Smart meters

I’m interested in learning about how having an electrical box near you bed can affect your health. Since moving into our new home, I’ve had health issues and wonder if this could be related. When I look at trying to move my meter or replace it with an analog meter, I’m met with extreme expenses and push back from my electric company. Please help

I am an individual who hears electricity humming in the walls. When the power goes out, my body immediately relaxes ( despite the inconvenience of no electricity) I sleep better & more deeply with the power off ( even if it’s too warm or too cold) When I am in a public space with lots of WiFi I can feel vertigo, nausea or just exhaustion—- even though I felt fine elsewhere. In particular places with big swathes of fluorescent lighting are issues. ( I don’t shop at some big box stores anymore, due to this) those give me headaches. In general my body has a very inflammatory response to all these EMFs…many of these symptoms go away when I am out in nature, far from WiFi signals & dirty electricity. We have avoided a Smart Meter for now, but our neighbors have them. I can only imagine how much healthier all of us will be when we clean these up. Thank you, Karen Thompson

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.

I personally experience painful tingling in my hands so that I sometimes have to stop using my computer. The kids and I wear silver underwear everyday. Our family lives near a cell phone tower in Germany and my children (now early teens) have experienced many symptoms in the last years - trouble sleeping (especially since Smart Meters were introduced in all buildings here!!!), persistent headaches in one child, and neck problems. Eye strain in our younger child is common. To mitigate some of these constant issues - and yes, I am trying to move us to a new house! - I have invested in EMF protecting bedsheets, a router that automatically turns off when devices are off, screen-flicker blocking glasses... we do what we can to turn off all devices at night, but neighbours do NOT. Our symptoms have improved somewhat - especially the bedsheets help with sleep. It's been financially costly to support our bodies to cope with this much radiation stress, and I do not use a smartphone due to my sensitivity.

Question number two: I am a healthcare professional responding as an individual based on my own clinical observations. Question number three: a) All noted forms of exposure except wearables, unless that would include a pacemaker, and occupational equipment. B) The nature of exposure is through common household, business, and individual devices with frequency as per normal daily life. I do question if initial exposure could have been in my workplace of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the hospital I worked due to onset of adverse symptoms specific to that location and time beginning in 1990, that resolved when those restrictions were removed. Future adverse effects were noted with the growth of prevalence in normal society over the decades. Adverse effects multiplied with increased use of cell phones, including non smart flip versions, proximity to cell towers and use of cellular devise with decrease of symptoms noted with ending call and increasing proximity of both from person, personal devices used in home, places of business and worship. All of theses being experienced from late 1990 to present in increasing degrees. There is one other possible exposure that would date back to the 1970’s and continue to present. Even as a young child I noticed an odd sensation when at a particular home that was adjacent to very large power lines. C). Adverse effects noted are hot and cold temperature variations, an off balance feeling of being pushed, feeling of anger or uneasiness for no reason, hearing high pitched noises in one or both ears, feeling of floor or myself vibrating, not feeling like myself, increased blood pressure during these experiences, tingling of hands and arms, especially when holding a cell phone or iPad with increase noted in association of updates to software where as time to tingling decreased from needing approximately thirty minutes or more exposure to approximately immediate or proximity to a cell tower, electric shocks ranging from minor such as is noted when flipping a light switch to taking my breath away and causing me to scream out, brain fog, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, presyncope to degree of fear with driving my children, increased heart rate and respiratory rate, feeling of needing to flee an area but with no noticeable threat, general chaos feeling inside my body, soreness, inability to move arm or neck, menstrual difficulties, and a particular sensation when near electrical devises that are making a humming sound such as an induction stove top, a surge protector, speaker, electrical panel, and on certain locations of a departing airplane. I cannot say this is an exhaustive list. D). As above and noticeable changes have emerged as exposures have grown with attention to wireless devices, increase of use such as in areas that have more or more powerful devices, during nuclear stress testing, after smart meter installation, this spring after fiber installation on my road, and within five minutes of mammogram. E). Medical evaluation was sought specifically for some of the above symptoms beginning approximately 2007. It was continually dismissed until 2017. At my demand of assessment and treatment, heart block was identified progressing to complete heart block within weeks and resulted in placement of pacemaker. This began an ongoing event of more symptoms with greater severity of some, new ones, with alleviation or improvement of some, including two more surgeries resulting in a complete new pacemaker system being placed at eleven months post initial one. More medical evaluation was sought in approximately 2021 in correlation with an episode of whole body vibration, uneasy increasing to anxiousness, tingling of hand while holding phone, and anger noted with use of flip cell phone as never experienced before. My MD questioned specifically if I knew how close to a cell tower I was as these symptoms increased and culminated. I was able to identify that I was parked within feet of a cell tower and that symptoms subsided once I threw the phone away from my body and drove away as to increasing proximity to tower. Since, I have continued to seek medical care for these symptoms with a renewed emphasis since about 2024 where I noticed an increase in virtually all but particularly the onset of drenching night sweats, sleep disturbance, extreme menstrual abnormalities, and fatigue while staying in an air B n B where there was a loud humming noise every morning at the power meter that was coincidentally on the outside of the wall where I slept. Again, this is probably not exhaustive. F) As noted in E above. G) I have no supporting documentation without securing my medical record.

Thank you for being concerned about wireless technology. I wish more investigations had happened before we were inundated with this. I turn off all electronics including my router at night, but now am having to deal with a smart meter which i have no desire for,but will have to pay every month for a meter reader if I don’t accept!! My concerns aren’t just wireless radiation, but the large screens in cars, which take attention away from driving ( people driving erratically is now the norm) everywhere I go people looking down using their phones, and the discomfort people feel if their phone isn’t on their person. Thanks for listening.

This is my second comment but an important one. Very Important: Please look into laws that would make every smart device that emits a wireless signal to have a button to turn it off, for people who want to opt out. It is increasingly hard to find appliances anymore that do not put out a signal. This should be the case for cars as well. Also, no one should have to pay much extra to opt out of smart meters (from power company), and perhaps it should even be outlawed, being that they put out substantial pulses of energy. The digital ones also put out 'dirty electricity'; people should be able to request analog meters (not just non-emitting). Please don't leave out 'dirty electricity' from your studies, which can come from that, as well as LED light bulbs (cannot even find halogen bulbs in stores anymore), fiberoptic cable, or adapter boxes on things plugged into walls like chargers. There should be standards to reduce 'dirty electricity'. Thank you.

Get rid of smart meters on residential homes, they emit emfs, and radio frequencies, and the utility companies charge and opt out fee, that is paid monthly comma also led lights, are bad for our health along with their street lights

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 parent, caregiver and a concerned member of the public. My daughter was born with health conditions of unknown origin. I had no understanding of modern EMF, RF, and Wireless Radiation Exposure during my pregnancy or while she was an infant. It took 8 years for a medical professional to come up with a diagnosis. She is highly sensitive to EMF exposure, which we have only recently realized. We are concerned with the cumulative effect all the sources of radiation is on her and our 3 other children. We had a smart meter and had to fight to get that turned off. It's so many places, we aren't even aware of them all and the combined load on our family's health. I know of a friend who lives near a 5G tower and had a normal pregnancy experience, morning sickness, cravings, weight gain, belly growing with no baby living inside the uterus - a ghost baby so to speak, she believes the tower may have caused this. She also experiences headaches and a high pitched ringing sound that her other family members can't hear. Another community member had severe ringing in his ears and crippling headaches while living in the city. He had to move out into the country. Once he did, the headaches stopped. We need more studies to have viable information of risks of EMF exporsure and how to help those most vulnerable and affected by it, especially for the special needs community like my 9 year old daughter. 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 for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify to the horrible effects EMF has on the human body. When I hold my smart phone my hands ache. I can feel the waves pulsing through my body, clear to my feet. It feels like my bones are being stripped of life. I cannot get a good nights sleep. The EMF waves make me so fatigued , they zap all my energy. It is very difficult to live like this day after day. I really noticed a huge difference when 5G rolled out. I wear a EMF protection beanie, jacket, a blanket under me and over me. I also wear a copper bracelet to help decrease the pain. My skin itches, and it feels like bugs crawling all over my body. It never goes away. My eyes are dry, and my vision is getting worse. I just had open heart surgery. I can feel the EMF waves effect my heart and its rhythm. Oh please regulate this for the sake of peoples health. This is an injustice to the people when we have no choice where towers are placed and poles put by our houses and in our yards, and smart meters changed out without our permission on our houses. Other countries don’t allow this because they understand the health effects.