- The concerns about cybersecurity and the fact that smart meters make the grid more vulnerable are increasing. This website, prepared by a very technical person in Illinois, has information specific to the type of smeters Hydro and Fortis are installing. The remote disconnect switch is not only the feature that was determined to be causing fires and failures in Saskatchewan, but is considered by some experts to be the most dangerous feature of the ITRON $$meter.
“The most dangerous “feature” included in the majority of smart meters deployed today is the remote disconnect option. As documented in the book, Smart Grid Security: An End-to-End View of Security in the New Electrical Grid:
“What if [smart] meters are told to disconnect by a worm or virus? Among all the services AMI [Advanced Metering Infrastructure] offers, the disconnect function is the most controversial in information security circles as it is the only one that directly controls the flow of power to the home or business.”
“The greatest concern is that a successful attack could allow someone to gain control of customers all at once. In addition to causing widespread blackouts, repeatedly switching the power off and on could create frequency imbalances and surges in the grid that could damage loads and destabilize the entire grid, potentially causing damage to generators, transformers, and other equipment in the path [including the smart meters themselves and major appliances in homes and other buildings]. Such a consequence would be much more severe than a simple power outage, resulting in damage to expensive equipment with replacement times of more than a year in some cases. Effectively taking temporary control of a meter network could lead to widespread power outages lasting weeks or perhaps longer.”
As quoted in a book by Kim Zetter (and based upon an author interview, August 2012), here is what Mike Davis, Senior Security Consultant at IOActive, says about smart meters:
“In my opinion, if it’s got the remote disconnect relay in it, whether it’s enabled or not … it’s a real big, ugly issue.”
http://smartgridawareness.org/2015/12/21/us-power-grid-vulnerable-to-hacks/
- Below in Letters are the last few emails I sent to and received from Telus about the microcell transmitters being put on poles right outside homes, providing cell phone service mere feet from bedrooms. As you can see, they are not providing the information that I am requesting. Rather they seem to be “putting something together”.
- Some very interesting videos re. live blood reaction to short term exposures. In the article reference is made to a NASA report written in 1981. It is at http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19810017132.pdf and includes studies about RF and EMF that show harm at levels far lower than smart meters emit.
An interview with a doctor re. health effects of exposure to wireless devices, just weeks before he suddenly died of an apparent heart attack.
“What many people – even some physicians – either forget or do not realize, according to Dr. Gonzalez, is that the human body is reliant on its own electromagnetic field and ultimately our existence is reliant upon electric chemical reactions. It is no wonder, then, that the immense influx of EMF pollution all around us has a grave effect on our wellbeing.
“The human body was not designed to deal with the explosion of the EMF activity in the environment,” said Dr. Gonzalez.”
http://www.naturalhealth365.com/emf-nicholas-gonzalez-wireless-technology-1679.html
**********************************
Letters:
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 5:12 PM
To: ‘Harmen Kahlon’
Cc: ‘Doug Anastos’
Subject: RE: Telus’s small cell transmitters
Hello Harmen,
I appreciate your sending me this material again while I await receipt of the technical specifications. I must admit to great confusion about why it should take nearly 2 months to copy a formal page of specifications regarding the transmitters. That is all that I have requested, nothing more. If your engineers are putting something together, I would be happy (and prefer) simply having instead the manufacturer’s name and the model number of the transmitter so that I can obtain the specifications myself. I do believe that the public has a right to this information. After all, these are being put outside our homes.
Can you please tell me why you cannot give me the basic information, e.g brand and model number?
Thank you.
Sharon Noble
—————————–
From: Harmen Kahlon [mailto:Hermanjeet.Kahlon@telus.com]
Sent: December 23, 2015 2:09 PM
To: Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Cc: Doug Anastos <Doug.Anastos@telus.com>
Subject: RE: Telus’s small cell transmitters
Dear Ms. Noble,
Thank you for your patience while we collated some information from our engineers.
To address the follow up questions you had from your email with my colleague Doug Anastos, you were curious about the power density of the units at 6-8 meters. They typical height the small cells are installed at is between 5-12 meters. The exposure of the small cells are compliant with Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 (SC6). According to measurements and simulation results TELUS concludes that any distance more than 1.5 meters away from the microcell radio unit complies with SC6 and is safe for the general public. Because the units are mounted between 5 and 12 meters there is no risk to the general public.
As Doug had mentioned, there are two frequencies that TELUS operates their small cells on:
1900 MHz (UMTS – 3G technology)
2100 MHz (LTE – 4G technology)
The maximum output of a microcell unit is 20W.
TELUS vendor equipment is subject to change. Regardless of the technology or equipment vendor TELUS is required to comply with SC6 at all times.
For further information, I have attached the TELUS Microcell Safety Code 6 (SC6) Compliance Information sheet to this email.
Should you have any further questions, please be in touch.
All the best,
Harmen
Hermanjeet Kaur Kahlon
Real Estate and Government Affairs
TELUS | Wireless Network – BC
3 – 4535 CANADA WAY
Burnaby, BC V5G IJ9
Mobile: 778-874-0302
——————–
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: December 22, 2015 10:16 PM
To: Harmen Kahlon
Subject: RE: Telus’s small cell transmitters
Hello, Harmen,
I have received nothing from your engineers, and it is now Tuesday evening. Could you please remind them that they were to have sent it to me yesterday?
Thank you for your help.
Happy holidays,
Sharon
———————
From: Harmen Kahlon [mailto:Hermanjeet.Kahlon@telus.com]
Sent: December 18, 2015 2:54 PM
To: Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Subject: RE: Telus’s small cell transmitters
Hi Ms. Noble,
Thank you for your patience.
Our engineers have let me know that they will have something on Monday.
Have a great weekend.
Cheers,
Harmen
Hermanjeet Kaur Kahlon
Real Estate and Government Affairs
TELUS | Wireless Network – BC
3 – 4535 CANADA WAY
Burnaby, BC V5G IJ9
Mobile: 778-874-0302
———————
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: December 7, 2015 05:29 PM
To: Harmen Kahlon
Subject: RE: Telus’s small cell transmitters
Hello, Mr. Kahlon,
Could you please ask the engineers also to provide the make of the units and the model number?
Thank you for updating me. I do appreciate it.
Regards,
Sharon
———————-
From: Harmen Kahlon [mailto:Hermanjeet.Kahlon@telus.com]
Sent: December 7, 2015 3:15 PM
To: Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Subject: RE: Telus’s small cell transmitters
Hi Ms. Noble,
I’m kindly following up on the below.
I’m just waiting to hear back from our engineers regarding the ranges in distance from the units you have requested.
I should have something for next week.
Thank you,
Harmen
Hermanjeet Kaur Kahlon
Real Estate and Government Affairs
TELUS | Wireless Network – BC
3 – 4535 CANADA WAY
Burnaby, BC V5G IJ9
Mobile: 778-874-0302
——————-
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: December 1, 2015 09:23 AM
To: Harmen Kahlon
Subject: FW: Telus’s small cell transmitters
Dear Mr. Harmen,
I received an automatic response from Mr. Anastos saying he was on vacation, but didn’t say for how long. My request is not “urgent”, but it is something I would like to have answered in a timely fashion.
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Regards,
Sharon Noble
*************************
Newsletter prepared by Sharon Noble