Power lines, wiring & solar

Smart meters are wireless devices that operate 24/7 in most homes in the US. These digital devices have the ability to expose a homeowner to RF radiation (RFR) more so than any other type of digital device because it creates both radiated emissions from the 2 wireless antennas and dirty electricity (DE) coming from inside the meter that rides on the homeowner’s power circuits. HHS should sponsor an opt out program through the Dept. of Energy or any Agency as appropriate that is the same opt out program for every one in every state, instead of every power company having its own with different rules and regulations, or not having one at all. But for those that do have an opt out program, most power companies do not address taking care of the DE in the opt out meters they have available for those that have an electromagnetic sensitivity (EMS) disability. Most people who have EMS manage that disability through avoidance of RF/EMF radiation exposures. The DE in digital AMI opt out meters comes from the operation of the switch mode power supply (2 kHz -50 kHz) which is just as harmful as the RFR exposures coming from the 2 antennas in the standard AMI digital smart meter, if not more so. However, the only way to avoid that, if you have an EMS disability, is to have other opt out meter choices. Since this involves being safe in your own home, getting an EMS access accommodation for a digital utility meter without DE should be made available to everyone who needs it. DE is going to get much worse from other distributed energy resources being added to the grid and it is inevitable, that at some point soon, the cumulative effects of DE must be addressed instead of just being ignored as optional to avoid and unimportant.

Solar panels/Dirty Electricity/EMF affect your health, especially those who are immunocompromised. After having solar panels installed, I noticed a diabetic family member have exacerbated side effects, going from mild to extreme, so I did some research to further the connection. Indeed, there was a study for every side effect she was experiencing. This study shows how dirty electricity effects the ability to control blood sugar, putting oxidative stress on the body, affecting mood, vision, uti infections, skin infections, chronic fatigue, etc. Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative stress plays a crucial role in both the development and progression of diabetes. Doctors recommend exercise for patients with diabetes. However, if that exercise is done in an electromagnetically dirty environment (*under solar panels*), and if the patient is sensitive to this form of energy, it may increase stress on the body and elevate levels of plasma glucose, as in Case 2. The increasing exposure and ubiquitous nature of electromagnetic pollution may be contributing to the increasing incidence of this disease and the escalating cost of medical care. Diagnosis of diabetes needs to be done in an electromagnetically clean environment to prevent misdiagnosis, and to properly assess the severity of this disorder. Most medical centers have electronic equipment and use fluorescent lights that produce dirty electricity, which is likely to cause abnormally high blood sugar readings for those with a combination of diabetes and electrohypersensitivity (Type 3 diabetes). Dirty electricity may also explain why brittle diabetics have difficulty controlling their blood sugar levels. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2557071/ Several disorders, including asthma, ADD/ADHD, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, are increasing at an alarming rate, as is electromagnetic pollution in the form of dirty electricity, ground current, and radio frequency radiation from wireless devices. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17178585/ https://publish.kne-publishing.com/index.php/JEHSD/article/download/17386/16187/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387505304_The_Impact_of_Electromagnetic_Field_Exposure_on_Diabetes_A_Narrative_Review https://www.jidmr.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/69-M22_1779_Hava_BEKTAS%CC%A7_Turkiye.pdf https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09553002.2018.1490039 Not only are there adverse health effects, solar panels contain toxic substances that require them to be disposed of as hazardous waste, paid for by homeowner. In the event of crack or break, toxic substances may leak onto roof and ground. Solar panels also harbor mold, damaging roof, which could potentially infest attics resulting in costly mold remediation and new roof.

It took a while for me to realize I was sensitive to WiFi and cell towers. I was installing an AT&T router in my home and immediately became dizzy and nauseous. We called and turned off the “5G” and that actually made it worse. I ended up in the ER the next day with double vision and blurred vision. Every time my husband walks in the front door with his iphone - if the WiFi is turned on I can immediately feel it from 10 ft away. He’ll look and sure enough, his WiFi is turned on. Once he turns it off, I get immediate relief. My son bought the iphone 14 and we were driving and I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. I told him I thought his new phone was making me sick. Then, a few moments later, I felt better and thought maybe I was just hungry. I told him I was feeling better and he asked when I began feeling better. I told him right as we passed the lighthouse. He said, “oh, I guess I need to take my phone back as that’s exactly the moment I turned it off to see if you would notice the difference.” In our home, we have no WiFi. We can’t. We plug all devices directly into a modem. And all phones have WiFi turned off. I have to turn off all smart TVs at night. I have to turn off all smart tech in new cars. We have iphone 11’s for when our iPhone 8’s stop working, but after that, I guess we’ll all have to start using flip phones again as the newest phones make me so sick. We were living in Waikiki for a year and I began having heart flutters and severe headaches at night due to all the cell towers. We then moved to a house where the landlord installed Solar. The second they installed the firmware I felt it. And when the solar, with all the inverter boxes, was turned on, it was immediately debilitating for me. My heart started racing, ears started ringing, I got dizzy and nauseous, had a severe headache and every joint in my body began aching. I also got the worst insomnia. I could not sleep at all! I actually could feel my body throbbing. It was the worst thing I’ve ever felt. A few days in and I thought I might die. And then, the power went out in the neighborhood and I had instant relief. And that night, with no solar or power, I slept so well. The moment it came back on the next day, I was once again debilitated. We had to move. It’s getting harder and harder to find places to live. I can now feel solar from across the road. I’ve also become sensitive to dirty electricity, LEDs, and the magnetic fields of devices. I can’t have a fan on high or near me now as I feel it. I can walk into a room and immediately tell you if an outlet is ungrounded. I don’t need a meter - I AM the meter! I once felt like I was getting shocked in the shower. We called an electrician out and he laughed at me thinking I was crazy, till he confirmed there was actually voltage on the pipe. He said, “there is some voltage, but so small no human could feel it”. I told him I must be superhuman then as I felt it. I’ve never been wrong as people continue to “test” me. I found a church my family and I loved and one Sunday the moment the lights when on I felt an instant headache, severe agitation in my body, nausea and my heart started racing. I ended up in the ER as my heart wouldn’t stop racing. When I asked the church if they had by chance installed new lights, they told me they had and the lights were high flickering LEDs. The church wouldn’t change them, so we can no longer attend that church. I sometimes feel sick from the LED street lights. In malls and hotels where they’ve installed cell towers or panels on their roofs, or on an elevator or wall, I cannot go near it. My family likes to hike and I have to stop on the mountain if I get too close as I begin to feel the pressure in my head. They keep increasing the number of cell towers, yet our phone service continues to get worse. So clearly, more is not better. Even electric cars I can’t ride in as I get so sick. We had to return a rental car when the car had active WiFi in it. What a terrible idea to put that kind of constant signal in a car. I have to drive in an office older car with no smart technology. A smart business person would begin catering to the ever growing community of EMF sensitive people. I know people who can’t even use a cell phone. Many have moved into homes far from any city. Some live in their old cars or in a tent. That’s how bad it can feel. There should never be any cell tower near a home, school or business. We need less smart devices and more ways to ground ourselves and not disrupt our body’s natural rhythms. The people commenting here - we are the canaries and we are warning everyone that damage is being done to your body when you wear a smart watch or put a phone to your ear or wear WiFi ear plugs.

In 2020, during the Covid lockdown on Maui/Pukalani, HI, I began experiencing symptoms that I could not identify. A shaking, tremor, vibration like sensation that did not let up. Over the next months this sensation was accompanied by severe pain in my chest and lungs and abdomen. I felt as if I were a piece of bacon frying. Both my partner and I had headaches every day in a residence we’d lived for seven years without these symptoms. My pain worsened continuously. I went to neurologists because I thought I might have Muscular Sclerosis because in addition to the pain and shaking, I was constantly falling, had a hard time walking and could not hold things in my hands —for example my keys. I was set for a number of tests all while my symptoms worsened without receiving useful help lessening them until a friend of mine said she felt “fizzy” in my house. She went home and got an EMF meter which measures all three types of electromagnetic pollution: the RF, Magnetic Fields and Electric. I had never heard of this before, but looking at the meter she saw very high numbers for all three. and not just high numbers, but the constant spiking of the frequencies and erraticness of them. We immediately removed the Wifi router, and through research put in dirty electricity blockers, but this was not enough. I took this information to my doctor and luckily he understood this information, but besides what I had already done, and his additional suggestions (move away from cell towers, remove Wifi, and some recommended reading, there wasn’t much help for me. I even wore chainmail as one book mentioned (which I did) — along the lines of wearing a Faraday cage as my symptoms continued until in excruciating pain I woke intending to drive away and get away from the house desperate to find reprieve from my symptoms and I could barely stand and couldn’t hold my keys (let alone drive) and told my partner I needed him to drive me immediately down the hill and I needed to lay on the earth. When we went back to the house I was immediately weakened and could not walk. I spent the next several months laying on the ground on the forest and beach. I could not be in a building or live in my house. Whenever I did the pain became more excruciating including severe pain in my ears and still to this day when I am near a cell tower. It took 2 and 1/2 years to recover and that only happened by seeking out all types of alternative help, living outside for months away from cell towers, WiFi, cell phones, etc and having a Faraday cage built in which I could sleep (though this does not mitigate the magnetic EMF pollution) and now living very remotely without these things , though when my neighbors stay nextdoor at their vacation home, I can feel the WiFi they switch on in their home from inside my home. Living remotely has other hardships. But what I learned was that during the Covid Lockdown/Shutdown, while most things were closed and most people out of work, cell tower companies were installing cell towers all over Maui. Including one 2 blocks from me, across the street from the local highschool. That is what made me sick. And how does one protect themselves from something that has become a necessity for most people? That is prevalent almost everywhere and not going away anytime soon? Aside from needed testing, regulations and control — not to mention safety alternatives implemented and removal of cell towers and WiFi from hospitals, elder care facilities and facilities with children. There is a possibility that the combination of Covid and cell tower proximity/high EMFs created more health complications and deaths during that time. I feel these companies should be held responsible for the illness and displacement their technology causes and there should be designated areas large enough for people with these reactions and symptoms away from this technology. I also thing satellites and satellite WiFi need to be better researched. I believe I would have died had I not found people who identified what was happening and had I not removed myself entirely for as long as possible from EMFs. I had to move out and it is not easy to find housing far enough away from such technology. I believe there should be a way to limit WiFi to a person’s property so it does not reach neighbors who don’t want the health consequences. Also in my research, Cell towers and WiFi can worsen MS and Parkinsons among other illnesses and this shoulf be looked into immediately. Airplanes have high Magnetic fields as well, where once I could walk again, walked onto the plane, but had to be wheel chaired out until i could get away from the high frequencies,

I became aware of electromagnetic fields after living over 10 years within 100 feet of a neighborhood power line and measuring exposures with a gaussmeter. These fields negatively impact mood, energy, sleep quality, skin health (increased redness and decreased elasticity), and hair health (increased dryness and thinning.) Radio frequencies typically produce similar effects. Electric distribution infrastructure produces multiple forms of electromagnetic fields, some of which can extend hundreds of feet and enter homes. These fields can be substantially reduced or eliminated through established engineering alternatives. According to EPRI, arranging conductors (wires) in a compact-delta (triangular) configuration reduces magnetic field emissions by 60–90%.[1] This avoids the higher cost of under-grounding. Utility companies should not be allowed to use multi-grounded four-wire systems because these can produce ground currents that spread laterally through the earth for hundreds of feet. Many countries do not allow such systems. Alternatives include uni-wye, delta, or five-wire systems. According to a 1998 report to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, artificial electromagnetic exposures create "internal electric fields" and potentially decrease concentrations of dopamine and serotonin.[2] The Cleveland Clinic lists health factors affected by serotonin, including focus, emotional stability, relaxation, and bone density.[3] Anyone living or walking within a few hundred feet of utility infrastructure is potentially affected by the resulting emissions. A Health Officer for California's Santa Cruz County noted in 2012 that the utility neutral bonded to water pipes causes adverse electromagnetic exposure.[4] In addition to the biological impacts of multi-grounded four-wire systems, the earth has exponentially higher resistance than metal conductors,[5] so using the earth as a conductor is energy inefficient and creates energy losses, causing additional costs for ratepayers and higher profits for utility companies. Utility smart meters contain antennas that generate radio-frequency emissions on connected wiring and in neighborhoods. Smart-meter deployment can involve costs of billions of dollars. According to IEEE member Tim Schoechle, utility smart meters have little to no demonstrable benefit to society.[6] In 2011, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan described legislation promoting smart meters as an attempt by utility companies to "protect their revenues for the next decade at great expense to consumers..."[7] Similar critiques of smart meters were made by Connecticut's Attorney General in 2011,[8] and Michigan's Attorney General in 2013.[9] Smart meters contain "hazardous materials" according to the International Electrotechnical Commission.[10] Smart meters use rare earth elements that raise financial costs, increase demand for scarce materials, and create environmental and disposal challenges. The International Electrotechnical Commission notes, "With traditional electromechanical designs and life spans of several decades, use of hazardous materials and safe disposal of decommissioned meters is not an issue." I appreciate the Department of Health and Human Services is addressing these issues. Please contact LinLinHanGou@gmail.com for additional information. [1] https://restservice.epri.com/publicdownload/TR-106003/0/Product [2] https://mn.gov/puc/assets/dairy_cow_response_final_report_tcm14-12009.pdf [3] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22572-serotonin [4] http://emfsafetynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Health-Risks-Associated-With-SmartMeters.pdf [5] https://ep2000.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/EP-White-Paper-System-Ground.pdf [6] https://gettingsmarteraboutthesmartgrid.org/pdf/Smart%20Grid%20Report%203-15-13.pdf [7] https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/06/21/an-experiment-too-expensive-for-consumers/ [8] https://smartgridlegalnews.lexblogplatform.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/517/2011/02/ConnAG_brief.pdf [9] https://www.annarbor.com/DTE-SMART-METERS_ATTORNEY-GENERAL-OPINION.pdf [10] https://www.iec.ch/public/miscfiles/sbp/13.pdf

QUESTION 2: PERSPECTIVE -- I am an individual who has suffered from EHS (elctrohypersensitivity) for almost 30 years. I was one of the first people to succumb to the negative health effects of computer and microwave technologies. I am now 87 years old, and was hit when I was 59 years old and in otherwise reasonable health. QUESTION 3: EXPERIENCE – In 1998 I came home from work in the movie industry and suddenly found myself overwhelmed with enormous EMF sensitivity. This sensitivity affected me at home, at work, and in travels. I became intolerant of travel by car, plane or train; any lights or radiation (even sunlight when I was at my worst); conductive metals; computers, microwaves, and cell phone technologies; etc. All of this was verified by many doctor, tests, and alternative practitioners over the years, with little relief other than Gabapentin and avoidance. After some years, I began to be able to tolerate a bit more for short periods of time. I am now able to live very carefully within a muted and controlled environment. My symptoms from EMF exposure come from cell phones, wiring, home electronics, and outdoor RF. They have included: severe asthma, indigestion, weight loss, great weakness, trembling, arthritic symptoms, inflammatory swelling, eczema, dizziness, forgetfulness, irritability, depression, and anger (all in my medical records). QUESTION 12: EVIDENCE – 1) There are several books published by people who are scientific researchers or who are themselves EHS and self-treated. These can be found online. Examples include "The Sensitive Patient's Healing Guide: Top Experts Offer New Insights and Treatments for Environmental Toxins, Lyme Disease, and EMFs" by M.d. Nathan, Neil; and books by Dr. Jonathan Halpern, PhD. 2) The field of building biology is aware of EHS and has a specialty in EMF testing and mitigations. 3) Surprisingly, real estate agents are also aware of EHS! Many more people are looking for homes that have less EMF and RF exposure these days.

QUESTION 2: PERSPECTIVE -- I am an individual who has suffered from EHS (elctrohypersensitivity) for almost 30 years. I was one of the first people to succumb to the negative health effects of computer and microwave technologies. I am now 87 years old, and was hit when I was 59 years old and in otherwise reasonable health. QUESTION 3: EXPERIENCE – In 1998 I came home from work in the movie industry and suddenly found myself overwhelmed with enormous EMF sensitivity. This sensitivity affected me at home, at work, and in travels. I became intolerant of travel by car, plane or train; any lights or radiation (even sunlight when I was at my worst); conductive metals; computers, microwaves, and cell phone technologies; etc. All of this was verified by many doctor, tests, and alternative practitioners over the years, with little relief other than Gabapentin and avoidance. After some years, I began to be able to tolerate a bit more for short periods of time. I am now able to live very carefully within a muted and controlled environment. My symptoms from EMF exposure come from cell phones, wiring, home electronics, and outdoor RF. They have included: severe asthma, indigestion, weight loss, great weakness, trembling, arthritic symptoms, inflammatory swelling, eczema, dizziness, forgetfulness, irritability, depression, and anger (all in my medical records). QUESTION 12: EVIDENCE – 1) There are several books published by people who are scientific researchers or who are themselves EHS and self-treated. These can be found online. Examples include "The Sensitive Patient's Healing Guide: Top Experts Offer New Insights and Treatments for Environmental Toxins, Lyme Disease, and EMFs" by M.d. Nathan, Neil; and books by Dr. Jonathan Halpern, PhD. 2) The field of building biology is aware of EHS and has a specialty in EMF testing and mitigations. 3) Surprisingly, real estate agents are also aware of EHS! Many more people are looking for homes that have less EMF and RF exposure these days.

Please Find attached my full response to the Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. This comment is submitted in response to the request for information on electromagnetic field exposure and human health, sharing a personal perspective as an individual with electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) for over 15 years. My comment discusses the profound impacts of both magnetic/electric fields and radiofrequency (RF) radiation on my daily life, my health symptoms experienced, and personal management strategies. Key recommendations include improving real-world exposure level transparency, lowering exposure standards especially for high risk individuals, recognizing EHS as a medical condition, and addressing cumulative exposure risks. Please reference the PDF attached for the full comment. Thank you for providing this opportunity to be heard.

See attached files. Do not see icinrp europe nonprofit guidelines of 1k milligauss, as higher than even 2 milliguass concern. The same people who listed that doc ask them to be in a room with 40+ milligauss! Will they agree.

Within 24 hours of smart meters being installed at my apartment complex, I began noticing the following adverse health effects: a constant headache, chest pain, heart palpitations and arrythmias, bizarre and frightening brain sensations, and insomnia. A friend brought over an EMF meter and it detected high-powered pulses of microwave radiation every three seconds inside my apartment all along the wall the bank of smart meters was on. I tried to reduce my exposure by moving my sofa and bed away from that wall, shutting off my Wi-Fi, and wearing a supposedly EMF-shielding beanie hat whenever I was at home (even in bed), and staying away from my apartment as much as possible. These actions did not bring about any changes in the adverse health effects I was experiencing, so three months after the smart meters were installed I gave up my apartment and move to a different state where smart meters hadn’t yet arrived. Within days of arriving at my new residence (which was a guest bedroom in my parents’ house), I could actually feel their Wi-Fi in my head. The sensations were physically uncomfortable, bordering on painful, in my brain and in my ears. I had visited my parents earlier that year, and stayed for an entire month, and their Wi-Fi hadn’t been a problem then. It was only after I’d been exposed to smart-meter radiation for three months that I experienced adverse health effects from Wi-Fi. My parents agreed to shut off their Wi-Fi for me, and only then did my symptoms from Wi-Fi and smart meter exposure slowly begin to resolve. Six months later I was mostly symptom free. After my recovery, I thought that as long as I didn’t have Wi-Fi at home I might be able to tolerate spending a few hours once a week in a Wi-Fi environment out in the world. So I resumed going to church, and for many weeks everything seemed fine. It wasn’t until the twelfth Sunday that adverse health effects from cumulative exposure began to manifest what began as a low-grade headache quickly grew in intensity and constancy, accompanied by wholly unpleasant and downright frightening brain sensations. My ears ached, and rang, and popped – just like what occurs with changes in altitude. Except my altitude wasn’t changing, and only my right ear popped, often in quick succession: pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. In addition, my face burned, my chest ached, and I was extremely fatigued. I felt so exceptionally unwell I truly did not know whether I would even survive, let alone recover. Immediately after the onset of these adverse health effects, using my computer and cell phone became unbearable, causing an immediate worsening of the constant headache and uncomfortable brain sensations. Even being within twenty feet of where my parents were using their cell phones was highly problematic, and I only found relief by going outside so I could get farther away. It took six months of scrupulously avoiding all Wi-Fi, computer, and cell phone exposure for the worst of my symptoms to subside, leaving me with only a mild headache, a popping right ear, and uncomfortable brain sensations that are less frequent and less alarming. Two months later, shortly before smart meters were to be installed in my parents; town, I moved yet again, this time to a different state with a milder climate. I took up residence in a friend’s barn out in the country where I wouldn’t be exposed to smart meters, Wi-Fi, or cell phones. Even so, being in close proximity to basic electricity causes headaches and uncomfortable brain sensations, so I’ve had to find creative ways to prepare meals, provided lighting, and stay warm in winter. Even using a landline telephone was impossible until I got one that had a special radiation-free headset that delivers the sound to my ear via an air tube. I’ve lived in the barn for more than four years now, and my attempts to seek medical evaluation and treatment resulted in healthcare providers thinking I was crazy and wanting to do a psychiatric evaluation. The adverse health effects I experience rom various sources of EMF radiation has rendered me unable to earn any kind of income for over five years. Yet, I have been told I do not qualify for Social Security because they do not recognize EMF sensitivity as a disabling condition. It is only because I finally reached the age of 62 a few months ago and could start drawing my Social Security retirement benefits that I am not completely destitute. That and the generosity and kindness of friends (including the one who entered my response to this EMF RFI).