HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5816
https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-5816

2: I am a chartered electrical engineer in the UK, responding as an individual consumer and patient. (I am not representing my professional institution.) The answers below provide a brief summary of my experience in suffering adverse health reactions to digital electricity meters and my personal investigation into the cause. Further details are available here: https://engx.theiet.org/f/discussions/30160/reasons-why-i-suffered-tinnitus-insomnia-chronic-fatigue-and-other-health-problems-after-having-digital-electricity-meters-installed

3a: I've suffered adverse reactions to EFs and EMFs from:
   • Digital electricity meters, smart or dumb
   • Broadband routers
   • Mains LED lighting

3b, c, d & f: I started suffering severe high-pitched (14 kHz) non-pulsatile tinnitus, ear pressure and insomnia 15 hours after smart meters were installed in my home in February 2022. For the next 5 days, I slept no more than 90 minutes per night. The electricity meter was then replaced with another model. When this meter was powered on, my ears each felt an electrical shock. My tinnitus, ear pressure and insomnia improved slightly, but still not tolerable The smart communications module was removed 2 days later, the power company believing I would no longer suffer. Alas, further symptoms developed over the following days and weeks, chronic fatigue becoming the most debilitating, while struggling to get medical help and an analog meter refitted urgently.

In July 2022, the company installed an old non-smart digital meter. My tinnitus intensified almost immediately. Another such meter was trialed 3 weeks later. My tinnitus eased, but I developed a migraine 4 days later. I left home and over the next 3 days I recovered from the migraine and chronic fatigue. I returned home, started to feel unwell almost immediately, so I left and recovered again. I returned home on the day this meter was being replaced. Outside, I tingled horribly and instructed my wife to turn off the electricity. The tingling ceased immediately, providing evidence that the household wiring was acting like a transmission antenna. The replacement meter, the same type as the 2nd, caused symptoms similar to those experienced while its counterpart was installed.

An analog meter was finally refitted 2 weeks later. I recovered back to around 80% of normal in 1 week. However, tinnitus and insomnia still continue, but these are milder than at any time during my meter ordeal, but they are getting worse as exposure to what has become known as “dirty electricity” increases.

Details of symptoms, their approximate timing in relation to meter installations and my actions to mitigate the effects can be found in Attachment 1.

3e: Medical assessments were sought throughout my ordeal. I was only ever diagnosed with tinnitus and a blood pressure problem. All the medics I saw were sadly at a loss to help me.

3g: Attachment 2 contains a list of the scientific evidence I have obtained in full.

5n: Regulators must be fully independent from organizations that manufacture or use equipment that emits RF/EMF for financial gain.

5o: Yes. The cause of my sensitivity, low frequency EMFs, are poorly represented in the available science, despite being considered bio-active. The public understandably have concerns over high frequency mobile communication signals, but few people realize that badly suppressed switched-mode power supplies and inverters can cause debilitating health issues due to their low frequency emissions.

5p: The current use of SAR ignores the characteristics that cause interference with biology at much lower intensities than required for heating body tissue. (Polarization is another characteristic that needs to be considered.)

6: Scientists claim there are over 125,000 pieces of evidence available.

8: Assessment must take into account all characteristics and also real-world conditions where a dwelling or workplace are subject to multiple emitters of RF/EMF.

9: A system to forewarn people of potentially harmful exposure is essential. Currently, sensitive people only find out if somewhere is harmful when they start feeling ill, which is too late. Avoidance is key not just to stay well, but also to prevent sensitivity increasing.

10: New systems must be developed in order to assess the scale of this problem. The medical profession have to take notice of those of us who know we are sensitive. They also need to find out why a minority of people have become highly sensitive in order to prevent the majority becoming so sensitive.

11: Current standards are largely based upon short term tests with a healthy adult male and a few animals. They are highly unsuited for protecting children, females, the elderly and adults with certain medical conditions.

16: Low frequency EMFs: The cost to suppress these frequencies from power supplies and inverters is peanuts in comparison to the cost of healthcare, welfare payments, lost productivity and ruined lives etc.