Reports severe symptoms associated with wireless devices and electrical noise, extensive mitigation costs…
ORIGINAL COMMENT · UNEDITED TEXT
Perspective: Individual consumer and person reporting potential adverse health effects.
Questions addressed: 3, 13(k), 16, and 18.
I am submitting this comment because I want HHS to hear from people like me who are experiencing serious health problems associated with wireless technology, electromagnetic fields, and electrical exposure.
My symptoms exploded after I purchased my Florida home in April 2023 and spent a week there. I have experienced burning skin, sharp head pains, fatigue, insomnia, difficulty thinking clearly, heart palpitations, tingling, numbness, worsening tinnitus, and vibrations in my legs when the HVAC runs. The vibrations stop when the system shuts off.
I cannot tolerate Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and dirty electricity. I have made costly changes to my home to reduce same, including replacing appliances, changing lighting and wiring, using wired Ethernet, and rerouting HVAC lines through the garage. I am still struggling.
I use a Greenwave meter to measure electrical noise in my home. My readings fluctuate, with approximately 400 mV on the low end and readings as high as 1212. Around 50 mV is what I can tolerate. I want better research into electrical noise and its possible health effects.
When I purchased my home, a smart meter was installed. The meter was changed in May 2023. I requested a true analog electromechanical meter, but Florida Power & Light provided a digital meter it describes as non-communicating. My concern is not limited to wireless transmission; it also involves the digital and electronic nature of the meter.
I have repeatedly provided FPL with medical documentation requesting an analog electromechanical meter, as recommended by my doctors. I even purchased one that FPL could inspect and install, taking the cost of obtaining the meter off FPL.
I formally submitted an ADA disability accommodation request supported by my medical documentation. However, FPL denied my request without acknowledging or addressing it as a disability accommodation, responding instead as though I had made an ordinary customer request. Despite more than 20 attempts to resolve this matter, FPL has refused to provide the analog meter my doctors recommended. I also continue to pay a monthly fee for the non-communicating digital meter and its manual reading.
What is especially discouraging is even after seeking medical help and repeatedly providing written recommendations, I feel my health concerns have not been taken seriously. It is hard not to feel that companies care more about revenue and policies than the health of the people affected. People reporting serious health problems deserve to be heard and treated with respect.
I have spent more than $15,000 having mercury dental fillings removed in an effort to address my symptoms, but the symptoms persisted. I am desperate to understand what is happening and find relief.
My condition also affects my family and others who do not experience what I do. They must sometimes change their lifestyles when around me. It is painful to struggle with my health while knowing that my circumstances affect the people I care about.
I am severely affected by what I believe are wireless exposures and electrical pollution, and I am frightened by the toll this is taking on my health and my life.
I ask HHS to support independent, thorough research into the potential health effects of radiofrequency radiation, electromagnetic fields, wireless devices, digital electrical equipment, and electrical noise. Research should consider people reporting symptoms in circumstances that may not affect everyone equally, as well as combined exposures in everyday environments.
People deserve clear information about what is known, what remains uncertain, and how exposures are assessed. Practical alternatives, such as traditional analog electromechanical meters where feasible, should also be considered for people reporting serious difficulties with digital and wireless technologies.
More needs to be brought to light about what people like me are experiencing. There are people suffering from serious symptoms who feel that no one acknowledges what is happening to them. Instead of having their concerns taken seriously and properly investigated, they are often dismissed or made to feel as though they are crazy. I know what it is like to struggle with these symptoms while trying to get someone to listen. We deserve to be heard, and our experiences deserve honest, independent scientific investigation. People should not have to prove beyond all doubt what is causing their suffering before anyone is willing to take them seriously.
This has cost me my health, money, comfort, peace of mind, and the ability to safely live in my home. I ask HHS to listen, investigate and support research that provides honest answers based on good science. We should not have to wait for absolute certainty before our experiences are taken seriously.