Since the SMART meter installation I have developed the following symptoms when I am at home –
There is a high pitched noise at regular intervals, intensity increases at night starting at around 8:05pm and then regular intervals of approx 30 mins, with highest intensity at around midnight.
Tingling on the scalp normally in the front top left and the right back of the skull.
Tingling and numbness in my extremities
Dizziness in the morning where the room is spinning.
Heart palpitations and swelling of glands
Muscle spasms and tremors when in bed. Sometimes this is localised to the feet, kidneys, behind my head, etc.
Migraines
Fatigue
Hair loss
Loss of sleep.
The plant which was under the SMART meter started dying. I’ve since changed its position and it’s beginning to thrive again.
I have seen various doctors and medical practitioners and have had medical checkups and a myriad test and they have found nothing physically wrong to explain the symptoms. Physically I am healthy. So the causes of these symptoms are outside of my control.
I do NOT own a microwave oven, mobile phones are powered off in the house, and all electrical appliances when not in use are unplugged. I switch on my mobile phone 3 times a day to check on messages, then power it down again, and limit the use to no more than 2 minutes a call at a max. I make less than 5 calls per week on the mobile phone and only in emergencies.
If I want to have a good nights sleep, I need to leave my home and stay overnight in a house which does not have a SMART meter installed.
SANTA CRUZ, CA.—Just as PG&E enters the final phase of its deployment of wireless “smart” meters in California, the largest of the state’s Investor Owned Utilities (IOU’s) has reversed course, quietly beginning to replace the ‘smart’ meters of those reporting health impacts with the old trusty analog version. Consumer rights and health groups immediately seized on the news, demanding that millions of Californians unhappy with their new wireless meters get their analogs returned immediately at no cost.
‘Smart’ meters are new wireless utility meters being installed as part of the “smart” grid initiative, spearheaded by technology firms and backed by the Obama administration and the Department of Energy. Promises ranging from lower utility bills to enhanced renewable generation capacity have failed to materialize, with widespread reports of higher bills, privacy violations, fires and explosions, and commonly reported health impacts such as headaches, nausea, tinnitus, and heart problems associated with powerful wireless transmissions. Widely disparate political groups- from members of the Green Party to the Tea Party and Occupy protesters have attacked the program, and dozens of grassroots organizations have sprouted up over the past several months to fight what they call an undemocratic, unconstitutional and dangerous assault on people in their own homes and neighborhoods. Dozens of people have been detained or arrested for peaceful civil disobedience and even simply speaking out against deployments.[1]
In California, more than 47 cities and counties have demanded a halt to halt installation, and a dozen local governments have passed laws prohibiting the controversial technology. [2] The ‘smart’ meter issue has further angered a public already seething at the utilities over repeated gas explosions, safety breaches at nuclear reactors, and an increasingly extortionate rate structure. Word of California’s ‘smart’ meter nightmare has spread across the country and around the world, prompting some utilities to place smart meter plans on hold, and recently Nevada’s PUC to call for investigations into the health effects and other smart meter problems.[3]
Now in a dramatic turnaround that could signal the beginning of a widespread recall of wireless ‘smart’ meters, on October 28th PG&E re-installed a classic spinning disc analog meter on the home of Santa Cruz, CA resident Caitlin Phillips, who had been suffering headaches and other symptoms from her ‘smart’ meter. The move comes in response to verbal directives from the California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey, who recently told members of the public that the utility “will provide for you to go back to the analog meter if that’s your choice.” The CPUC has been slow to respond to thousands of ordinary citizens reporting health effects from the new meters.
When a Wellington Energy installer (contracted with PG&E) came to install a smart meter at her home, Caitlin asked the installer to get off her property and not install, because of what a neighbor had told her about possible health damage and privacy violations. “When I returned home later, I discovered a smart meter on my house. That night I awoke to severe anxiety, headache, and buzzing in my teeth, and realized the new smart meter was on the other side of the wall from my bed.” Caitlin reported her experience to PG&E and the CPUC, who both declined to rectify the situation. When the symptoms persisted, Caitlin sought the assistance of the Scotts Valley based group Stop Smart Meters! who provided an analog meter and referred her to a professional who could help her remove her ‘smart’ meter. As soon as the analog was installed, Caitlin’s symptoms disappeared.
Frustrated and outraged about her treatment by the utility and the PUC, Caitlin travelled to San Francisco to speak at a commission meeting on Oct. 20th. About a week later, PG&E crews were at her house replacing her temporary analog meter with a brand new official PG&E analog meter. This is believed to be the first time PG&E have willingly replaced an analog meter on the home of someone suffering from health effects.[4]
An “opt-out” proceeding overseen by an Administrative Law Judge is underway at the CA Public Utilities Commission, yet those suffering (in some cases severe) health impacts have been stuck in limbo as utilities refuse to remove the harmful meters upon request- until now.
“There are hundreds of thousands- if not millions- of people suffering in their homes from forced ‘smart’ meter radiation,” said Joshua Hart, Director of the grassroots organization Stop Smart Meters! “The utilities and PUC’s must respond promptly to all requests that analogs be returned. The alternative is that people will increasingly turn to independent professionals to remove unwanted ‘smart’ meters from their homes, a reasonable action we assert is within our legal rights. Protecting your family’s health is not tampering.”
PG&E and other utilities have also been responding to health complaints by replacing wireless ‘smart’ meters with digital meters that are “wireless-ready.” These digital meters have been associated with health problems from “dirty electricity” frequencies that pass into a home via the electrical wiring. These “trojan horse” meters have been roundly rejected by those who report continuing health impacts after installation. Susan Brinchman, Director of San Diego based Center for Electrosmog Prevention. said “At this point, the burden of responsibility is on the utilities to demonstrate that any new meter they want to install on our homes is safe. Communities have the right to retain analog meters at no extra charge. Period.”
I am writing my concerns for myself and my family since our SMART Metre started transmitting radio waves every 30 minutes. Our bills are extremely high and we can do nothing about it.
Please find below the health concerns (especially for myself)
constantly feeling dizzy and light-headed
constant ringing in my ears
inability to sleep at night
extreme fatigue
heart palpitations
Hope this is helpful in stopping smart meters.
Vermont South Victoria
by: Matt Johnston From: Herald Sun November 01, 2011 12:00AM
MONEY-hungry power companies will hit households an extra $1.1 billion to install smart meters after winning approval for hikes on the eve of the Melbourne Cup.The decision will lead to bill increases of about $60 a year just in meter charges, and will take the gloss off any interest rate cut tipped to be announced today.
The Australian Energy Regulator has been forced to back down on efforts to limit smart meter installation costs to about $760 million, between 2012 and 2015.
The power giants appealed against the AERs draft decision in July and supplied complex price plans that showed they would have to spend big to give households the controversial new technology, which is supposed to lower bills over time.
Distributors will now be able to slug Australians an extra $360 million through meter costs. One company is allowed to charge families as much as $220 a year just to have a meter.
Consumer advocates slammed the decision to release the final determination on Cup Day eve.
St Vincent de Paul spokesman Gavin Dufty said some people could face increases of about $40 in the short term, rising over time.”Thats my best guess – what else can you do when regulators put very significant decisions out late on Cup eve?” he said. “This is a runaway train. We have got these smart-meter charges, we have got the carbon tax costs coming … households are struggling.
“State Energy Minister Michael OBrien said he was concerned about the cost impact on families.”We remain committed to trying to turn this program inside out and upside down to try to see how it can possibly deliver benefits to customers,” he said.
Australian Energy Regulator chairman Andrew Reeves said his staff had done everything possible to try to protect consumers.
He said the final decision on pricing was less than the $1.24 billion budget initially requested by companies. Mr Reeves said the AER had to deliver the decision on smart meter costs by the end of October and it was disappointing it couldnt be made before Cup eve. “The work had to be done, and we couldnt release the decision before the market closed.
Its time to pull together Victoria. So many of us have been fighting in our own area, now its time to ACT AS ONE.
We need everyone’s help to step up the campaign against smart meters – people are being seriously affected and their lives turned upside down, and most of the meters already installed have not been turned onto transmit yet (ie they are still being read by meter reader) which means they will not be causing these terrible health effects on people until they are – so just think whats going to happen to us when they are. DON”T WAIT UNTIL THEN, lets STOP THEM NOW so that those installed CANNOT START TRANSMITTING. You may think that by deferring your installation, that the fight is over, well it’s NOT, so please make a stand with us now.
If you heard Minister O’Brien on 3AW this morning I’m sure you would have got the same message as I did, that they have no intention of stopping the smart meters installation, because they are “too far into it” well they wouldn’t have been if they had stopped it pending the review. So we MUST ACT STRONGLY.
What can you do? Make sure you send your horror story or concerns to all the following.
Please put pen to paper NOW, keep a copy and send it registered post (keep a copy of the reg post number with your copy) to The Hon. Michael O’Brien, MP Minister for Energy and Resources 1 Spring Street Melbourne VIC 3000 or at least email it through (not the same impact though – too easy to hit the delete button) michael.o’brien@parliament.vic.gov.au & sarah.leslie@minstaff.vic.gov.auMinister O’Brian’s Energy Advisor, Sarah Leslie, told Mark Florio he was the first person that she knows who has had health problems with Smart Meters. If this is true, we need to bombard her and the Minister with (Registered Mail) letters AND emails.
Write a letter to the editor at your local paper and to the state papers (I have attached a file with lots of papers names and email addresses to help you at the end of this message)
Go to www.stopsmartmetersau.com (our new site) and put your email address in the “subscribe” field on the right side so that you will receive all our update notifications to be informed. Tell all your friends, family and neighbours to register too.
If you seriously want to know where you stand with your rights then you may want to make the effort to attend the following meeting. A free public meeting is held by two solicitors who are experienced in constitutional law on the last Tuesday of each month starting at 7.30pm. The venue is at the Library, 154 High Street, Ashburton (Melbourne suburb). Melways map 60 C9. Next meeting will be held on Tuesday 29th November 2011. Topics of concern can be discussed. Many people have been asking questions about smart meters – their rights with privacy, trespass, fires and health problems from the pulsed microwave radiation into the meters. Solicitors are: Darryl O’Brien and Peter Gargan.
If you are one of the 400 members of the public who made a submission to the review, then you will know that as members of the public our submissions were not published – so if you would like yours published for others to read email it to stopsmartmetersau@gmail.com with a note that you are approving it to be published on our www.stopsmartmetersau.com website.
We need to get the momentum going. Also, I think some anti Michael O’Brien letters are necessary, indicating that he seems to have his head in the sand concerning the well documented health risks and as a result some places overseas are now making the meters optional etc.
I hope you realise that we have a serious fight for our rights and that there is always power in numbers. Please join with us to show Victoria we can make a difference if we stand up for our rights. Thank you in anticipation of your support
Mark and Maureen Florio and their children John, Teresa and Joseph outside their home. Picture: Bruce Magilton Herald Sun
A SMART meter health scare has driven residents from their homes amid fears they are being exposed to high levels of electromagnetic radiation.
A young family and another resident have fled the Keilor East street, claiming constant headaches and sleep deprivation is making their lives a misery, but authorities say the controversial devices are safe.
Marc and Maureen Florio, who have been staying with friends since Friday, said they and their four children had suffered side-effects since a neighbour’s smart meter was installed three weeks ago.
Tests found radio frequency emissions more than 30 times stronger than “precautionary levels” in their 14-year-old son’s bedroom and high levels elsewhere. All readings were within Australian standards.
“It’s like an absolute nightmare,” Ms Florio said.
“I do not know what we are going to do … we are smart meter refugees.”
Mr Florio said a doctor attributed constant headaches to the meter. He and his eldest son are also sensitive to other emissions.
“We are not after compensation,” he said. “We just want it switched off.”
Kathi Buzza, who had the meter installed, also wants the device gone.
YSHIELD general manager David Mould, who tested the Florios’ house, recommended the smart meter be removed.
He said while readings were within Australian standards some people appeared sensitive to weaker emissions and he recommend lower levels as per European guidelines.
Power company Jemena said tests of the meter and another across the road had shown no problems. Other residents had not expressed health concerns.
The Baillieu Government has ordered independent checks to allay concerns about potential health risks from smart meters.
A spokesman for the Energy Minister said testing so far showed they had complied with standards and emitted weaker electromagnetic emissions than other sources such as baby monitors and mobile phones.
MAXIMUM READINGS AT THE FLORIO HOME
CHILD’S bedroom, 182 (5 precautionary guidelines)
DOWNSTAIRS study, 167 (10 precautionary guidelines)
MASTER bedroom, 130 (5 precautionary)
UPSTAIRS kitchen, 114 (10 precautionary)
UPSTAIRS table tennis area, 101 (10 precautionary)
Source: YSHIELD. Density measured in microwatts/m2. Precautionary figure based on guidelines from Building Biology and Ecology Institute, Germany.
RADIO FREQUENCY EMISSIONS
Normal distance from a smart meter 50
Immediately next to a smart meter 88,000
Standing near an operating microwave oven 100,000
Wi-fi wireless routers, laptop computers, cyber cafes 100,000-200,000
Mobile phone at head up to 300,000-100,000,000
Source: Silver Spring Networks Power density measured in microwatts/m2
A free public meeting is held by two solicitors who are experienced in constitutional law on the last Tuesday of each month starting at 7.30pm. The venue is at the Library, 154 High Street, Ashburton (Melbourne suburb). Melways map 60 C9. Next meeting will be held on Tuesday 29th November 2011. Topics of concern can be discussed. Many people have been asking questions about smart meters – their rights with privacy, trespass, fires and health problems from the pulsed microwave radiation of the meters.
I would like to share a story regarding my adult son. He had the smart meters (two) installed at his property sometime in June/July, 2011. The 2 meters (one for hot water the other power) is located directly outside his bedroom wall – near his bed head. Since the installation of the meters he and his 2 years old son have experienced ringing the ears and dizziness. This only occurs at night. We reported this to Powercor and the Ombudsman. Powercor denied there are any health issues however sent a Powercor person to his home to inspect this. In the meantime my son had a blackout one morning after getting out of bed and has sustained severe damage to his face which has resulted in major surgery to face ie 2 metal plates inserted into face. Whilst in hospital my son did not experience any health issues however on the 1st day at home the ringing in the ears again appeared and he sustained dizziness in the morning. We have since replaced the electric water system with a gas water unit. When Powercor come to property in Horsham they disconnected one of the smart meters and stated my sons problems could have been occurring as a result of frequency coming from the electric water unit to the smart meter at night. Since the smart meter has been disconnected and we changed to the gas water service my son has not experienced any further dizziness or ringing in his ears. We hope this continues however this does not fix the major surgery my son has had to have to his face.
Melbourne homeowners are rebelling against the controversial smart meter roll out.
Smart meter backlash Running time 1.38min
Some Victorian residents believe the controversial smart meters are making them sick.
Smart meter pain Running time 1.29min
Stop Smart Meters Australia 