READER'S EDITORIAL: AN OPEN LETTER TO HELIX WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGARDING SAFETY AND ACCURACY OF SMART METERS

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Editor's note:  On April 6, Helix Water District will hold a hearing on smart meters for water district customers.  Susan Brinchman believes two smart meters installed on her home by SDG&E are causing health problems including headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, heart palpitations, sleep loss and more. Her efforts to have SDG&E remove the meters have been unsuccessful. Brinchman has compiled data on safety concerns including complaints to the Califiornia Public Utilities Commission from residents with smart meters claiming health issues. ECM has asked Helix Water for records on smart meter safety and complaints and will publish once received.

 

"Show me the proof that my doctor is incorrect in stating that exposure to rf radiation from smart meters is causing me health problems, aggravating my medical condition." - Susan Brinchman

 

By Susan Brinchman, M. Ed

Founder, American Coalition Against Smart Meters and Smart Meter Dangers website: www.smartmeterdangers.org 
 

 

 

Whereas the Helix Water District has conducted a pilot study on the use of radiation-emitting smart meters at 322 locations in Mt. Helix without informing the public about potential health risks,
 

 
Whereas the California Public Utilities Commission has had many thousands of health complaints about smart meters,
 

Whereas the California Public Utilities Commission has had thousands of inaccuracy, privacy, and security complaints about smart meters ,

 

 

Whereas 35 California municipalities, including entire counties have formed anti-smart meter resolutions and ordinances as a result of overwhelming public concern and damages to health,

 

Whereas the California Public Utilities Commission has ordered Pacific Gas & Electric to develop a plan allow all customers who have these concerns to opt-out and this plan is based on overwhelming public demand by millions of customers in these municipalities and throughout the state and this could happen here,

 

Whereas Pacific Gas and Electric has proposed to charge customers up to $500 to opt-out of radiation-emitting transmitters in smart meters and pay higher costs thereafter and this could happen here,

 

Whereas utility customers throughout the nation have complained of extremely high bills after the installation of smart meters and this could happen here,

 

Whereas in Atlanta, GA, water utility customers are involved in a class action lawsuit against their water district due to the malfunctioning and extreme overbilling of water customers due to smart meters and this is entirely possible here ...
 

I ask you to answer the following, with full documentation, to be presented to the public with complete and full transparency in extended hearings during hours when the public can attend, with no limits on public input about this very important matter related to the current Mt. Helix pilot project and future proposals for increased use of smart meters in Helix Water District.

 

1. Whose idea was the use of smart meters in HWD, what discussions and research was done? What was done to protect and inform the public about health and other risks of smart meters used in your pilot study in the Mt. Helix area? What warnings did you provide the public with regarding their exposure to radiation from these meters? Please provide the minutes and all details.

 

2. RE: the idea that Helix Water District thinks: "Smart meters are safe"

 

Name one health authority that has guaranteed that smart meters are 100% safe and could not cause health or safety problems - show me any document from a health authority that guarantees this.

 

 

Show me the proof that you have read all the criticisms of the CCST report on health effects of smart meters. These are located in a number of places. One is http://www.smartmeterdangers.org/index.php/position-statements/80-health....

 

Show me the independent health, safety, and environmental studies or research that proves rf radiation from smart meters is safe, at the exact frequencies emitted. Studies paid for by utility companies or CCS, an affiliate of a principle agency promoting the smart meter program in America are not independent, as these are conflicts of interest that render them as useless as "tobacco science".

 

Show me the proof that you are not experimenting on the public for profit.

 

Show me the proof that this board and company has conducted a complete review of the independent scientific literature pertaining to the exact frequencies emitted and microwave/wi-fi/rf radiation of this type and concluded there is no possible risk to health.

 

Show me the proof that you are aware of the news from Northern California that PG&E has been ordered by the CPUC to allow people concerned about these dangerous, unwanted utility smart meters to opt-out, and that they have drawn up a proposal that will allow people to do so for $500 in the first year, paying higher rates for this privilege thereafter.

 

Show me the proof that you aren't just using the CPUC mantra cooked up to coverup the smart meter problems throughout the state, caused by CPUC and utility company errors.
 

 

Show me how the Food and Drug Administration has something to do with smart meter certifications, since Mr. TimRoss cited that as a reason you feel these are safe.

 

Show me the proof that you have read the CCST report fully, that admits there are research gaps and does not certify that smart meters are safe.

 

Show me the proof that your sources have used a current standard, not obsolete ones that haven't been changed in 20 years, ignoring all research.

 

Show me the proof that you deny the validity that 6,000+ studies on microwave and rf radiation, especially at these frequencies that show dire health effects are likely, such as bleeding from the brain, disturbance of the electrical signals to the brain and heart, cancer, inflammatory illnesses, and disruption of the thyroid.

 

Show me the proof that my doctor is incorrect in stating that exposure to rf radiation from smart meters is causing me health problems, aggravating my medical condition.

 

Show me what you will say if I tell you that I don't want your smart meters in my town or anywhere in Helix Water District, I think we have enough radiation exposure, enough illness in America, enough children born with autism and neurological problems, enough trouble without HWD adding more of a burden to our healthcare system and our neighborhoods.

3. Re: the idea that "Smart meters are accurate"

 

Show me the proof that your smart meters will be accurate, always.

 

Show me what you will say to customers who are overcharged. Will you say, "Our meters are accurate: you must have a leak. You are lucky that we didn't detect this leak all those other years. Hand over the $800 per month or we'll shut off your water", such as other utilities have, following the installation of smart meters.

 

Show me the proof that your smart meters are not going to produce higher billing for customers, as they did in Atlanta GA, where there is now a lawsuit against the water authority for this reason.

 

Show me the absolute proof that in an environment with extensive wireless frequencies your meters will not be interfered with, will not malfunction, and overcharge customers, as has been reported in other areas.

 

4. "Smart meters will help the customers"

 

Show me the proof that smart meters will not create higher costs from lawsuits about health or billing. Show me that smart meters will help more than your company.

 

Show me the proof that you aren't just looking to profit from smart meters by reducing employees in this time of job loss in the state, that you aren't just looking to find a new way to gouge customers.
Show me the proof that you won't be defending yourselves and Helix Water Authority in lawsuits related to these smart meters for the rest of your lives.

 

Show me proof that you are being responsible and protective of the public health and customer rights.

You are accountable to the public and we will not tolerate more polluting of our environment with radiation for profit and through ignorance.
 

 

 The views expressed in this editorial reflect the views of its author and do not necessarily reflect views of East County Magazine. If you wish to submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
 


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Comments

WHO has determined that rf radiation as dangerous as DDT

Now that the World Health Organization has determined that rf radiation (same type as smart meters emit) is worthy of inclusion on the B2 list of carcinogens, we have a solid authoritative body that can back our claims of health effects. DDT, leaded gasoline and chlordane (a notorious pesticide) are on that same list. Would you allow your utility to spray those all over your home?????? FYI, I developed a rapidly growing skin cancer that looked like a large pencil eraser, within five months of the installation of the two smart meters on my home. It grew on my face, on the side facing the meter at the same level, as I read in bed for many hours each week. The doctor who operated to remove it said YES it could have come from radiation exposure. IF YOU DON'T WANT A SDG&E or other utility SMART METER, JOIN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIANS AGAINST SMART METERS, A PROJECT OF CENTER FOR ELECTROSMOG PREVENTION WWW.ELECCTROSMOGPREVENTION.ORG. WE ARE A NEWLY FORMED CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT THAT REPRESENTS THE PUBLIC AND UTILITY CUSTOMERS ON THIS ISSUE. HELP SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS - TRUST ME, THESE DEVICES ARE DANGEROUS.
Yes, smart meters (radiation) can make humans and pets sick. See Dr. Dan Harper (www.drdanharper.com) in Solana Beach, CA, for more info on this. Insomnia, ringing of the ears is very common. My traditional doctor ENT (local in San Diego) diagnosed electromagnetic field exposure as cause of my ringing ears and resultant hearing LOSS.

smart meter fires - key words

smart meter fires bakersfield ca

will produce a list in the search engine that will show these, as many fires occurred in Bakersfield.

There have been gas explosions over the nation since the smart meters came into being, too. Some think they are related, like the San Bruno fires.

Smart meters cause sparking at times and may be incompatible with the older wiring of many homes.

This technology not ready to roll out. Hazardous and highly dangerous to health. Emits, under certain condition, the same amount of rf radiation as a cell tower inside one's home, says one expert.

Answer to your questions:

Answer to your questions: smart meters are an experiment on the public. CPUC waived the health and safety testing for them. Good thing they didn't do that with the medicines you take. No review of current science was done before use. No actions taken in response to thousands of citizens who are suffering tortures daily from these devices. Computer has a shield on it, now that smart meter has sensitized to certain frequencies - all rf radiation not same. Wide spectrum. Obviously you don't want to believe that this could be happening. I wish it weren't. Some food for thought:

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them,and these will continue till they are resisted with"..."words"..."The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." - Abolitionist Frederick Douglas.

Who will attend the Helix Water District meeting to help preserve their children's health and future? April 6th, Wed., 2 PM, Helix Water District, University Ave. (address above).

100% Safety

There is absolutely no way that ANYTHING can be proved to be 100% safe. If fact nothing IS 100% safe. Stay in bed all day, and you'll die of obesity; get up and walk, you can fall and hit your head and die. A negative cannot be proved. This is why our legal system is set up the way it is. It has to be proved that an accused person is guilty; the accused does not have to prove his innocence.

Scientific studies of radiation/emf, etc., etc, and the other "scares of the week" can only show that the exposure/dose caused no effect on the parameters that were observed.

How did the person who posted the above complaints do this without using a computer that is within 3 feet of his/her body, emitting who knows what kind of radiation?

What a bunch of tilting at invisible windmills!

PG&E LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES

1. INSURANCE COMPANIES WON'T INSURE THE HEALTH PROBLEMS FROM WIRELESS Smart Meters

And Insurance companies don't sacrifice insurance premiums ($$$) for no reason.

TV NEWS VIDEO - Insurance Companies Won't Insure Wireless Device Health Risks (3 minutes, 13 seconds)
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382

2. WIRELESS SMART METERS TRANSMIT RADIATION APPROXIMATELY 25,000 TIMES PER DAY, 24/7, not 45 seconds per day as claimed by PG&E.

VIDEO - Radiation Measured From Smart Meter Mounted On A Home (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRejDxBE6OE

3. CELL DAMAGE, DNA BREAKS & BREACHES IN THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER observed in laboratory tests from low levels of pulsed RF signal radiation as emitted by Wireless smart meters - reported by Top Wireless radiation scientists in the world at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Nov 18, 2010:
VIDEO - http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/cc-video/

4. THE KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE IN STOCKHOLM THAT GIVES NOBEL PRIZES ISSUES GLOBAL HEALTH WARNING AGAINST WIRELESS SMART METERS.
2-page Press Release:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48148346/Karolinska-Institute-Press-Release

...AND in the U.S. and UK and other countries where Wireless smart meters are being installed, energy use is NOT decreasing, customer UTILITY BILLS ARE INCREASING, there are additional PROBLEMS and COSTS incurred from increased SECURITY & HACKING PROBLEMS and the Wireless meters are creating ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE PROBLEMS, motion detector device interference and even starting fires in homes.

Wireless smart meters are NOT mandated by the US Federal Energy Program, but PG&E is pretending that they are being forced by the Government.

The monetary transfers from customers to utility companies are huge, but the advertised benefits are NOT occurring.

(It would be nice if this sight would allow spaces between sentences)

Meeting About Helix Water District Smart Meters Wed. 2 PM 4/6

Tim Ross will be presenting the findings from Helix Water District's Smart-Meter pilot study to the Helix Water District Board of Directors this coming Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 2 PM at the HWD Administration Office located at 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91941.

I encourage all the public who are concerned about the safety and billing issues for smart meters to attend and voice their objections.

If you are concerned about San Diego Gas & Electric's meters (already on your homes and businesses), call and write them and the California Public Utilities Commission so that San Diego County residents may opt out. You can also contact http://www.ucan.org/
UCAN Utility Consumers' Action Network - non-profit, public interest consumer advocacy as they are trying to work out an agreement with SDG&E so that people who object to smart meters can have them replaced with safe analogue meters (though at a cost).

I also encourage you to inform your city council and mayors that you don't want smart meters from the water district and you want to opt-out of any and all smart meters.

We need to prevent our beautiful region from becoming polluted with electro smog generated by companies that do not consider the environmental impact in the public interest, using current independent research.

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them,and these will continue till they are resisted with"..."words"..."The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." - Abolitionist Frederick Douglas.

Join the American Coalition Against Smart Meters http://www.causes.com/acasm. Take action!

Update: Helix Water District Decides to End Smart Meter Program

Update: HWD decided, under public pressure and, they claim, financial disincentives to end the smart meter program (it cost a lot for the smart meter program with no benefits noted by consumers except for three notified of higher water use). At their meeting yesterday, it was obvious that hearing about the dangers of smart meters to the public health was not on their wishlist. Keeping quiet on that subject appeared to be as much a priority as raising water rates each year was. No wonder, 322 residences have the dangerous meters now on their properties. But Helix may remove those too. We hope they do, before someone with a pacemaker kneels down to pull weeds near the smart meter and doesn't ever get up again. This type of wireless can interfere with pacemakers and other implants, as well as cause many other dangerous health effects. www.smartmeterdangers.org. Have a Facebook account? Join the American Coalition Against Smart Meters at www.causes.com/acasm ;
http://twitter.com/No2SmartMeters for an archive of 300 anti-smart meter news articles

Dangerous Wireless "Smart Meters" on your homes NOW, UPDATE

SDG&E's and the water district's info about wireless smart meters (of any type) and health is OUTDATED, not independent of the industry, and has not kept up with the science. The WHO info is from 2006. In 2011, WHO reversed itself and listed rf radiation as a 2B carcinogen. Scientists are vehemently warning against smart meters, as are doctors, as is the CA Dept of Health. SDG&E has been ordered (objecting loudly) to attend a Smart Meter Opt-Out Workshop on Sept 14th in San Francisco, along with three other major utiltiies, by two Administrative Law Judges for the regulatory commission (CPUC) due to the 46 communities that have rejected and/or criminalized the installation of smart meters. The installation and use of any wireless meter, no matter what you or any utility calls it, is dangerous to the health of the citizens and making some people extremely sick. It also intrudes uipon privacy. People who are impacted or don't want to risk the health (and privacy) of their family should immediately file a complaint with SDG&E in writing and the CPUC (www.cpuc.ca.gov). Put Center for Electrosmog Prevention on copy, director@electrosmogprevention.org, so we can vouch that this has been turned in as sometimes the complaints are "lost" at the CPUC. Convince your towns, cities and counties to take a stand against smart meters, like 46 others in CA, including Santa Barbara city and county. Visit www.smartmeterdangers.org and www.electrosmogprevention.org for more info. Read the August 2011 La Mesa Patch info about SM's too, 4 articles this month: www.lamesa.patch.org, search on words: smart meters.