1) A study by the US military in 1976 confirmed earlier studies – exposure to very low levels of microwave radiation (.03 milliwatts per centimeter squared or 30 microwatts per centimeter squared) caused leakage of the blood brain barrier. Why is it that 40 years later the industry is allowed to expose the public to this danger via devices such as smeters, cell phones, and Wi-Fi modems? And why do officials responsible for our health, e.g. Health Canada and Dr. Perry Kendall, deny the significance of this evidence?
“The results of the present study indicate that low power, pulsed and CW microwave exposures affect brain tissue permeability, thus confirming Frey et al.’s findings 13. It does not appear that pulsed energy is always more effective in causing BBB alterations than CW energy, but that depending on certain pulsing characteristics, pulsed energy can be more or less effective than CW energy of the same average power density. From Fig. 4 it can be observed that pulsed energy with a high peak power, large pulse widths and few pulses per second affected the uptake of mannitol at an average power density of only 0.03 mW/sq, cm, where it took CW energy of approximately 0.3 mW/sq. cm to cause the same magnitude of change.” Pg 9
“Recent findings with several independent confirmations have demonstrated that low power microwaves can interact with animals to cause CNS changes such as auditory sensations 14, calcium efflux changes3, 5, regional histopathology 1 and altered EEG patterns 4.” Pg. 11 (the numbers refer to footnotes)
2) Re. Hacking — Expert warns about the dangerous vulnerability of smeters. An anecdote from someone in BC. He asked me not to use his name for obvious reasons, but he told me that his 13 year old daughter managed to cause the smeter’s numbers to run backwards, thereby “stealing” electricity. She used her cellphone and was told never to do it again – but if she could do it, what could an experienced hacker do?
“If a hacker took control of a smart meter they would be able to know “exactly when and how much electricity you’re using”, Rubin told the 33rd Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg. An attacker could also see whether a home had any expensive electronics.
“He can do billing fraud, setting your bill to whatever he likes … The scary thing is if you think about the power they have over your electricity. He will have power over all of your smart devices connected to the electricity. This will have more severe consequences: imagine you woke up to find you’d been robbed by a burglar who didn’t have to break in.”
3) An article from 2012 with the same serious security warnings. I and others have been sending this type of info to BC Hydro, BCUC and the Privacy Commissioner for years, yet there is no evidence that either BC Hydro or FortisBC have taken any steps to secure our data and these devices beyond data encryption. And further, there is nothing in the financial report indicating that money is being or will be spent to do so. Once we are forced to activate the ZigBee chip which will communicate with “$$mart appliances”, even more personal information will be gathered, transmitted wirelessly, and made accessible to hackers as well as chosen third parties.
“What you’re hearing is the sound of [a] paradigm shifting without a clutch,” Former said. “Utilities have to be more enterprise security-aware. With these incidents at organizations of any size or age, the first reaction is to cover it up. The thinking is if we keep this kind of thing secret, nobody will find it or exploit it. But for those of us who are inside the industry, and have been at this long enough, the only way we’re going to fix a security problem is to expose it.”
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/04/fbi-smart-meter-hacks-likely-to-spread/comment-page-1/#comments
4) The 10 yr. old who suffered cardiac arrest on a long distance flight had sickle cell anemia. No official cause of death has been reported yet but I have asked for expert advice about the possibility that Wi-Fi could cause significant harm for someone with this disorder but have not yet received a response. When I get one, I will share. Given the fact that studies have shown that exposure to microwave radiation can cause red blood cells to become distorted and line up (rouleaux effect), it seems possible that Wi-Fi could cause harm for someone with sickle cell anemia. If this is so, then children with this disorder could suffer similar consequences in school.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/family-fundraising-girl-dies-flight-1.3914779
[https://electroplague.com/2014/04/11/magda-havas-emr/]
5) Re. my comment questioning why no agency is tracking liver cancer or heart attacks in young people, one member sent me this. Why would a doctor say this, and why wouldn’t this be a logical question any doctor should be asking??
For example regarding keeping track of this sort of thing, I have a friend whose sister worked in a large hospital in the Vancouver area. She told her brother that she noticed a lot of young people coming in with brain tumours. I told my friend to tell her to ask if they used cell phones, which did and found that the majority did.
When she mentioned it to the head doctor, he told her to stop asking that question as it was not a part of her job?????
6) An interview with Katie Singer about microwave radiation, health effects and how/why the governments allow the industry to continue to expose us to it.
Letters:
A letter from one our members:
__________________________________________________________________________
(Please read from the bottom up.)
From: X
Date: December 29, 2016 at 11:55:57 AM
To: “Customer Relations” <customer.relations@bchydro.com>
Subject: Replacing analog meters on Salt Spring Island!!!
**** I meant (in my first paragraph) “smart” meters instead of digital meters.
X
= = =
On Dec 29, 2016 at 11:49 AM
Mary:
Also, your response is unacceptable because we do not accept a “radio-off” meter but, with all the expense we are going through, we only will accept another analog one. We do not understand the unwillingness of your corporation to follow through with their agreement and committing to procuring analog meters. They are available and used in many U.S. states by those (we have friends in California, especially) who are provided with “replaced” analog meters. Being forced to submit to the “radio-off” one is not an option for us. We cannot understand why you are evading the fact that they are procurable and that it is a respectable replacement for those of us strongly opposed to the health and safety problems with the digital meters (turned off or on).
I am a cancer survivor and do whatever I can to support my health. Our current meter is on the side of our (small) home and it would never be acceptable to me to have it replaced with a smart meter.
We have expressed these views before. Paying an extra $32 each month for an electricity bill that already goes beyond our means is very difficult for us, as well. We are hoping that this payment will be seen as what it is:
manipulation on the part of your corporation to force us into “compliance” with your product. Sometime, perhaps, this will be acknowledged by BC Hydro and they will be able to see their failure in addressing these very real health and safety issues.
We feel, again, disrespected, dismissed and fearful. This is a serious breach of our trust and our right!
X
= = =
On Dec 29, 2016 at 11:19 AM Customer Relations <customer.relations@bchydro.com> wrote:
Dear X
We acknowledge receipt of your email dated December 1, 2016 to Greg Reimer, Executive Vice President which has been forwarded to me for response and I apologize for the delay. I’ll ensure a copy is forwarded to his office.
As you’re aware, in 2011 we modernized B.C.’s electricity system by installing new meters. We have taken steps to ensure the technology is safe and beneficial to all BC Hydro customers. In addressing some concerns, the Meter Choices Program was created in 2013 for eligible customers to keep old meters until they break or expire.
For those customers who chose to participate in the program, a radio-off meter is installed once the old meter expires and requires replacement. Our records indicate that the expiry seal on your meter is 2018 and we have no intentions of exchanging your meter in the immediate future. Replacing expired meters is a standard operational activity that we’ve been doing for decades. We’ll do our best to work with all our customers to arrange access before an exchange is attempted.
I trust this information addresses some of your concerns. If we can assist you further, please contact our Customer Metering Team at 1-800-409-8199.
Sincerely,
Mary Hayles
Customer Relations
= = =
From: X
Sent: December 01, 2016 11:40 PM
To: commission.secretary@bcuc.com; patrick.wruck@bcuc.com; Reimer, Greg; McDonald, Jessica
Cc: Sharon Noble;
Subject: Re: Replacing analog meters on Salt Spring Island!!!
This is to express our outrage at what we are hearing about workers coming to Salt Spring homes (and presumably other areas) unannounced to replace their analog meters. We are angered and frightened that this is occurring. Along with so many others, we do not accept replacement of our analog meters with digital ones. PLEASE respect our (health and other) needs. If and when our meter expires, we expect it to be replaced with another analog one. This is our necessity. We are also frustrated with being treated so disrespectfully and also being lied to. Stop this harassment! It has to stop! PLEASE SUPPORT US!
X
Salt Spring Island
Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
Even if all the experts agree, they may well be mistaken.
~ Bertrand Russell