HEALTH
Utility companies are starting to connect everyone with a wireless super grid which uses pulsed radiofrequency microwaves from a meter in the middle of your house. This beams information to a hub in the street which collects your data every 30 minutes (or more often if your home unit acts as a relay) and sends it to the utility companies. This is a relatively cheap solution for the utility companies.
This network will be in addition to existing phone masts, TETRA and Wi-Fi hubs. If you or your neighbours already use a mobile phone, cordless telephone, baby monitor, Blackberry, wireless computer equipment, internet etc your home/ business/ school may exceed the recommended safety levels for non-thermal radiation exposure.
The ICNIRP Guidelines the government are using to assess safety levels were established for the effects of thermal heating on healthy adult males. Most people are affected by the non-thermal effects. Children and babies are especially vulnerable as they have a smaller body mass, thinner skulls, and their immune systems are still developing. No research has been done on the cumulative effects of pulsed microwave radiation over a child’s lifetime.
Despite the UK Chief Medical Officers advising against non-essential use of a mobile phone by children, countries around the world limiting levels of emissions for children, AND the World Health Organisation classifying radiofrequency microwave radiation as possibly causing cancer, the UK government STILL want to increase the radiation vulnerable people are exposed to by installing a countrywide wireless super grid. No one will come to your house to check if your home has safe radiation levels – it’s up to you to do something about it.
An estimated 2-4 % of the population suffer from Electro-Sensitivity (ES). Severe sufferers will not be able to live in any area covered by the network. They will become homeless and lose their jobs. The government are aware of this issue but appear to be ignoring it. This contravenes Human Rights legislation and the Government’s own Equality Act 2010.
The concern for the general population is any long-term health effects; it will be difficult to identify the cause of these, and even more difficult to prove. The effect may be an increase in illnesses such as headaches, ADD/ADHD, anxieties, childhood leukaemia, various cancers and Electro-Sensitivity. Worldwide scientific research links this type of radiation to sleep problems, behavioural difficulties, heart disease, decreased fertility, diabetes, and birth defects. Some people may feel more restless, have problems sleeping and be more irritable. The industry has been very effective at keeping the debate focused on the heating effect on tissues, and away from the non-thermal effects like the illnesses above. Industry and government continue to use ICNIRP safety guidelines hoping we won’t notice.
Some people dismiss the health effects: we are exposed to so much electromagnetic pollution already, what’s one more ‘small exposure’? It is the cumulative effect that is the concern. With so many challenges to our immune system and general health, for some people this could be proverbial ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. The Wireless Smart Meter network could be the tipping point for many people’s health as it will cover the entire country 24 hours a day increasing non-voluntary radiation over and above current levels. Those that are vulnerable are likely to see increasing levels of general ill health.
A wired fibre optic network for Smart Meters with optional wired HAN, will not emit pulsed radiation and would be a much safer option for public health.
History shows that the authorities are very slow to regulate any dangerous technology, and industries can be adept at delaying any government action for several decades using various tactics. The examples of tobacco, lead, asbestos and many chemicals, drugs and food additives show that when the bottom line is threatened, the lives of the innocent are of little concern as long as there is no public outcry.
To date these new technologies have been voluntarily adopted by the public in most cases, but it is not an informed public. Numerous non-industry funded studies, by reputable scientists, have shown that these technologies are biologically active. There is yet no decisive proof of harm, which is much more costly and difficult to obtain, and will probably take many years. Since smart meters are similar to cell phones in their radiation, the telecommunications industry is likely to be concerned about any regulation. And this is a very deep pocketed industry. The vast majority of health studies funded by the cell phone industry show no health effects, while the majority of those independently funded do find effects.
If you want the UK government to use a wired fibre optic network for smart meters you must tell them NOW. While installation costs may be higher, in the long term a fibre optic network is likely to save the taxpayer millions of pounds in future increased NHS and social services costs from adverse health effects. It could also help to ensure privacy and the security of our personal information.
