine this more closely.

Differential pricing is designed to promote energy conservation, but the
means of tracking time-of-day consumption does NOT have to broadcast
data day in, day out, especially if it's going nowhere! They could
report over the phone lines in off hours (thus saving a truck driving
around) or at least the transmitter should be turned off except on the
day required.

I hope that you might be able to direct me to some research data that I
can present to Mr. Burt.

Thanks for your attention.

Mary-Sue Haliburton,
Ottawa, Ontario

Begin forwarded message:
*From: *Mary-Sue
*Date: *August 29, 2007 22:28:02 EDT (CA)
*To: *Michael Burt <Michae...@ottawa.ca <mailto:Michae...@ottawa.ca>>
*Subject: **smart meter side-effect studies only beginning
"after-market"** *

Dear Mr. Burt:

Please see this research report which lists non-thermal effects which
are examined in more detail in this document:
<http://www.radiationresearch.org/goldsworthy_bio_weak_em_07.pdf>
Pulsed transmissions are the type that are most likely to disrupt brain
function. (NB: when biochemists are speaking of calcium ions "bound" to
membranes, we have to remember that this "binding" is electrical in
nature. This is why EMF and RF can disrupt it, disrupting calcium
metabolism.)
Abstract :

1. Well‐replicated studies have shown that weak electromagnetic fields
remove
calcium ions bound to the membranes of living cells, making them more
likely to
tear, develop temporary pores and leak.

2. DNAase (an enzyme that destroys DNA) leaking through the membranes of
lysosomes (small bodies in living cells packed with digestive enzymes)
explains the
fragmentation of DNA seen in cells exposed to mobile phone signals. When
this
occurs in the germ line (the cells that give rise to eggs and sperm), it
reduces
fertility and predicts genetic damage in future generations.

1. Well‐replicated studies have shown that weak electromagnetic fields
remove
calcium ions bound to the membranes of living cells, making them more
likely to
tear, develop temporary pores and leak.

3. Leakage of calcium ions into the cytosol (the main part of the cell)
acts as a
metabolic stimulant, which accounts for reported accelerations of growth
and
healing, but it also promotes the growth of tumours.

4. Leakage of calcium ions into neurones (brain cells) generates
spurious action
potentials (nerve impulses) accounting for pain and other neurological
symptoms
in electro‐sensitive individuals. It also degrades the signal to noise
ratio of the brain
making it less likely to respond adequately to weak stimuli. This may be
partially
responsible the increased accident rate of drivers using mobile phones.

5. A more detailed examination of the molecular mechanisms explains many
of the
seemingly weird characteristics of electromagnetic exposure, e.g. why
weak fields
are more effective than strong ones, why some frequencies such as 16Hz are
especially potent and why pulsed fields do more damage.

This is why I do not want continuously-broadcasting "smart" meters
installed, not just at my house although this is the only one where I
have any control of the situation, but anywhere in Ottawa. We are ALL
going to suffer mental degradation; this may proceed slowly,
imperceptibly at first. And then we will have to pick up the pieces at
great expense and probably remove all these wireless systems and put in
fibre optics which is what we should be using.

If these independent researchers are right, down the road a few years
you will be seeing people lined up in doctors' offices with headaches,
poor productivity in offices for any work requiring concentration, and a
lot more learning disability and other expensive problems in children.
It will be much more costly to deal with the health side-effects than it
would be to take our time and consider a way to lessen exposures of this
kind, such as by having these systems report over the phone line, or (at
the very least) have the transmitter turn on only once per month to
report to the mobile data-collecting unit and then turn off again --
both of which superior options I have previously suggested.

Please see the attached paper by Margaret E. Sears. (I have saved it as
"rich text" so hope it can be opened by your system.) She had prepared a
comprehensive examination of environmental stresses contributing to
disease. While Health Canada recognized as valid the portions of it
pertaining to the toxic chemicals, moulds, etc., apparently due to the
influence of wireless technology companies, they rejected the section on
EMF. I attach a reply she wrote, answering their objections and inviting
further discussion of this important topic.

A survey in 2005 by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that as many
as 20% of scientists in regulatory agencies and government departments
receive inappropriate orders to change scientific facts if their
conclusions are at loggerheads with the business community's financial
goals, or are politically inconvenient for one reason or another. Some
were even ordered not to reply to the survey either at work or at home.
(see <http://archive.salon.com/politics/war_room/2005/02/11/science/>)
So if Health Canada's scientific staff appear to be not "up to speed"
on the health research front where people are suffering from the effects
of EMF and wireless technology, we might have to look to the political
factors rather than scientific ones to explain that deficiency. This
real and present danger to health be examined with all urgency and
without prior dismissal.

Dr. Michrowski of the Planetary Association for Clean Energy, who has
considerable experience in recording and analysis of EMF fields, has
previously prepared studies on EMF pollution in houses for CMHC. When I
consulted him, he immediately asked what frequency the new water meters
would be using. Please supply that information if you can get it.

Dr. Michrowski has indicated to me that he is willing to do testing for
EMF signals at a new "smart meter" installation. With his precise
equipment he would be able to identify other WiFi and radio-frequency
sources in the area, and whether the various frequencies mesh into
high-level spikes which can be very disruptive to sleep. This research
must be done at the pilot-project stage before everyone is subjected to
this potentially gratuitous brain-damaging system.

Meanwhile, Bill Curry an engineer with EMSciTek Consulting, has
conducted some initial studies in Chicago on the RF water meters they
recently installed -- which sound similar to those which Ottawa wants to
install. (see below)

Mr. Curry can be reached at (630) 858-9377.

This is another important source of new research data:

*August 31, 2006. BioInitiative Report released: A Rationale for a
Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields
(ELF and RF). *An international working group of scientists, researchers
and public health policy professionals document serious scientific
concerns about current limits regulating how much EMF is allowable from
power lines, cell phones, and many other sources of EMF exposure in
daily life. The report concludes the existing standards for public
safety are inadequate to protect public health.
See www.bioinitiative.org <http://www.bioinitiative.org/>.

Elizabeth Kelley
Benevento Resolution Coordinator
International Commission For Electromagnetic Safety
Email: in...@icems.eu <mailto:in...@icems.eu>
Web: www.icems.eu <http://www.icems.eu/>

I hope that by choosing to install yet another wireless technology, the
City of Ottawa is NOT going to end up with smart meters and a whole
generation of stupid children. These will be the kids whose brain
function is undermined during the time their brains are actually forming
by continuous exposure at home and school and even when playing outdoors
in the neighbourhood. These transmissions go through walls and are
picked up by a vehicle going down the street at considerable distance,
so everyone will be exposed on an ongoing basis, in the house, out in
the yard, day and night, indefinitely.

The City won't want to take on the legal responsibility for the damages
if is is proven that EMF from smart meters is a contributing factor in
brain dysfunction in children.

It's a VERY, VERY BAD IDEA to install these without proper examination
of the effect on the brain, particularly the developing brain of a young
child, of pulsed radiofrequency and microwave transmissions. It would be
better not to install them in the first place.

Mary-Sue Haliburton
1 Withrow Avenue,
Nepean, Ontario

Email from Bill Curry, forwarded by Dr. Michrowski:

*From: * pac...@canada.com <mailto:pac...@canada.com>
*Subject: **SMART meters inducing brainwaves at 80 m distance!*
*Date: *August 29, 2007 17:04:30 EDT (CA)

Dear Andrew:

Please see enclosed reply from Bill Curry, I would be most grateful if you
could contact him and offer support with any further research/information
which may help with his forthcoming hearing on 19th July.

Best wishes
Eileen O'Connor
Trustee - EM Radiation Research Trust
<www.radiationresearch.org <http://www.radiationresearch.org/>>

Dear Eileen,

Thank you very much for sending me the paper by Dr. Michrowski. This
will be very useful to me in a hearing that I will testify in soon. I
have brought a complaint against my local water company before the
Illinois Commerce Commission, because they have installed RF emitting,
remote reading water meters all through my neighborhood and are trying
to force me to accept a similar installation at my house. These units
send billing information by pulsed RF transmissions from each house, and
a meter reader in a vehicle just rides down our streets and records the
transmissions.

The pulses are transmitted about every 14 seconds. The RF carrier wave
is modulated by digitally encoded water flow measurements, using a
frequency hopping technique. The RF pulses are not too far above the
radiation densities that Dr. Gerd Oberfeld and his group found were
capable of changing brain waves in sensitive people at a distance of 80
meters from a GSM phone system base station. The radiation density level
at which he found these brain wave alteration was 0.3 microwatt per
square centimeter. The pulsed RF radiation density that I have measured
at my next door neighbor's remote reading water meter is about 9 times
less, but I am going to repeat my measurements, capturing more pulses,
and see whether some pulses are higher than I first measured. It is
difficult to get accurate measurements, because the pulses are very fast
and very short.

If any of your group have any information that might be pertinent in my
hearing, please send it to me. The hearing will be on July 19 in
Chicago. Thanks for anything you send and best regards to all of you.

----------------------------------------------------
|Bill P. Curry, PhD EMSciTek Consulting Co.|
|(630 858-9377 Fax (630) 858-9159 |
| Physics is fun! |
|__________________________________________________|

Dear Eileen,

Thanks very much for your offer to forward my inquiry to Dr. Michrowski.
Please do so. I have his paper entitled New Problems with Cellphones
for which you provided a link, and I would like any other pertinent
information that he might have. I really appreciate your help. You may
or may not know that I am one of the cofounders of the EMR Network, and
I act as an ombudsman on that, as you do in your organization.