ORIGINAL COMMENT · UNEDITED TEXT
I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure.
I am responding from the perspective of a person, who is sensitive to wireless radiation and electromagnetic radiation (emr).
Already sensitive to emr. our utility in British Columbia threatened to turn off our hydro power, if we would not accept a Smart Meter. I said we could not, because both my husband and I had health issues, affected by emr. Our power was turned off. My husband had just put harvested farm produce in a walk-in cooler, so he asked for the power to be turned back on. The utility said only if we accepted a Smart Meter and paid a $750 re-installation fee. We were coerced to have a Radio OFF Smart Meter. Within a week, my husband had a stroke, and a second stroke the following week. I experienced cognitive and memory dysfunction. I couldn't find an area in our house where I could sleep, tried sleeping outside, but it was too cold. It was a horrendous affair. Someone heard about us and recommended a combo of a Sine Tamer and Smart Meter Guards, which, when we finally obtained them, made life bearable, though still challenging. For a month after the emr was somewhat mitigated, I had night sweats. I slept in the living room for four years, because the SM was on the wall outside the bedrooms. BC Hydro later did a software upgrade on the SM without informing us. However, we found the employee installing it. That night, when all was quiet, there was a loud hum in the house. This persisted for the 3 weeks it took to have it uninstalled. Again, i couldn't sleep, and tried sleeping outside, in the car, and in a shed, but that was too uncomfortable, I slept fitfully for the 3 weeks. I continue to avoid public places, find it difficult to do shopping, and have a very limited social life. I couldn't even attend church. I manage to do shopping by wearing a silver threaded hat that makes excursions bearable, but it takes a lot out of me. Where I live now, I stay in the lowest emr corner of a suite, so even that is limiting. It's difficult to find a healthy home where I can live naturally.
I believe that some of us, who are ehs, have toxins in our bodies from mercury (amalgams), aluminum, lead, cadmium, barium, arsenic and other toxins, in our food, air and water. Add these stressors to other stresses and to experiences of trauma and abuse, and the body reaches a tipping point where it can no longer tolerate the toxic load. It is not our fault, and we should have a choice of low emr environments to live and work in. If our society really had the health of its citizens foremost in mind, it would provide coverage for counselling support to lessen the burden of stresses. In turn, this would make for a healthier society.
I do not have any wireless technology in my living space. Instead, I have a landline telephone, in-the-wall computer, in-the-wall modem, and no cell or cordless phones. I sleep with my head away from the wall and the bed about 2 feet from the wall. Of course, avoiding stress,and having emotional support and a healthy lifestyle are important.
I support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, trauma, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence.
I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health.
Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.