Smart meters

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.

2. I am submitting my response as a patient. 3. Clearly, anyone who claims that pulse-modulated radiofrequency (RF) radiation causes health problems has psychiatric problems, because I don’t experience any of these issues. This summarizes what people with EMR Syndrome face – denial that their illness could possibly be true. And yet, millions of people can eat peanuts and feel just fine, so how could anyone else have bad reactions to peanuts? Yet we know that severe allergic reactions to peanuts affect a subset of the population and society accommodates them through peanut-free zones, warning labels, and epinephrine availability. Similarly, some people have asthmatic reactions to smoke, dust, or chemical fragrances that don't affect others. Variability in biological sensitivity doesn't mean the reaction isn't real - it means we need to accommodate the vulnerable minority, not dismiss them based on the majority's experience. 3a. Technologies involved: cell phones, cell antennas, WiFi, Bluetooth, smart meters, municipal water meters (which communicate via the cellular network) and blind spot detection systems on new cars. 3b. The duration of exposure affects the severity of my symptoms and recovery time. 3c. I experience nausea, dizziness, sharp pains throughout my body, burning sensations, difficulty breathing (shortness of breath as well as my throat constricting), extreme fatigue, blurred vision, short term memory loss, difficulty concentrating, irregular heartbeat, a sensation of pressure, and changes in my voice which eventually leads to a complete inability to speak. 3d. My health effects first appeared in the year 2000 when I bought my first cell phone. I had used an analog cell phone prior to this with zero health effects. But my new cell phone used a digital signal. The first symptom was a burning sensation. Very quickly these sensations become more severe, other symptoms such as dizziness, difficulty concentrating, a sensation of pressure, and difficulty concentrating appeared. I purchased a new low SAR cell phone but that made no difference. When smart meters were deployed my health was immediately impacted. I could no longer spend time outdoors in my own yard or go for a walk in the neighborhood without getting sick. The only place I could get relief was in my unfinished basement. Blind spot detection systems on cars cause severe health problems for me, and the effects are instantaneous. It causes incredibly sharp pains and extreme fatigue. If I am exposed for a short duration, I quickly recover (even the fatigue disappears within minutes). But the longer I am exposed the more severe the symptoms become and the longer it takes me to recover. In the worst cases I need 2 days to fully recover. Traveling by airplane is very problematic now that most airlines have WiFi on board. My throat constricts and I have difficulty breathing, I become extremely fatigued, can barely keep my eyes open, have short term memory loss, very strong burning sensations in my eyes and have difficulty concentrating. 3e. Yes, I sought medical treatment. Due to the near constant exposure to pulse-modulated radiofrequency (RF) radiation I have double strand DNA breaks along with damaged gut, blood brain, and retinal barriers. And oxidative stress caused by exposure to RF radiation has resulted in high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which in turn is causing mitochondrial dysfunction. I have levels of inflammation that my physician has never seen before. My inflammation is much higher than the worst cases of crippling arthritis. And yet I do not have any joint pain. The inflammation, per my doctor, is directly caused by my exposure to pulse-modulated RF radiation. 3f. I had shielded my previous home to block RF from reaching the interior. This made a huge improvement. However, that house later burned down. I moved into a new house only to discover that the water meter in the basement transmits usage via a cell signal every 15 seconds. If I shield the meter the water department cannot read my meter. If I shield the house to protect myself from the RF emitted by cell towers, neighbors WiFi and the electric company’s smart meters, then the signal from the water meter would bounce around inside the house making my health worse. So I have to spend most of my time (even during the day) inside a shielded bed canopy. It is a miserable way to live. I bought another house in an extremely rural area where there is no cell phone coverage. My doctor confirmed via lab tests that my body is now healing at a rapid rate, due to me moving to the low RF environment. However, she anticipates it may take 2 to 3 years or possibly longer for me to make a full recovery. And even then she believes I may need to stay living in the low RF environment, otherwise my health will begin deteriorating again. So this is a solution, but it is very isolated here, this is not where I want to live, and this is not the lifestyle I want.

My name is Michael Remington and I am a resident of Pennsylvania. I have been diagnosed with a medical disability, by a medical doctor (M.D. Family Medicine) related to my exposure to RF/EMF - without informed consent. The most severe symptoms occurred after I moved into an apartment, within one half of a block away from a roof top cell site; and a "smart" electrical meter was installed, against my will, on the wall adjoining my bedroom/office. Symptoms include blurry vision, red eye, loss of vision, eye inflammation, eye lid ulcers, excessive hair loss, insomnia, muscle fatigue, lack of energy, memory loss, muscle cramping, muscle spasms, skin rashes, greying, varicose vein formation, brain fog and others. After a couple of years, my health was so poor that I realized that something was very wrong. This is when I began to investigate my exposure to RF/EMF, by purchasing an EMF meter and researching the topic. I quickly learned that sources outside of my home were emitting RF/EMF into my home: far above the precautionary recommendations of some respectable medical and scientific organizations, while being well below the FCC's safety guidelines. Otherwise, there were no significant sources of RF/EMF in my home, as I had stopped using a cell phone regularly over a decade prior to, my internet connection was hard wired, there were no WiFi devices operating in my home, and I had stopped using a DECT phone at the first sign of symptoms. All sources of my exposure orginated from outside of my apartment, aside from the DECT phone. It was only when I began applying precautionary guidelines, as published by the Building Biology Institute and the European Academy for Environmental Medicine, to the best of my ability, that signs of relief from the most severe of my symptoms were observed. At first, I applied shielding to some of my walls, but eventually ended up moving downstairs to occupy the sole room in my apartment that was not considered "extreme" - my dining room. Yet, my symptoms persisted at a reduced level and full recovery was not achievable. Finally, after six years, I moved out of my apartment with the assistance of members of my bible study group. Initially, I had purchased property well outside of town, in a rural area. Yet, it had to be abandoned after the same company that operated the roof top cell site near my apartment, installed a 260' cell tower on an adjacent hill top. I eventually moved into another home that was 1 km away from the roof top cell site, at a lower altitude, that was furnished with aluminum siding. After taking additional steps to shield my home from my neighbors' wireless security system, WiFi, and DECT phone, about ten feet away from my home, I finally found some significant relief. My sleep improved and my muscle cramps began to subside as months went by. That is, until the very same wireless company activated a recently installed 160' cell tower in my town, which broadcasted directly into my northern facing windows and bedroom. It was only after purchasing an EMF monitor, which I now keep on me at all times, that I detected this new source of RF/EMF. After taking steps to reduce my exposure to it, again, my sleep gradually improved, muscle cramping gradually diminished, and inflammation of my eyes reduced. Yet, after all of this, I have been unable to avoid all exposure to sources of RF/EMF exceeding precautionary guiedelines: in my home and in areas outside my home that I need access to in order to live. The Pennsylvania Utility Commission denied my appeal to have the "smart" eletrical meter, on the side of my home, be reverted back to the analog meter it had replaced. My vision has not fully recovered and I must now wear glasses for nearly any activity, except sleeping. Last year, I was formally diagnosed with a medical disability, by a medical doctor (M.D. Family Medicine) with a "high degree of medical certainty", due to RF/EMF exposure from outside of my home, outside of my control - without my informed consent. My disability has interfered with my ability to complete graduate school, obtain gainful employment, and even attend my church. Now, with the FCCs recent approval of SpaceX to provide mobile coverage everywhere in the U.S.A., including "dead zones" which many might considered refuges from RF/EMF, I am very concerned that there will very few places remaining in the U.S.A. that I might be able to live a normal, healthy life. Furthermore, I am concerned, as well as Dr. Pall, that these exposures may be the cause of a worldwide population collapse. Enclosed are some key references used for determining RF/EMF exposure to be the cause of my ill health, which are also the sources of the precautionary guidelines that I follow and recommend to anyone who will listen.

I have been sensitive to EMF and computers for as long as I have been using them, 35 years. I am especially sensitive to Bluetooth and get headaches and my ability to concentrate and think clearly is disturbed when Bluetooth is in use near me. I am concerned about cell towers being close to homes and I feel smart meters should not be on homes as many people have very adverse effects from them. We pay a fee for the privilege of not having any smart meters in our home, what an unjust situation. I feel uncomfortable when I am near a parking lot where many electric cars are charging. I am deeply concerned that data centers, with their concentration of emf and radiation will prove very unhealthy in our communities. I have had iPhones, iPads, and computers for 35 years and find that with each new device, the negative effect of their emfs and radiation is quite increased. My clarity and healthfulness feels diminished after using these devices. I realize many people do not feel this, and that I am more sensitive in perception than most, however that does not mean that everyone isn’t being negatively effected, they simply may not perceive the effect. Research on the effect of emf, smart meters, cell towers, computers, cell phones and cordless phones must be seriously undertaken with regulatory action taken if manufacturers do not self regulate. Additionally the logarithms used in designing social media has a deeply weakening effect on individuals and especially children.

I am very sensitive to electro magnetic fields. Whenever I get around wifi, cell phones, or smart meters, etc. it causes me a lot of symptoms. My energy level crashes, I get migraines, blurred vision, my tinnitus gets really loud, my joints hurt, it almost feels like my whole body is on fire. When I'm in a city and surrounded by wireless WiFi, I am miserable and the only thing I can do is leave the area. Having this sensitivity to something that is absolutely everywhere, make life really difficult.

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. My partner suffers from "electro hypersensitivity syndrome" She can not be exposed to the field of cell phone towers WiFi or smart meters, because what happens is her nervous system locks up and she can (and does) experience heart palpitations, nervous attacks, loss of sleep, and even fainting. She can not go into the city for more than a couple of hours at a time. We have moved several times because of radiation fields or cell phone towers too close, and chose to live in a rural area far from development specifically for this reason. Until there are stricter regulations on the transmission power and pace of developing technology (mobile phones, Wi-Fi, smart meters, wireless infrastructure, wearable technologies, wireless medical devices, 5G, 6G, satellite communications, Internet of Things devices, smart homes, smart cities, autonomous vehicles, and other emerging technologies) I don't expect this to change. The 1996 radiofrequency limits are long outdated, and with more and more impact studies that have been done in the past three decades proving, not suggesting, biological harm, there needs to be much tighter regulation regarding the communications industry and the increasing “electro-smog” problem and the detrimental effects of short-term and long-term exposure to these fields. We used to be able to place the responsibility (though still unfairly) on the end consumer to know the risks of the technology they partake in, but no longer are people exposed to one or two electromagnetic fields at a time – we are now entering a time where people are often exposed to ten, twenty, even more fields at a given time, and often don't escape that exposure throughout the entire day. Given the breakneck speed of technological innovation and adoption in the past three decades, and those technologies should be held to a stricter standard in order to protect the health of the people who use them. Not everyone feels WiFi or cell tower radiofrequencies, though more and more do - and others, it has a destructive impact on their lives. We have friends who have kids with brain tumors from being near cell phone towers, and we have known so-called “antenna refugees,” hypersensitive to the frequency radiation. My partner, who is hypersensitive to EMF, had to move when there was a cell tower constructed nearby and saw significant health decline at that time, fourteen years ago. We bought a property in Washington State and we paid the utility company to remove the smart meter because she couldn't sleep. We had the neighbors reduce their WiFi signal because it gave us both headaches, and now AT&T wants to install a cell tower in our neighborhood which, if they do, will force us to sell our property and move again and find a new place free of signal which, in an increasingly electrified civilization and culture, is becoming more and more difficult to find. We need much stricter regulations regarding exposure limits for the general public, especially children, women and hypersensitive people. We need a broad action plan for keeping certain areas (“white-zones”) completely pure and clean of any EMF/electrosmog, where these people can go (without going into a fight-or-flight response or nervous system going haywire), and for minimizing exposure in residential areas. We need to stop blinding ourselves about the side effects of technology for the sake of the GDP and to reconsider the health of the people. We need change. 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, 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. E

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

Current permitted levels of RF radiation violate Americans with Disabilities Act! Growing number of people have developed a disability - sensitivity to EMF aka Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) aka EMR Syndrome. I am one of them. When I am close to wireless devices or cell phone towers I experience severe pain, fatigue, cardiac issues. It feels like you live in a microwave prison. You are tortured and unable to participate in the society, access goods and services without getting harmed. You can’t go to places that have WiFi or in vicinity of cell phone towers which is almost everywhere now: - Schools and offices - Doctor’s offices, hospitals - Public transportation - Hotels - Stores etc. I drive a 12-year-old car. You can’t turn off all wireless features in newer cars – satellite connection, radars detecting lines etc. It became extremely hard to find a home with low RF radiation levels. Every trip into “civilization” is a torture even with multiple layers of EMF protective clothing. A lot of children are becoming sensitive to EMF. Here is news story about a schoolgirl who became sensitive to WiFi in school. She committed suicide because she could not tolerate pain from WiFi anymore: Teen Allergic to Wi-Fi Commits Suicide, Parents Say https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/teen-allergic-to-wifi-commits-suicide-parents-say-223912154.html How many children and adults have to suffer or die, so that we finally take action on establishing limits for RF radiation that protect public health?! I have following suggestions on how to address man-made EMF induced health crisis: - Transfer responsibility for establishing safe EMF levels from FCC to HHS - Establish RF limits similar to Building Biology Institute – less than 0.1 μW/m² - Ban Smartmeters, 5G and any future Gs, WiFi in public places including schools - Repeal Telecommunications Act - Accommodate disabled with EHS by creating no-wireless radiation zones in every metro area – no cell phone towers/radio towers/Smartmeters/wireless devices - Ban Starlink until proven safe - Create guidelines on diagnosing EHS, provide education to doctors on this condition - Fund research on how to decrease symptoms of EMF sensitivity - Order Telecom industry to create a fund to pay for damages to victims harmed by wireless radiation.

I am reporting our experience of adverse health effects and its effect on our lives as individual consumer, patient and family member. 11 years ago my teenager developed sensitivity to mobile phones, Wi-Fi, smart meters and wireless infrastructures. She became aware of it gradually. She had a party trick where she asked her friends to turn their cell phones on or off while her eyes were closed and she would tell them which it was with 100% accuracy. It did not stay benign, however. Her school’s infrastructure was wireless, classrooms had full complements of chromebooks, and all her classmates had cellphones on. My daughter began to have headaches, heart palpitations, irregular breathing, nosebleeds, pain, brain fog, exhaustion, and an inability to string sentences together in the school environment. She was an excellent student who enjoyed school. My husband is a high school physics teacher so bought quality meters to measure various frequencies in different environments. All of our daughter’s symptoms correlated to exposure to high levels of RF/EMF. We started spending a lot of time in large parks, at Lake Michigan, camping, and her symptoms would ameliorate and she would be her normal strong energetic self. We got her a full work-up at her doctor’s but everything came back normal. Her heart irregularities were so concerning, we took her to Lurie Children’s Hospital - a premier children’s hospital in Chicago but got no answers. There was nothing structurally wrong with her heart, and she was told to increase her water and salt and decrease her stress for the palpitations. Her symptoms developed to the point that she could no longer tolerate being in the school building. She had to withdraw from her high school in her second semester of senior year and was unable to graduate with her class. At home, we wired our computers, turned off our wifi router, kept our cell phones on airplane mode, and hired building biologists for anything we were missing. I also developed headaches, fatigue, and brain fog in buildings with wifi, including doctors’ offices and hospitals. My cheeks flush and tingle and feel like they are sunburned. When I return home, I feel exhausted. When I use my cellphone, my hand aches. The difference is that I can still function in these environments as long as I am not in them all the time. In addition, by the time I became sensitive to RF/EMF radiation, I already had my education, work experience, and had experienced a full life. All this happened in Chicago. Unfortunately, Chicago put 5G on so many intersections, that we found ourselves housebound. A second daughter also started to develop sensitivity in her early teens and started having to drop out of all her many activities. We moved semi-rurally. We use a landline at home and wired computers. We love our tech but it has to be wired. We pay $115.77 every month EXTRA on our electrical bill in order to OPT OUT of a smart meter. That’s almost $1400 extra every year because we have an unrecognized disability. The health ramifications have been life altering. It is very difficult to peel back any symptoms even living in a house with low levels of RF/EMF. We have to buy older cars without bluetooth or other accessories and I don’t use gps on my phone when I travel. I keep my cellphone on airplane mode and check in at different times during the day. Our cellphones are older models with less radiation and do not always support updated apps so we are unable to access our banking app for example. Currently, my 2 affected children are both young adults. Neither one can spend time near cell-towers, high power lines, people with cell phones on, 5G, buildings with wi-fi infrastructure. This has severely impacted their daily lives as well as their ability to have friends, find employment, and pursue education. It is very difficult to access dental and medical care as they cannot tolerate the long appointments. They cannot travel or spend time with their grandparents in retirement centers. Their employment prospects are dismal. They can work from home with wired computers but this still means complete industries are closed to them. In addition, many places require you to work in person before working remotely. Besides being a huge loss to them individually, it is also a loss to the nation of smart, hardworking young people who can’t contribute to the economy or the community. My other children volunteer, work, are Eagle Scouts, in community theater and bands, attending college - all activities denied to my 2 who have been made ill by high levels of RF/EMF. Medical practitioners need accurate information, as do school counselors and mental health practitioners, schools and communities that include children need to know about the adverse health effects of high levels of RF/EMF radiation. The testing of safe levels needs to address children and women as well as how the devices are actually used, including the length of time.

Since forced to have wifi water meter st home by the city of wood dale, illinois im always fatigued at home. Cant sleep. I feel better after hours outside home in a park. My health is bad at home. Before this i was ok with analog comed electricmeter and ethernet. Its not right! City said they dont care and radiation is minimal and no chance to normal meter. They were going to shut off our water otherwise. They dont care if im sick.