The Eugene Water & Electric Board could consider funding
in May or June for districtwide “smart” wireless utility
meters in homes and businesses. Time is of the essence for a
public, multidisciplinary discussion of the potential
medical and financial consequences of this
radio frequency technology— and whether EWEB’s ratepayer-owners want it.
EWEB has been conducting a smart meter pilot project. Many participants
in the pilot project are EWEB employees. It is vital to
include ratepayer-owners in decisions about a full
implementation of smart meters, because all of them will be
affected. Adverse effects on customers’ health and
pocketbooks could occur, based on experiences in other
locations.
Increasingly, questions arise whether smart meters are safe, affordable
or provide economic benefits to ratepayers. Utility bills
can increase dramatically if time-of-day electricity pricing
is adopted.
Concerns about overbilling, reliability, safety, cyber-security and
privacy exist. Opting out is complicated and costly for
those who decline this digital technology.
The greatest potential risk involves health. Complaints surround serious
health issues — including long-term exposure to radio
frequencies.
The board of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine is an
international association of physicians and health
professionals providing clinical research since 1965. Last
month, it adopted a resolution (rgne.ws/zawYXg) to halt the
use and further installation of wireless smart meters “based
on a scientific assessment of current medical literature....
Chronic exposure to wireless radio frequency radiation is a
preventable environmental hazard that is sufficiently well
documented to warrant immediate preventative public health
action.”
The academy filed the resolution in support of an ongoing class action
lawsuit. The suit, filed last October against California’s
Pacific Gas and Electric Co., alleges that wireless smart
meters compromise health. (Read the original complaint
online at rgne.ws/xcWj3Q.) Malfunctions and severe health
complications from smart meter radiation exposure have been
reported, and many California counties and municipalities
have prohibited their use.
“The literature raises serious concerns regarding the levels of radio
frequency (3 kilohertz to 300 gigaherts) or extremely low
frequency (300 hertz) exposures produced by ‘smart meters’
to warrant an immediate and complete moratorium on their use
and deployment until further study can be performed,” the
academy asserts.
The academy highlights the fact that existing Federal Communications
Commission guidelines for radio frequency safety, used to
justify smart meter installation, consider only thermal
tissue damage. These guidelines are considered obsolete by
numerous scientists and medical professionals, since many
modern studies show metabolic and genomic damage from radio
frequency and extremely low frequency exposures below the
level of intensity that heats tissues. This exposure level
is known as non-thermal.
In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency stated that FCC limits for
non-thermal radio frequency radiation were not proved safe
in long-term exposures. Cumulative and synergistic effects —
those that persist and compound over time and those that
occur when factors join to produce effects greater than the
sum of their separate effects — are also crucial.
Smart meters also can be combined with radio frequency-enabled home
appliances, resulting in greater exposure.
The academy’s resolution warns of “medically and biologically
significant effects of radio frequency and extremely low
frequency at lower densities. These effects accumulate over
time, which is an important consideration given the chronic
nature of exposure from smart meters.” It also “adds
synergistic effects to the damage observed from a range of
toxic chemicals.”
Quoting the academy, “Current medical literature raises credible
questions about genetic and cellular effects, hormonal
effects, male fertility, blood-brain barrier damage and
increased risk of certain types of cancers from radio
frequency and extremely low frequency levels similar to
those emitted from ‘smart meters.’ Children are placed at
particular risk for altered brain development, and impaired
learning and behavior.”
The academy’s conclusion — relevant to public stewards whose priority
should be safeguarding the health of children — is that
“given the widespread, chronic, and essentially inescapable
extremely low frequency and radio frequency exposure of
everyone living near a ‘smart meter,’ ” the academy “finds
it unacceptable from a public health standpoint to implement
this technology until these serious medical concerns are
resolved.”
Given the knowledgeable review by environmental medicine physicians and
professionals, it would be prudent for EWEB to acknowledge
such warnings and declare “a moratorium on installation of
wireless smart meters,” as the academy recommends, “until
these serious public health issues are resolved.”
EWEB’s Integrated Electric Resource Plan estimated a five- to 20-year
surplus of electric energy. Why rush to add more radio
frequency radiation to 88,000 homes and businesses?
The
utility should use this breather time to gather data,
including outcomes of pending lawsuits, and to allow
interactive discussion to enable better informed decisions.
Ratepayer-owners should insist that EWEB provide more
balanced information before it is too late.
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