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Smart Meter Fires: Burning meters, burning questions, shocking answers
This new video from Brian Thiesen is quite literally explosive information that every homeowner needs to know.
So-called “smart” meters have caused thousands of fires and explosions — such as this fire on Wednesday in Ontario. But corrupt politics and money have swept the whole thing under the rug.
Brian now explains how and why this is all occurring, including whistleblower testimony, reams of new evidence and court documents. This is exactly what your utility does not want you to see:
Previously-documented “smart” meter fires have caused fatalities (see here, here, here, and here).
The most terrible thing is this: most people simply don’t know. It’s been covered up, worldwide.
And most still don’t know that “smart” meters are part of a global corporate agenda of unprecedented in-home surveillance, systemically increasing utility bills, facilitating hacking and remote shut-offs, and are causing widespread human functional impairment from pulsed microwave radiation hundreds to thousands of times stronger than a cellphone.
We’ve had a hell of a time getting this info out. This clandestine agenda, however, is beginning to crack.
And those causing or allowing “smart” meter deployments will be individually held to account.
A note from Brian on this video:
“For brevity, I did not even mention the issues with batteries in the meter or the advanced corrosion caused by meters (discussed in previous video here) — which BC Hydro is now admitting is happening with their very own power poles. The laws of electricity tell us this is not going to go away and in fact now may even be getting worse. It is up to us to educate our firefighters as utilities won’t and top brass are only concerned about getting their pensions."
Occasional Catastrophic Digital Meter Failures ‘Worth the Risk’, According to Industry Executive
A utility industry document written in 2006 has been discovered that reviewed costs and benefits related to solid-state (digital) utility meters used for residential customers [1]. In that document, a senior vice-president for National Grid was quoted as follows:
“We lost several nights sleep worrying about catastrophic failures, but it was worth the risk.”
In November 2015, I wrote a revealing article that catastrophic failures were expected with ‘smart’ meters [2]. In fact, I carefully worded the introductory sentence to that article stating, “Smart Meters are expected to occasionally fail catastrophically while analog meters do not have that failure mode.”
I recall choosing the word “occasionally” after considerable thought and was not aware of anyone having previously used that descriptive term as applied to digital utility meters. The term was the best one I could objectively choose given the intermittent yet persistent reports of digital utility meters burning/exploding in areas across the United States, Canada, and Australia where smart meters have been deployed.
To my surprise, the 2006 document uses the same term “occasionally” where it was written:
“The three utilities were quite frank that solid-state meters do fail occasionally while electromechanical meters rarely fail completely.” [emphasis added]
Smart Meter Remote Disconnect: An ‘Unnecessary Risk’ for Significant Damage to the Grid
...
"It’s easy to imagine a rogue programmer working for a meter manufacturers being able to insert malicious code which would turn millions of meters off at the same point in the future. That’s possible, because all of the smart meters being installed ... allow the utility to remotely disconnect your electricity and gas at the flip of a switch. If hackers turned off a million electricity meters in one go, that would cause serious damage to the grid. Turning them all on again a few days later would do even more damage, as restoring power when demand is unknown is particularly problematic and can burn out equipment on the grid, which gives a rogue programmer lots of scope to bring large parts of the country to its knees. …"
"I don’t actually think this is complacency – I suspect it is mostly naivety. Our electricity companies are not high tech. They care passionately about reducing outages, but it’s a largely manual concern – it’s about sending people out to cut down foliage, repair power lines and clear up after the occasional unlucky fried squirrel. It’s why they like the squirrel analogy – they understand squirrels, whereas they don‘t really understand hackers. Utilities have a very physical mindset, not a technical or intellectual one and probably don’t realize the firmware risks. Their concept of smart meter security is about people fiddling their meter readings, not terrorists bringing down the entire grid."
(Quotes are from Nick Hunn, of WiFore Consulting Ltd., who presented testimony at the UK House of Commons’ Science and Technology’s “evidence check” and inquiry into the country’s smart metering initiative.)
A network of actors continues to push for the deployment of smart meters. This network of actors, representing a combination of policy makers, utility personnel, and meter manufacturers, does not acknowledge the tremendous risks and costs associated with the technology. One of the most obvious risks relates to the remote disconnect feature which has the capability to be used by hackers as a means to inflict significant damage upon the electric grid. As inferred by Nick Hunn above, the current smart meter deployments should be halted due to the unaddressed risks.
Smart Meter Dangers, Who Knew and Did Not Sound The Alarm?
Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) is pushing for the deployment of 4,000,000 smart meters despite the fact that government agencies and the military have known for decades that Radio Frequency/microwaves can cause serious health effects.
This information is not new; it is just being brought to the forefront as a health crisis is emerging in Illinois. ComEd is using the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, also known as the “smart grid modernization bill” (written by ComEd lobbyists), and the Illinois Commerce Commission’s interpretation of that bill, as justification for installing millions of wireless smart meters.
The RF/microwave emissions from smart meters are listed by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer ‘IARC’ as a Class 2B Carcinogen. That makes this the first time in history a known carcinogen has been mandated on ALL homes, schools, and government buildings.
Barrier Trower, a retired British Secret Service Microwave Weapons specialist, states:
“The paradox is how Radio Frequency/microwave radiation can be used as a weapon to cause impairment, illness and death; and at the same time be used as a communications instrument [such as in smart meters].”
Trower continues, “By 1971 we knew everything that needed to be known.”
“A 1976 document summarizing U.S. Defense Intelligence research lists all of the health hazards caused by wireless devices and concludes: This should be kept secret to preserve industrial profit.”
Jerry Flynn, is a retired Canadian Armed Forces captain with specialized training and 22 years of experience in Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence. Flynn has worked with U.S. and NATO armies in this specialized capacity. He writes:
“The U.S. military has known for decades that the RF/microwave frequencies most harmful to man are those within the band 900 MHz to 5 GHz. These frequencies penetrate all organs of the body, thus putting all human organ systems at risk. Smart meters emit these precise frequencies which, when combined with certain pulsed modulation characteristics and power densities, are most harmful to the brain, central nervous system, immune system, and can cause cancers. This is precisely why these frequencies are used in Microwave weapons of war.”
ComEd smart meters contain two transmitters emitting high-intensity pulsed signals every few seconds in two frequencies within the “most harmful” range mentioned by Flynn. One frequency is 900 MHz used for the wireless network that relays data from the smart meter on one house to the smart meter on another house and then on to a collector which sends the data to ComEd. The second frequency, 2.45 GHz, is used for appliances inside the house to transmit data to the smart meter.
Although ComEd claims that data is only transmitted six times a day, what they neglect to mention is that smart meters also emit high-intensity RF/microwave pulses each time they perform network management functions. According to California court documents, a single smart meter can emit these pulses on average 10,000 to 190,000 a day. The number of pulses depends on where in the mesh network the smart meter is located and how often it is relaying data from other neighbors’ meters.
It is these around-the-clock, high-intensity pulses within the frequency range “most harmful” to humans that make smart meters so damaging. Consider 4,000,000 ComEd smart meters blanketing Illinois with billions of pulses in these frequencies being emitted every day, forever.
Basis for FCC guidelines: Health or Profits?
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) knew decades ago, for according to Gittleman, “back in the 1950’s there were growing concerns as to the dangers of these low-level microwaves, so the U.S. military had sought safety limits.”
The current FCC safety limits are based on thermal exposure alone. The FCC guidelines are ten times more lenient than what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have permitted to protect the general population from the health hazards of RF/microwave radiation.
In the late 1980’s, the EPA radiation division, staffed with practicing biologists and epidemiologists, decided on a safe limit for human exposure. Before the announcement was made, industry intervened, federal funding for that division of the EPA was cut, and the FCC was given the task of setting the RF/microwave guidelines for the public. The FCC, made up of bureaucrats and engineers, had no experience or training in setting “health related” guidelines. Therefore, from the beginning, FCC guidelines were set at a limit that was too lenient to protect the general population.
Don’t Fly Planes with Wi-Fi Says EMF Health Advocate
Avoid airlines with in-flight wireless, says EMF health advocate Camilla Rees, who notes an airline is a “metal cage” and is “an especially high risk environment for radiation.” One airline providing on-board Wi-Fi is Delta.
The small windows don’t do much to dispel the radiation, she notes in a list of 54 “safety tips and insights” that is the most complete discussion of this topic that we have seen. She is the founder of Electromagnetic Health.
Lloyd Burrell of electricsense.com, explains why cellphones are especially dangerous in metal enclosures such as cars.
“Using your cell phone in your car is dangerous and not just because it can cause an accident,” he writes. “There’s also a direct effect on your health.
“The radio frequency radiation from your cell phone reflected back by the car’s metallic structure magnifies the radiation. It’s called the Faraday cage effect. Would you consider sticking your head in a microwave oven when it’s turned on? I don’t think so.
“But using a cell phone in a car works on the same principles as a microwave oven. Both cars and microwave ovens are essentially metallic enclosures where RF radiation is magnified. This radiation from your cell phone bounces around your car and is absorbed by your body at a much higher level than would otherwise be.”
Delta is Airline with Wi-Fi
We recently flew to Washington, D.C., and were surprised to find a Wi-Fi graphic offering Wi-Fi access facing us in the space above the seat where the usual messages are “Fasten your seat belt” or “No smoking."
In all flights we have ever been on, attendants had warned passengers to make sure cellphones were turned off or on “airplane mode.”
Calls and emails have been sent to Kevin Shinkle, chief communications officer of Delta, who was business editor of the AP until 2014, and Elizabeth Wolf, general manager of corporate communications, asking how Wi-Fi can be permissible on airlines when it previously was prohibited. No replies had been received by press time.
Excerpt from Camilla Rees' list:
39. Airlines. Avoid airlines with in-flight wireless. As the airplane is in effect a metal cage, other than the small windows, this is an especially high-risk environment for radiation from any source, including cell phones. Ask flight attendants to contact the Association of Flight Attendants regarding this matter.
New Research Links Cell Phones To Health Issues In Children
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — For years, we’ve heard of a possible link between cell phone use and cancer. Now, this week, researchers in Baltimore say the evidence is clear, and children are more at risk.
WJZ’s Amy Yensi with more on the disturbing findings.
The studies link cell phones to a slew of health issues in children. That’s why experts say parents and expecting mothers need to be extra careful.
Cell phones are a part of our every day lives and a cause for concern for researchers who see them as a health risk — especially for infants and children.
“The weight of the evidence is clear: cell phones do cause brain cancer,” said Dr. Devras Davis, president, Environmental Health Trust.
Dr. Davis says the young brain absorbs twice as much radiation as an adult.
Doctors and scientists from across the country took on the issue during a pediatric conference at the Baltimore Convention Center. Panelists also found a connection between exposure to cell phone radiation and other health issues.
“There’s a correlation between cell phone use in pregnancy and behavioral problems in their children,” said Dr. Hugh Taylor, Yale School of Medicine.
“These devices are really stressing and straining our family relationships because the average mom or dad will check their phones 60 to 110 times a day,” said Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, clinical psychologist.
Doctors say the infant brain — even while in the womb — is especially vulnerable.
“Keep the phone away from the abdomen — especially toward the end of pregnancy,” said Dr. Davis.
Experts say holding your phone even a few inches away can lower the risk. They recommend using headsets, and when you’re not on your phone, to keep it as far away from you as possible.
“So we’re getting like a triple, quadruple whammy between the biological effect, the psychological effects and the brain waves effects,” said Dr. Martha Herbert, pediatric neurologist.
Effects may not be completely avoidable in a high-tech world.
Some researchers say the U.S. is lagging behind other countries when it comes to radiation research and prevention.
The Environmental Health Trust is calling on cell phone manufacturers and wireless providers to help fund research on how to treat and prevent exposure to radiation.
The Wireless Technology ‘Conspiracy’ is Not a Theory
“What we’re doing is a grand world experiment without informed consent.”
— Microwave researcher Allan Frey
In the backstory of wireless technology, ‘conspiracy’ is not a theory.
Over the past 20 years wireless technology has become embedded in our lives, to a point of dependence and addiction that is quite amazing to me. My study of the health effects of weak EMFs keeps circling back to the history of how the wireless industry developed into a very powerful political lobby, revealing deepening layers of a dark backstory. It’s a story of directed science used to benefit the military and the telecom industry in their operations, and of suppressed science when findings were not to the industry’s liking — and of a practice of discrediting scientists and their studies that dared report findings not in agreement with the military-industry version of reality.
There’s even an element of deliberate scientific misinformation about microwave effects, published during the Cold War years under the guise of national security.
An article by Christopher Ketcham published in GQ Magazine in 2010 is the best summary of the backstory I have found to date. He writes:
It’s hard to talk about the dangers of cell-phone radiation without sounding like a conspiracy theorist. This is especially true in the United States, where non-industry-funded studies are rare, where legislation protecting the wireless industry from legal challenges has long been in place, and where our lives have been so thoroughly integrated with wireless technology that to suggest it might be a problem — maybe, eventually, a very big public-health problem — is like saying our shoes might be killing us.
… To understand how radiation from cell phones and wireless transmitters affects the human brain, and to get some sense of why the concerns raised in so many studies outside the U.S. are not being seriously raised here, it’s necessary to go back fifty years, long before the advent of the cell phone, to the research of a young neuroscientist named Allan Frey.
Ketcham goes on to explain that in 1960 Frey took an interest in the electrical nature of the human body and he began researching how electric fields produced from the non-ionizing part of the electromagnetic spectrum could affect neural functioning in the brain.
There were no cell phones then – the microwave frequencies of the day were radar waves. The scientific thought of the day was a physicist/engineer’s paradigm, that human bodies are bags of water that can be heated up. The military and their contractors, makers of microwave ovens, and telecom companies were happy to embrace this paradigm. The thinking was simple and easy to understand: no heating = no harm. If the microwaves emitted by a device didn’t cause a human body to experience excessive heat, then those devices were harmless.
And this primitive mindset was sufficient to move their agendas forward and to protect their operations from liability.
internet addiction smartphone iPhone addiction
Today we know that a human body is not a simple bag of water. We are more a complex organization of electrical fields that regulate what goes into and out of every cell in our bodies. It’s not an overstatement to say that electricity drives our biology and these fields are now routinely measured with electroencephalograms and electrocardiograms.
Allan Frey became a pioneer in a new field of study known as bioelectromagnetics, and he found what appeared to be very serious non-thermal effects from microwave frequencies. In 1975, he published a paper reporting that microwaves pulsed at certain modulations could cause leakage in the blood-brain barrier. For the previous fifteen years, he had received very generous funding from the Office of Naval Research. With these findings he was told to conceal his blood-brain barrier work, or his contract would be canceled.
That is the first detailed account of suppressed science relating to health effects of microwave EMFs that I have read. There have been many more accounts since 1975, right to present day. Scientists who have dared report ‘non-thermal’ health effects from exposure to electromagnetic fields have largely been silenced, defunded, discredited, or shunned by their peers as charlatans. Industry, military and government policies and safety standards are still based on the paradigm that if microwaves don’t heat us, they can’t possibly harm us. And a wireless telecom industry with annual revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars has an incentive and the power to silence or deflect research showing the dangers of cell phone and WiFi use, and of the infrastructure that makes them work.
The U.S. Congress has, for the past 20 years, heavily supported the relentless march of microwave cell towers across the land. Nearly $50 million in political contributions and lobbying from the telecom industry greased the skids for passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which included a watershed prize for the cell phone companies. Section 704 of the Act prohibits local governments from stopping placement of a cell tower due to environmental concerns. “There could be no litigation to oppose cell towers [based on the argument that] the signals make you sick.”
Allan Frey is an old man now, if he is still living. He was 75 in 2010 when Christopher Ketcham interviewed him.
Frey shook his head. “Until there are bodies in the streets,” he said, “I don’t think anything is going to change.” I do hope he is wrong in that prediction.
Ketcham’s article is lengthy, but well worth the read.
As individuals we can inform ourselves of the health risks of wireless technology through personal research, and take action to at least partially protect ourselves and our families from EMF effects. Taking self-responsibility in this domain is a lonely and uphill journey so long as our government and the wireless industry continue to insist that ‘we the people’ are bags of water, and no heat = no harm.
While that simple engineer’s paradigm of biology remains so profitable, and government is watching their back, there is no industry incentive to change it. And the general public continues to clamor for more and better wireless services, requiring more and more wireless infrastructure.
Your Mobile Phone: Radiation Levels & Separation Distance
According to test reports filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for the iPhone SE for cellular transmission is 1.14 watts per kilogram (w/kg) at the head, and 1.14 w/kg when worn on the body. The wireless router SAR is also 1.14 w/kg. The SAR for simultaneous transmission (cellular plus Wi-Fi) is 1.59 w/kg at the head, 1.58 w/kg when worn on the body, and 1.56 w/kg when the phone is used as a hotspot.
All SARs reported above are averaged over one gram of body tissue corresponding to the U.S. standard. According to the testing service, “The results documented in this report apply only to the tested sample, under the conditions and modes of operation as described herein.” The minimum separation distance for body-worn testing and hotspot exposure was 5 mm (about 0.2 of an inch). The SARs that the user experiences may vary depending upon the user's cell phone carrier.
The SARs for the iPhone 6 models can be found at http://bit.ly/iphone6radiation.
What do SAR values mean to the consumer?
The legal limit for the SAR in the U.S. is 1.60 w/kg (averaged over one gram of tissue).
The FCC requires that all cell phone models be tested for their Specific Absorption Rate or SAR. The SAR is a measure of the maximum amount of microwave radiation absorbed by the head or the body. It is measured in a laboratory using an artificial model of a large adult male with different fluids to simulate human tissue. The SAR, which is measured in watts per kilogram, represents the maximum amount of energy absorbed in any one gram of tissue in the test model. Phones sold in the U.S. typically range in SAR values from about 0.20 w/kg up to the 1.60 legal limit. (3, 4)
The SAR test, adopted in 1996 by the FCC, was criticized by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2012. (5) The test does not reflect those who currently use cell phones, nor does it correspond to the way people use them. Today many children are cell phone users -- the child’s brain absorbs twice the radiation as the adult’s brain. Moreover, the artificial head does not contain any metal (e.g., dental fillings, earrings, or eyeglass frames) which could increase the radiation absorption beyond the measured SAR in the laboratory. (5)
The FCC assumes that consumers will carry their cell phones in a manufacturer-approved holder that keeps the phone a minimum distance away from the body. However, most people do not keep their phone in a cell phone holder. For the body-worn SAR test, the FCC allows the manufacturer to choose the separation distance between the cell phone and the test model as long as consumers are informed about the minimum distance tested. However, few consumers are aware of the manufacturer’s recommended minimum body separation distance from their cell phone because this information is often difficult to find. Thus, most consumers are in the dark about precautions they can take to keep their exposure to microwave radiation below the legal limit. This prompted the city of Berkeley, California to adopt landmark legislation that requires cellphone retailers to inform their customers about the manufacturer’s safety information.
To ensure that the cell phone does not exceed the legal limit, consumers should never keep their cell phone in their pockets or next to their skin. The cell phone is not tested directly against the body because almost all cell phones would fail the SAR test as the radiation absorption increases dramatically when the cell phone is close to the body.
Is the legal limit sufficient to protect the cell phone user’s health?
Federal policies in the U.S. could lead the public to believe that all legally-marketed cell phones are safe, and that a cell phone's SAR doesn't matter as long as it meets the legal limit: 1.6 watts per kilogram. (3, 4)
However, the Environmental Working Group and experts point out that the SAR only measures the maximum microwave absorption from cell phone use that perfectly matches laboratory conditions. The SAR is not a good indicator of one’s cumulative microwave exposure under naturalistic conditions. The research evidence suggests that how one uses the phone (e.g., hands-free) and one’s cell phone carrier actually matters more than the phone’s SAR level. (4, 6, 7)
The SAR standard was developed to protect users only from the acute effects of the heat generated by microwave radiation (i.e., the thermal effect). (5) The SAR limit does not protect users from the non-thermal effects caused by the cumulative exposure over time to cell phone radiation.
Yet, thousands of laboratory studies with animals and cell samples have found deleterious biologic effects from short-term exposure to low intensity cell phone radiation, including development of stress proteins, micronuclei, free radicals, DNA breakage, and sperm damage. (8) Human studies have also found that brief exposure to cell phone radiation alters brain activity and can open the blood-brain barrier which could enable chemical toxins in the circulatory system to penetrate the brain. (9)
Major studies with humans have found increased cancer risk, including a three-fold increase in brain cancer among those who used wireless phones (cell phones and cordless phones) for 25 or more years. (10) Based upon this research, the World Health Organization in 2011 declared radiofrequency radiation "possibly carcinogenic" in humans (Group 2B). (11)
Other risks from cell phone use include reproductive health damage and male infertility, and neurological disorders (e.g., impaired cognitive functioning, headaches and migraines, and ADHD [attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder]) in children. (12, 13)
Based upon the weight of the evidence from several decades of research including thousands of peer-reviewed published studies, many experts worldwide have signed declarations calling upon government to adopt stronger radiation standards to protect consumers from low intensity, non-thermal exposures from radiation associated with wireless communications, and to alert consumers about how to reduce their risk of harm. (14 -16) Recent evidence suggests that brain tumor incidence is increasing in the U.S. and other countries and exposure to cell phone radiation may be contributing to this increase. (17) Two hundred and twenty (220) scientists who have published peer-reviewed research on electromagnetic fields and biology or health have now signed a petition, the International EMF Scientist Appeal, calling for more protective limits on radiation from wireless devices including cellphones.
For tips on how to reduce your exposure to wireless radiation, see "Some Tips to ReduceYour Exposure to Wireless Radiation". (18) In short, limit your use of the phone, keep the phone away from your body whenever it is powered on, use the phone hands-free, and turn off transmitters not in use (e.g., shut off Wi-Fi or use airplane mode).
References
(1) UL Verification Services, Inc . SAR Evaluation Report for Cellular Phone with Bluetooth and WLAN Radios. FCC ID: BCG-E3042A. Model Name: A1723, A1724. Report No. 15U21635-S1V2. Fremont, CA. Issue Date: 2/2/2016.
(2) Skipped.
(3) FCC. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for Cellular Telephones. Undated. http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/specific-absorption-rate-sar-cellular-telephones
(4) FCC. “Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) For Cell Phones: What It Means For You.” Undated. http://www.fcc.gov/guides/specific-absorption-rate-sar-cell-phones-what-it-means-you
(5) Joel Moskowitz. “"Comments on the 2012 GAO Report: 'Exposure and Testing Requirements for Mobile Phones Should Be Reassessed'.:” http://www.saferemr.com/2013/01/commentary-gao-2012-report-on-mobile.html
(6) Wolchover N. Radiation Risk: Are Some Cellphones More Dangerous Than Others? Life's Little Mysteries. June 23, 2011. http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/1550-radiation-risk-some-cell-phones-more-dangerous-than-others.html
(7) Environmental Working Group. EWG’s Guide to Safer Cell Phone Use: Where is EWG's cell phone database? August 27 2013.
(8) Giuliani L. Soffritti M. Non-thermal effects and mechanisms of interaction between electromagnetic fields and living matter. ICEMS Monograph. Bologna, Italy: National Institute for the Study and Control of Cancer. 2010. http://www.icems.eu/papers.htm
(9) Joel Moskowitz. “LTE Cell Phone Radiation Affects Brain Activity in Cell Phone Users.” Sep 20, 2013. http://www.prlog.org/12215083
(10) Joel Moskowitz. “Brain Cancer Risk Increases with the Amount of Wireless Phone Use: Study. http://www.prlog.org/12216483
(11) Joel Moskowitz. “Most Significant Government Health Report on Mobile Phone Radiation Ever Published.” http://www.prlog.org/12125230
(12) Joel Moskowitz. “Cell Phone Radiation, Pregnancy, and Sperm.” Nov 19, 2012. http://www.prlog.org/12026867
(13) Joel Moskowitz. “Cell Phone Use and Prenatal Exposure to Cell Phone Radiation May Cause Headaches in Children.“ http://www.prlog.org/12269207
(14) Joel Moskowitz. “Part I: Why We Need Stronger Cell Phone Radiation Regulations--Key Testimony Submitted to the FCC.” Aug 4, 2014. http://www.saferemr.com/2014/08/why-we-need-stronger-cell-phone.html
(15) Joel Moskowitz. “Part II: Why We Need Stronger Cell Phone Radiation Regulations--Key Research Papers Submitted to the FCC.” Aug 4, 2014. http://www.saferemr.com/2014/08/why-we-need-stronger-cell-phone_43.html
(16) Joel Moskowitz. “Part III: Why We Need Stronger Cell Phone Radiation Regulations--98 Scientific Experts Who Signed Resolutions.” Aug 4, 2014. http://www.saferemr.com/2014/08/why-we-need-stronger-cell-phone_4.html
(17) Joel Moskowitz. Brain Tumor Rates are Increasing in the U.S.: The Role of Cell Phone and Cordless Phone Use. http://bit.ly/risingtumors
(18) Joel Moskowitz. Some Tips to Reduce Your Exposure to Wireless Radiation (one page handout). Undated. http://bit.ly/saferemrtips3
Canadians are calling on building professionals to reduce their EMF exposure
When leukemia struck Christian Groulx's three-year-old son, Ylan, in 2007, it rattled the Quebec builder's outlook on life. Luckily, Ylan was cured and Groulx was transformed right down to his building practices. That's because he learned that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produced by power lines, electric appliances and home wiring are among the suspected triggers of leukemia and brain cancer, especially in children. In fact, electrical code violations are the major cause of EMFs.
"I decided to investigate EMF health effects in detail to see how I could reduce their impacts on my family and my clients," said Groulx, co-owner of Eastman-based Habitations Kyo.
Why Precaution Is Warranted
Electrosmog mitigation is a growing housing market as more and more Canadians are calling on building professionals to reduce their radiation exposure. Two types of domestic radiation are classified as "possibly carcinogenic" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC): 60 Hertz (Hz) magnetic fields, generated by current (amperage) when electricity is consumed, officially linked with greater risk of child leukemia in 2001; and radiofrequency (RF)/microwaves used by antennas and wireless devices, which IARC tied to brain cancer in 2011. (Electric fields created by voltage have not been classified by IARC.)
And in the age of wireless, "the number of diagnosed cases of electrohypersensitivity (EHS) has increased dramatically in the last 10 years," according to Dr. Riina Bray, Medical Director of the Environmental Health Clinic at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. As many as 3 per cent of Canadians are complaining of severe headaches, insomnia, heart palpitations and other acute EHS symptoms not linked to any disease and which regress when RF exposure is reduced, often without people's knowledge.
But the science is inconclusive, so Health Canada says precautionary measures are not needed to reduce daily EMF exposures. Yet thousands of independently funded studies (see bioinitiative.org) and hundreds of experts (emfscientist.org) suggest otherwise. High EMFs can notably hamper the body's nighttime healing mechanisms. Builders, renovators and electricians have an important role to play in helping reduce their clients' unnecessary EMF exposure, often with no-cost or low-cost measures. This introductory article will focus solely on 60 Hz magnetic fields.
Start by Measuring
How can building professionals stand out? "In existing housing, many constraints warrant hiring a consultant to measure EMFs, pinpoint problems and recommend solutions," said Christian Groulx. "In new housing, it's pretty simple if you follow a few basic rules."
The first thing to do is to buy a quality meter, such as the Cornet ED-78S EMF/RF detector, which costs $155 (at www.slt.co). IARC said children chronically exposed to magnetic fields above 4 milligauss (mG) or 0.4 microtesla (µT) double their relative risk of leukemia. And kids with leukemia have a poorer survival rate if they are exposed to fields above 1-3 mG (0.1-0.3 µT). Paradoxically, Health Canada says short-term exposures to 833 mG (83.3 µT) fields are acceptable to prevent acute effects such as nerve and muscle stimulation, but it does not consider long-term risks such as cancer. For its part, the Austrian Medical Association says chronic exposures above 1 mG (0.1 µT) are unacceptable.
The most common wiring error is to connect the neutrals from two different circuits, which happen to be sharing a box like a wall switch box with multiple switches, according to Karl Riley. Returning neutral current from one circuit then goes back on both neutrals (paralleling), unbalancing the cable and generating a magnetic field. This is a code violation as is grounding neutral buses in subpanels, but is commonly done out of both ignorance and convenience by many electricians.
Photo: Karl Riley/Magnetic Sciences
Wiring Errors the Major Culprit
Living close to a power line, using electric heating and outdated knob-and-tube wiring, and living in multifamily housing are common sources of high magnetic fields. However, about 70 per cent of the time, the most common cause is living in a home with wiring errors, and/or code violations that present fire and shock hazards, says American consultant Karl Riley, author of the bestselling guide, Tracing EMFs in Building Wiring and Grounding.
"Elevated magnetic fields in buildings are caused mainly by net currents in unbalanced circuits, meaning some of the neutral return current has been diverted to other paths due to common wiring connection errors," explained Riley. "It can also be caused by neutral current splitting and part of it exiting the building through the grounding conductor to the metal water pipes which present a parallel path for neutral current to return to the transformer."
This is why Christian Groulx prefers plastic plumbing as it is non-conductive and grounds the electrical system on two buried metal rods. In existing housing, replacing a section of the water service pipe with plastic pipe or dielectric (brass and plastic) coupling stops the flow of neutral current (and its magnetic field) throughout the house.
Energy Efficiency and Distance Key
Since magnetic fields are generated by current, reducing power use will reduce their intensity. And by balancing the amount of current circulating on nearby cables, their magnetic fields cancel each other out. That's why twisted pairs are now used in most radiant electric heating cables instead of single conductors (like knob-and-tube wiring). "If the wiring is correct (neutral equals hot current, hence cancels fields)," explained Riley, "then inches away achieves under 1 mG, but if there is a wiring connection error, three feet away could still have you in 3+ mG. However, too many factors are involved to recommend safe distances from power lines and wiring."
Ideally, site building and bedrooms as far away as possible from power lines. The service drop should be underground and perpendicular to structure, and electrical panels should be at least 6 to 10 feet from sleep and work areas, advises British Columbia consultant Chris Anderson of ElectroSmog Solutions. Riley adds that DC power does not induce currents in people and objects and that pure sine-wave inverters for alternative energy systems also produce less EMFs.
Magnetic fields travel through building materials. "Net current from wiring errors is unshieldable and drops off slowly with distance," said Riley. "As for magnetic fields from correctly wired sources, they can only be shielded with expensive ferrous metals, such as in MuMetal shielding. Appliances produce fields based on their containing coils of wire and weaken fast, with the cube of the distance. For example, a microwave oven produces a field from the wires of its transformer, usually under 1 mG at 1 meter."
More and more people with electrohypersensitivity are leaving cities to live in the countryside away from high EMFs, such as this group in France showing their medical certificates confirming their diagnosis.
Photo: next-up.org
Shielding Electric Fields
Finally, home wiring and plugged appliances always produce electric fields because of tension (voltage), present even when appliances are turned off. But, according to Riley, if installed according to Code, regular Loomex cable won't expose you to high electric fields. However more sensitive people such as children may react to very low levels, which is why Chris Anderson recommends hydronic heating instead of heating cables.
"It's best to use short back-and-forth wiring runs than creating loops around beds," said Groulx. The good news is that electric fields are easily shielded with armored cable, which Chris Anderson prefers where people spend time, especially bedrooms. "Since we are up to 100 times more vulnerable to any stress when we sleep and metal acts as an antenna, avoid placing bedrooms over garages and workspaces, or having metallic components under and near bed sites."
Concludes Riley, "Those rare people who are hypersensitive to electric fields will need a whole house with armored cable, and the cords and extension cords to all lights and appliances will also have to be shielded."
Military Radar and its Effect on Marine Life in Hawaii
BARKING SANDS — Representatives from Kauai’s conservation community recently met with representatives from the Pacific Missile Range Facility to discuss concerns that electromagnetic radiation coming from the high-powered radar and antennas could be the cause of coral’s decline.
“I walked away from the meeting today with a good understanding of the path we can now take to study and understand why we are suffering a massive die-off of our coral reefs here in Kauai,” marine biologist Terry Lilley said Wednesday.
Lilley has been documenting the decline of the coral reefs off Kauai since 2012, and is raising concerns about the military’s use of electromagnetic radiation and its effect on the reef.
Capt. Bruce Hay pointed out that PMRF is renowned for world-class training and testing, “but also recognized for environmental excellence.”
“Meetings such as the one that occurred this week only reinforce that we’re good neighbors and share the same values as our extended ohana, the community,” Hay said. “A positive dialogue was established between certified scientists and concerned citizens during the meeting.”
Stewart Simonson, an Atlanta-based senior chemical engineer who surveyed Kauai’s reef in 2014 and has been studying the area’s coral since then, said he thought the meeting was a step in the right direction.
“It has taken way too long — your reef is devastated,” Simonson said. “I have not seen a concrete plan of action from the meeting.”
Both he and Lilley said further studies on the root cause of the reef’s disintegration are desperately needed, but they have a few ideas on the cause of the disappearing coral.
After spending time underwater on Kauai and studying the reefs, Simonson’s theory is that the answer is accelerated corrosion — caused by an electrical current in the ocean.
Simonson said he’s found “hundreds of tons of calcium carbonate” dissolved in the sea where thriving reefs used to be on Kauai, “and that’s pretty impressive.”
“In the industry, if someone asked me to do that, I’d need tanker trucks of hydrochloric acid in concentrated form to get that much to dissolve,” Simonson said.
Corrosion, also known as oxidization or rusting, is a natural process, especially in the ocean. It’s one of the natural breakdown processes of nature and is well known to mariners, who will sometimes line their vessels with zinc to prevent corrosion of the boat’s metal.
“The zinc corrodes first, but that protects your steel propeller and steel parts from corrosion,” Simonson said. “You replace the zinc once it corrodes off.”
One of the easiest minerals to corrode is calcium, which is the main stuff of coral skeleton.
Normal corrosion rates wouldn’t cause the current reef destruction, Simonson said, but accelerated corrosion would — and to get accelerated corrosion, you just need to add a jolt.
“It only takes a very small amount of electrical current flowing in the atmosphere or in the water to speed up corrosion,” Simonson said.
Radar towers
PMRF has about 20 radar towers on North Kauai. They work by bouncing electromagnetic radiation off of things — that’s how they detect objects.
Electromagnetic radiation is composed of waves — just like light is, except that electromagnetic radiation isn’t visible to the human eye. According to scientific models, the radiation covers much of the northwest part of the island.
“If we could see the radiation like we can see light, the entire island would be lit up 24/7,” Lilley said. “That’s now much we’re exposed to every day.”
A lot of the electromagnetic radiation is soaked up by the environment or dissipates into the atmosphere. When there’s cloud cover, most of it is reflected back to the Earth, saturating everything.
“I think that when it gets absorbed in sea water, which is a good conductor, it goes to ground and I think it’s grounding out on the reef,” Simonson said.
That low-level electrical current in the water breaks everything down, and it speeds corrosion up by hundreds of thousands of times, he said.
“The primary driver might be voltage and the voltage is coming from all these antennas and the military is the biggest user,” Simonson said. “Especially when you have RIMPAC in town.”
RIMPAC
Rim of the Pacific occurs biennially on even-numbered years in June and July in the waters around Hawaii and California. It is the world’s largest multi-national maritime exercise and has been happening every two years since 1971.
RIMPAC lands 45 warships off the coast of Kauai, each with 50 to 100 antennas that pulse radar from the vessels, and all the electromagnetic radiation form those antennas compounds the native radiation.
“When RIMPAC is in town, you have probably at least two times the amount of radiation coming off the warships as you do off the top of the mountain at PMRF,” Simonson said.
Electrocution of sea life
It’s not just the reefs that are suffering off the coast of Kauai. During the 2014 RIMPAC games, Lilley reported dead whales, sharks, turtles and other sea life.
One turtle he found had all four of its fins badly mangled.
“Something blew off all of her fins and it was obvious that it wasn’t something that had just bitten off the edges of her fins,” Lilley said. “Another of the turtles I found was completely blind.”
Simonson’s electromagnetic radiation theory could explain this mystery as well.
He said electromagnetic fields (EMF) produce electromagnetic radiation and trigger an electrical current near the surface of the salt water — which is usually a great conductor.
The turtle “is poking his head up and floating around a bit near the surface and getting juiced a bit near the surface,” Simonson said.
Animals are bioelectric beings, meaning electric processes within the cells is partly what keeps them alive. Too much electric potential can interfere with the body’s natural electrical processes and can damage DNA. When that’s replicated, it repeats the damage and creates a tumor.
Simonson further theorizes that when it’s raining, the water’s conductivity drops near the surface and near lava tubes — making the path of least resistance a nearby turtle or other animal, instead of the water itself.
“I think the chance of electric shock is the highest and that’s where Terry is seeing the highest disease rates,” Simonson said.
Human effects
Lilley said it’s much more difficult to show a connection between electromagnetic radiation and human disease than it is to document the effect on marine life because of the secrecy of medical records.
“I don’t have to get a release to give out data on dying coral, turtles or whales,” Lilley said. “I just need the agreement of the critter and I have their agreement.”
Human biology uses the same bioelectric processes within cells to drive life and scientists theorize the effects of chronic exposure to high-powered electromagnetic radiation can cause tumors in human bodies, too.
As of now, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, there aren’t federal standards limiting electromagnetic fields, and the agency maintains there “is no clear scientific evidence that electromagnetic fields affect health.”
According to Lilley and Simonson, agreements were made between scientists and the representatives from PMRF to exchange information and work together to further study Kauai’s struggling coastal environment.
Hay said he and his staff are open to future possibilities.
“Additional positive benefit is yet to be determined, but certainly within the realm of possible,” Hay said.
PMRF did not respond to numerous questions from TGI regarding concerns expressed in this story about military activities and their impacts on marine life.
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Money Talks: From ‘smart’ meters to power politics
The greenwash bait-and-switch: how deep does it go?
By now, everyone who has been paying attention has realized that within our broken socio-political system, virtually every decision from top to bottom is based on money, corruption and greed.
The 3-part presentation below, filmed in British Columbia in April 2016, will help us all see what’s really going on at a deeper level. I will uncover:
- how the biggest shareholders in the most destructive (but profitable) companies are the very governments that set the rules so those companies don’t pay taxes, destroy whatever they can for money and violate our core human values,
- how these entities are actually twisting our intentions of saving our planet into serving their own economic agendas, and to further their control / diminish our rights, and
- how so-called ‘smart’ meters are a key tool for all of this — and why they’re still being deployed despite a ridiculous level of obvious problems.
Part 1: ‘Smart’ meter fires
Our starting point on this journey is the widespread problem of ‘smart’ meter fires – an important precursor for what follows. You will see forensically why they cause fires and explosions (thousands to date), then financially why the collateral damage they cause is considered to be “worth the risk.” Hint: ‘smart’ meters are a keystone in the Big Data pyramid…
Part 2: Big Data, Big Power, Big Government
The insane drive of Big Data is being propelled by the energy industry. Within the popular paradigm, all eyes are on Big Oil as the “bad guys” in an environmental context. Certainly they are not doing the planet any good. But by keeping us within this narrow focus without deeper thought, they have a nice distraction for the world’s largest energy companies to move in on their data/carbon/currency endgame.
Part 3: Pensions, Power, Politics and Climate
This is where the pieces will connect, and it will all simply make sense. The the biggest root of all evil is not money itself, but how the people behind these agendas are after our money (and support of their agendas) for their insane ends.
So the next time you hear a politician talk about “climate”, you will have the keys to see how this all connects. And you will realize on this issue, like virtually everything else, they are probably lying.
Cellphone Radiation Linked to Cancer in Major Rat Study
Results of the largest, most expensive animal study on the link between cellphones and cancer are in. And the link is positive—weak, but positive.
The much-anticipated two-year study led by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) has found low incidences of brain and heart tumors in male rats that were exposed to the radio frequency radiation commonly emitted by cellphones.
Exposed rats had higher rates of two malignant cancers: glioma of the brain and schwannoma of the nerves in the heart. But none of the unexposed control rats developed them. And these brain and heart tumors are similar to the ones found in previous epidemiological studies of cellphone use, the NTP report states, so “these findings appear to support the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conclusions regarding the possible carcinogenic potential of” radiofrequency radiation.
In 2011, the IARC, which is part of the World Health Organization, convened an international panel of experts that concluded that exposure to RF radiation including that used by cellphones is “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The panel analyzed available scientific papers and concluded that even though evidence was limited and incomplete, epidemiological studies had shown increased risks of 40–200 percent for gliomas and acoustic neuromas (benign tumors of the auditory nerve) among heavy and/or long term cellphone users.
With a price tag of US $25 million, the peer-reviewed NTP study released today is the largest animal study to date on the effects of cellphone radiation. The project suffered from complications and huge budget overruns and these results are years overdue. The NTP commissioned the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute in Chicago to perform the study back in 2005. There have been no updates until this report, which only gives partial data. Only findings from the brain and heart have been reported and studies on mice are still being evaluated. The NTP plans to release two more reports by 2017.
The reason NTP released the rat brain and heart data early? “Given the widespread global usage of mobile communications among users of all ages, even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to RFR could have broad implications for public health,” according to the researchers. Statistics show that the number of mobile phone users will pass the 5 billion mark by 2019.
The NTP study was designed to mimic human exposure and look at effects on all parts of the body. Researchers conducted the experiments in an underground lab with specially designed radio-frequency chambers to house the rats. The animals were exposed to 900 megahertz radio waves modulated using Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) modulation. These are cellphone frequencies and modulations currently used in the United States.
The animals’ bodies were exposed in utero and over their two-year lifetimes to CDMA or GSM-modulation radiation at different dose levels: 0 (control group), 1.5, 3 and 6 watts per kilogram of tissue mass. That’s seven test groups for each sex with 90 animals in each group. The animals were irradiated over a period of about 18 hours per day, with exposure for 10 minutes followed by 10 minutes without radiation, for a total daily exposure time of nine hours.
Gliomas appeared in around 2–3 percent of male rats in each group while schwannomas appeared in 1–6 percent. The incidence of schwannomas was significantly higher in the male animals that were exposed to the 6 W/kg levels. There were no similar results in females. And, for some unexplained reason, the researchers found that the unexposed rats died younger than exposed animals.
So what does this all mean? The results are fairly weak and confounding but provide the first positive evidence in animals and will grab the attention of health agencies, says Kenneth R. Foster, a bioengineering professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
First, animal studies are very hard to translate to humans, he says. The exposure levels used in the study are much higher than what’s typically allowed for humans. The exposure limit for occupational users is 0.4 W/kg and for non-occupational users is 0.8 W/kg. “The results are only in male rats, the incidence numbers were very small, and there’s no clear dose response,” he says. Also, he asks, “did the control rats not live long enough to naturally develop these tumors?”
Nonetheless, an NTP study is the gold standard for animal cancer assays. And health agencies look at both epidemiological and animal studies to make recommendations. “Past epidemiological studies are weak but suggestive,” says Foster, “and here you have the first borderline positive result in animals. So now you have a stronger case.”
In response to WHO’s 2011 “possible carcinogen” classification, Belgium adopted regulations to promote cellphone radiation safety and banned the sale of cellphones to children, Foster points out. The French Health Agency recommended that children and vulnerable groups should take measures to reduce their cellphone RF exposure. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, states that no evidence points to a direct link between wireless device use and cancer or other illnesses. And the Food and Drug Administration advises that if there is a risk, it is very small.
With the NTP study results, Foster expects more governments to put out cautionary guidelines and radiation labeling for cellphones. He says he wouldn’t be surprised if California adds RF radiation to its Proposition 65 list of carcinogenic chemicals, and if the IARC ups its classification rating from 2B: possibly carcinogenic to humans to 2A: probably carcinogenic to humans. “And they wouldn’t be out of line in doing that,” he says. “This is going to change the rhetoric in the field. People can point to much more hard evidence that [cellphone RF exposure] really is a problem.”
Investigative documentary that explores the long-term health effects of cell phone radiation
MOBILIZE
Mobilize is an investigative documentary that explores the long-term health effects of cell phone radiation, including cancer and infertility.
Clear Light Ventures is sponsoring free viewing of Mobilize from May 21 to June 25, 2016 - enter promo code "ClearLight".
FILM SYNOPSIS
In 2011 the World Health Organization stated, “The electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The cell phone industry has vigorously disputed these findings.
MOBILIZE is an explosive investigative documentary that explores the potential long-term health effects from cell phone radiation, including brain cancer and infertility. The politically charged film examines the most recent scientific research and the harsh challenges politicians face trying to pass precautionary legislation. Featuring interviews with expert researchers, mobile phone industry representatives, and prominent politicians, MOBILIZE illuminates how industry’s economic and political influence can corrupt public health.
Featuring Gavin Newsom Lt. Governor of California, Lawrence Lessig, Esq., Steve Wozniak, Richard Branson, Devra Davis, PhD, MPH and many more.
INSTRUCTIONS TO VIEWERS FOR FREE STREAM:
To stream Mobilize compliments of Clear Light, simply click the Rent button, enter your email address and password (create one if need to) and then click APPLY PROMO CODE. When that field opens, enter "ClearLight" and hit APPLY. The rental fee will be waived. You DO NOT need to enter your credit card information.
Activist is Sued for Requesting Public Smart Meter Records
The sysadmin-activist at the center of a bizarre legal battle over a smart meter network in Seattle, Washington, says he never expected a simple records request to turn into a lawsuit.
Phil Mocek told The Register that when he asked Seattle City Light, a public power utility, to provide details on the designs and rollout of its smart power meter grid, he was simply hoping to find out what security safeguards the city and hardware providers Landis+Gyr and Sensus USA planned to use.
"We all assume these meters simply monitor the amount of energy usage in the home," Mocek explained. "But they monitor it in real time in ways that other meters did not."
The worry, Mocek said, is that the city may have been convinced by the suppliers to install a network with poor security protections or insecure protocols that could place citizens at risk of having their energy-use remotely spied on or their personal information stolen.
To find out more about the meters that the city was planning to install and the security measures in place to protect those meters, Mocek filed a request for documents under the Washington Public Records Act (PRA) via the MuckRock investigations website.
This, says Mocek, is where things started to get real odd.
The free-software advocate said that after an email exchange with Seattle City Light officials, he obtained some of the records and uploaded them to the web – only to be told that the smart meter suppliers objected to the release of the information on the grounds that the unredacted documents would disclose their trade secrets and open the public to terrorist attacks on their infrastructure.
Mocek was given a mix of unredacted and redacted documents by the city, the meter makers complained, whereas he should only have received and published files they had censored. Seattle officials said they were not skilled enough to know for sure which parts to redact, so left it to the suppliers to edit the files – yet, unredacted information managed to make its way into Mocek's hands and onto the internet.
Landis+Gyr and Sensus promptly sued the city, Mocek and Muckrock, and filed for an injunction: ultimately, the suppliers wanted the documents taken down, and the unredacted copies banned from public view.
On Thursday, a temporary restraining order was granted by the King County Superior Court in Washington – and Muckrock founder Michael Morisy confirmed the unredacted documents have been taken down pending the outcome of the case.
Backing
The legal showdown has also attracted the attention of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which says it will lend their legal expertise to MuckRock's defense.
"We are incredibly grateful for the support of the EFF, our users and readers, and the many individuals and organizations that reached out with support and advice," MuckRock founder Michael Morisy said.
Mocek says he has yet to be formally served court papers. He argues that he has no interest in exposing the trade secrets of the smart meter providers nor the nitty-gritty financial details of the companies that are working with the city. He even said he was willing to accept documents with sensitive areas redacted.
Crucially, though, he wants those redactions to be made by the city to remove data it is required by law to censor – rather than information the companies themselves don't want to share.
"I'm not likely to put up a fight over the line item cost, but I do want to know what kind of security they have on this system," Mocek explains. "I'm worried that we as a city are going to pay a lot for a system whose security relies on people not knowing how it works."
In the meantime, however, Mocek also has some additional problems to deal with, thanks to the legal wrangling. Though he has filed similar information requests in the past, he says he has never had to face a lawsuit simply because he wanted to look at public records and keep a local utility honest.
"I don't think [Seattle City Light] are going to put a device on my house to spy on me," he quipped. "I think they are being bamboozled by vendors who want to make a lot of money by replacing thousands of meters."
As well as a restraining order, the meter makers are demanding damages for the publication of the unredacted blueprints, and are asking for a list of everyone who downloaded the dossiers.
Federal Study Finds Radiofrequency Radiation Boosts Cancer Rates in Animals
According to Microwave News, results of the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) have shown that exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation has resulted in statistically significant increases in cancer among rats. These rats were subjected to whole body exposure from RF signals as used for GSM and CDMA-type cell phones over a period of two years [1].
As reported by Microwave News:
“Discussions are currently underway among federal agencies on how to inform the public about the new findings. NTP senior managers believe that these results should be released as soon as possible because just about everyone is exposed to wireless radiation all the time and therefore everyone is potentially at risk.”
“The NTP findings show that as the intensity of the radiation increased, so did the incidence of cancer among the rats. ‘There was a significant dose-response relationship’, a reliable source, who has been briefed on the results, told Microwave News.”
Smart Meter Fires: Burning meters, burning questions, shocking answers
This new video from Brian Thiesen is quite literally explosive information that every homeowner needs to know.
So-called “smart” meters have caused thousands of fires and explosions — such as this fire on Wednesday in Ontario. But corrupt politics and money have swept the whole thing under the rug.
Brian now explains how and why this is all occurring, including whistleblower testimony, reams of new evidence and court documents. This is exactly what your utility does not want you to see:
Previously-documented “smart” meter fires have caused fatalities (see here, here, here, and here).
The most terrible thing is this: most people simply don’t know. It’s been covered up, worldwide.
And most still don’t know that “smart” meters are part of a global corporate agenda of unprecedented in-home surveillance, systemically increasing utility bills, facilitating hacking and remote shut-offs, and are causing widespread human functional impairment from pulsed microwave radiation hundreds to thousands of times stronger than a cellphone.
We’ve had a hell of a time getting this info out. This clandestine agenda, however, is beginning to crack.
And those causing or allowing “smart” meter deployments will be individually held to account.
A note from Brian on this video:
“For brevity, I did not even mention the issues with batteries in the meter or the advanced corrosion caused by meters (discussed in previous video here) — which BC Hydro is now admitting is happening with their very own power poles. The laws of electricity tell us this is not going to go away and in fact now may even be getting worse. It is up to us to educate our firefighters as utilities won’t and top brass are only concerned about getting their pensions."
Occasional Catastrophic Digital Meter Failures ‘Worth the Risk’, According to Industry Executive
A utility industry document written in 2006 has been discovered that reviewed costs and benefits related to solid-state (digital) utility meters used for residential customers [1]. In that document, a senior vice-president for National Grid was quoted as follows:
“We lost several nights sleep worrying about catastrophic failures, but it was worth the risk.”
In November 2015, I wrote a revealing article that catastrophic failures were expected with ‘smart’ meters [2]. In fact, I carefully worded the introductory sentence to that article stating, “Smart Meters are expected to occasionally fail catastrophically while analog meters do not have that failure mode.”
I recall choosing the word “occasionally” after considerable thought and was not aware of anyone having previously used that descriptive term as applied to digital utility meters. The term was the best one I could objectively choose given the intermittent yet persistent reports of digital utility meters burning/exploding in areas across the United States, Canada, and Australia where smart meters have been deployed.
To my surprise, the 2006 document uses the same term “occasionally” where it was written:
“The three utilities were quite frank that solid-state meters do fail occasionally while electromechanical meters rarely fail completely.” [emphasis added]
Smart Meter Remote Disconnect: An ‘Unnecessary Risk’ for Significant Damage to the Grid
...
"It’s easy to imagine a rogue programmer working for a meter manufacturers being able to insert malicious code which would turn millions of meters off at the same point in the future. That’s possible, because all of the smart meters being installed ... allow the utility to remotely disconnect your electricity and gas at the flip of a switch. If hackers turned off a million electricity meters in one go, that would cause serious damage to the grid. Turning them all on again a few days later would do even more damage, as restoring power when demand is unknown is particularly problematic and can burn out equipment on the grid, which gives a rogue programmer lots of scope to bring large parts of the country to its knees. …"
"I don’t actually think this is complacency – I suspect it is mostly naivety. Our electricity companies are not high tech. They care passionately about reducing outages, but it’s a largely manual concern – it’s about sending people out to cut down foliage, repair power lines and clear up after the occasional unlucky fried squirrel. It’s why they like the squirrel analogy – they understand squirrels, whereas they don‘t really understand hackers. Utilities have a very physical mindset, not a technical or intellectual one and probably don’t realize the firmware risks. Their concept of smart meter security is about people fiddling their meter readings, not terrorists bringing down the entire grid."
(Quotes are from Nick Hunn, of WiFore Consulting Ltd., who presented testimony at the UK House of Commons’ Science and Technology’s “evidence check” and inquiry into the country’s smart metering initiative.)
A network of actors continues to push for the deployment of smart meters. This network of actors, representing a combination of policy makers, utility personnel, and meter manufacturers, does not acknowledge the tremendous risks and costs associated with the technology. One of the most obvious risks relates to the remote disconnect feature which has the capability to be used by hackers as a means to inflict significant damage upon the electric grid. As inferred by Nick Hunn above, the current smart meter deployments should be halted due to the unaddressed risks.
Smart Meter Dangers, Who Knew and Did Not Sound The Alarm?
Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) is pushing for the deployment of 4,000,000 smart meters despite the fact that government agencies and the military have known for decades that Radio Frequency/microwaves can cause serious health effects.
This information is not new; it is just being brought to the forefront as a health crisis is emerging in Illinois. ComEd is using the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, also known as the “smart grid modernization bill” (written by ComEd lobbyists), and the Illinois Commerce Commission’s interpretation of that bill, as justification for installing millions of wireless smart meters.
The RF/microwave emissions from smart meters are listed by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer ‘IARC’ as a Class 2B Carcinogen. That makes this the first time in history a known carcinogen has been mandated on ALL homes, schools, and government buildings.
Barrier Trower, a retired British Secret Service Microwave Weapons specialist, states:
“The paradox is how Radio Frequency/microwave radiation can be used as a weapon to cause impairment, illness and death; and at the same time be used as a communications instrument [such as in smart meters].”
Trower continues, “By 1971 we knew everything that needed to be known.”
“A 1976 document summarizing U.S. Defense Intelligence research lists all of the health hazards caused by wireless devices and concludes: This should be kept secret to preserve industrial profit.”
Jerry Flynn, is a retired Canadian Armed Forces captain with specialized training and 22 years of experience in Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence. Flynn has worked with U.S. and NATO armies in this specialized capacity. He writes:
“The U.S. military has known for decades that the RF/microwave frequencies most harmful to man are those within the band 900 MHz to 5 GHz. These frequencies penetrate all organs of the body, thus putting all human organ systems at risk. Smart meters emit these precise frequencies which, when combined with certain pulsed modulation characteristics and power densities, are most harmful to the brain, central nervous system, immune system, and can cause cancers. This is precisely why these frequencies are used in Microwave weapons of war.”
ComEd smart meters contain two transmitters emitting high-intensity pulsed signals every few seconds in two frequencies within the “most harmful” range mentioned by Flynn. One frequency is 900 MHz used for the wireless network that relays data from the smart meter on one house to the smart meter on another house and then on to a collector which sends the data to ComEd. The second frequency, 2.45 GHz, is used for appliances inside the house to transmit data to the smart meter.
Although ComEd claims that data is only transmitted six times a day, what they neglect to mention is that smart meters also emit high-intensity RF/microwave pulses each time they perform network management functions. According to California court documents, a single smart meter can emit these pulses on average 10,000 to 190,000 a day. The number of pulses depends on where in the mesh network the smart meter is located and how often it is relaying data from other neighbors’ meters.
It is these around-the-clock, high-intensity pulses within the frequency range “most harmful” to humans that make smart meters so damaging. Consider 4,000,000 ComEd smart meters blanketing Illinois with billions of pulses in these frequencies being emitted every day, forever.
Basis for FCC guidelines: Health or Profits?
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) knew decades ago, for according to Gittleman, “back in the 1950’s there were growing concerns as to the dangers of these low-level microwaves, so the U.S. military had sought safety limits.”
The current FCC safety limits are based on thermal exposure alone. The FCC guidelines are ten times more lenient than what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have permitted to protect the general population from the health hazards of RF/microwave radiation.
In the late 1980’s, the EPA radiation division, staffed with practicing biologists and epidemiologists, decided on a safe limit for human exposure. Before the announcement was made, industry intervened, federal funding for that division of the EPA was cut, and the FCC was given the task of setting the RF/microwave guidelines for the public. The FCC, made up of bureaucrats and engineers, had no experience or training in setting “health related” guidelines. Therefore, from the beginning, FCC guidelines were set at a limit that was too lenient to protect the general population.
Don’t Fly Planes with Wi-Fi Says EMF Health Advocate
Avoid airlines with in-flight wireless, says EMF health advocate Camilla Rees, who notes an airline is a “metal cage” and is “an especially high risk environment for radiation.” One airline providing on-board Wi-Fi is Delta.
The small windows don’t do much to dispel the radiation, she notes in a list of 54 “safety tips and insights” that is the most complete discussion of this topic that we have seen. She is the founder of Electromagnetic Health.
Lloyd Burrell of electricsense.com, explains why cellphones are especially dangerous in metal enclosures such as cars.
“Using your cell phone in your car is dangerous and not just because it can cause an accident,” he writes. “There’s also a direct effect on your health.
“The radio frequency radiation from your cell phone reflected back by the car’s metallic structure magnifies the radiation. It’s called the Faraday cage effect. Would you consider sticking your head in a microwave oven when it’s turned on? I don’t think so.
“But using a cell phone in a car works on the same principles as a microwave oven. Both cars and microwave ovens are essentially metallic enclosures where RF radiation is magnified. This radiation from your cell phone bounces around your car and is absorbed by your body at a much higher level than would otherwise be.”
Delta is Airline with Wi-Fi
We recently flew to Washington, D.C., and were surprised to find a Wi-Fi graphic offering Wi-Fi access facing us in the space above the seat where the usual messages are “Fasten your seat belt” or “No smoking."
In all flights we have ever been on, attendants had warned passengers to make sure cellphones were turned off or on “airplane mode.”
Calls and emails have been sent to Kevin Shinkle, chief communications officer of Delta, who was business editor of the AP until 2014, and Elizabeth Wolf, general manager of corporate communications, asking how Wi-Fi can be permissible on airlines when it previously was prohibited. No replies had been received by press time.
Excerpt from Camilla Rees' list:
39. Airlines. Avoid airlines with in-flight wireless. As the airplane is in effect a metal cage, other than the small windows, this is an especially high-risk environment for radiation from any source, including cell phones. Ask flight attendants to contact the Association of Flight Attendants regarding this matter.
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