"A lot of people are worried about getting cancer from them"

"A lot of people are worried about getting cancer from them."  These are the words I received from a ComEd (electric utility company in Illinois) meter reader yesterday.

My parents live out in the country.  They are blessed with cleaner air, a quieter and more scenic landscape, and low electromagnetic fields.  They also still have their analog electric meter.  I have mine as well, but I'm located in the city with higher electromagnetic fields from nearby power lines and current on water pipes in the neighborhood.

I saw the ComEd truck pull up to my parents' home.  As the meter reader came back to his truck I stopped him and asked him if he heard anything about smart meters.  He proceeded to tell me where they are installing them - here and there - and that they'd be coming to my parents' home soon.  He said they should receive a letter and also a phone call prior to the installation.  I thought to myself, "no smart meter is going here, I promise you," but stayed silent.

I then asked him if he had received any feedback on the smart meters.  His first words, and I quote "A lot of people are worried about getting cancer from them."  Wow!!!  A candid response validating everything I had been hearing from concerned and often ill people.  A validation of all of the countless articles and videos and lawsuits due to the same reasons: people are being affected, people are worried, people don't want these smart meters, and people are making their voice heard.

We talked more, and the message summed up to something along the lines of he doesn't know whether or not it causes cancer, he is told it's just like a cell phone, and he's just doing his job.  I gave him my card at the end, told him what I do and what I knew about the smart meters, and hopefully made him think about the company he works for and what it's doing, as well as thinking about what to make of all of the serious concerns people are voicing about this unwanted technology.