Smart meters

My name is Staci Howard. I'm 36 years old, but in my late twenties I started experiencing many health issues. I went from a very health wife and mom of two young children, to an anxious, hurting women that couldn't get answers. I saw multiple doctors, they all told me that my labs were great and I was healthy. I wasn't experiencing good health, however. I not only was struggling with mental health struggles like anxiety, panic attacks and depression, I was also having many physical symptoms. I was battling headaches, pain in my leg and arms, flushed cheeks, jaw pain, brain fog, miscarriages, trouble sleeping and other things that would come up here and there. I wasn't getting any answers, my health was getting worse and my husband was concerned. One day I realized that when I was carrying my cell phone in my jean pocket, my leg pain increased. I also noticed that my arm pain and headaches were also worse with cell phone use. I had no idea this could happen, but I reached out to a professional in the holistic health space and she confirmed that it can happen. As we dove into this subject, we looked around our apartment and realized we lived under power lines, above six smart meters, wifi in our apartment and the apartments around us and many cell towers within a short distance from our home. This realization was completely overwhelming and my parents graciously allowed our family to move in with them, they lived rurally and they completely changed their lives around for us. They turned their wifi off, which, interestingly enough, I reacted to when my mom turned the wifi back on without my knowledge. I felt completely drained and defeated, I remember crawling onto the couch overwhelmed, having no idea that she had turned it on and not realizing why I was responding in the way I did. I hardly left their home for a month, I finally started to slowly adventure back out into the world, realizing that places like the church building and the library were toxic to me. My tongue would start tingling, I would get light headed, feel nauseous and have extreme brain fog. We all ended up moving even further from city life, moving to Eastern Oregon where we had more sunshine and less wireless radiation exposure. We don't have wifi in our home, I didn't have a cell phone for over seven year, just recently getting one due to my children being older and me needing to be able to be reached easier. It took over a year until I could sit through an entire church service again, often needing to take breaks and go outside. I still react going into the library, or if I'm at church very long I feel, what we call "wi-fried". Headaches, rosey cheeks, tingling tongue, light headed, brain fog... they are all still realities of being in wireless environments. Having my home base safe, allowing healing is what has allowed me to heal as much as I have, I believe it's why I've also been able to have three more healthy babies. My husband also feels a difference between high wireless spaces and our home, he gets brain fog and headaches as well. It's been a long journey, I'm thankful that I can handle being in the community as much as I do, because I know not everyone can. I "budget" my time, knowing if I have church and a meeting in one week, I may not take my kids to the library that same week... or different things like that. I have missed out on many things, I've had to quit volunteer work because I couldn't handle that much wireless exposure. In my experience, schools are the worst. I had take my son to an event at a local public school and I could hardly stand being in the building. It's my belief that food dye and wireless radiation are the two biggest issues in our schools today, with the behavioral issues we're facing, I firmly believe eliminating wifi and other wireless from schools would help these kids an amazing amount. Thank you so much for looking into this! I believe it will be life changing for so many.

I'm an individual of middle age who has experienced issues with mobile phones and WiFi for many years. I thought it was normal until I started to connect the dots. A couple of years ago I contacted an Environmental Consultant and Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist and he diagnosed me with Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity. My symptoms include head pain, tingling, redness/flushing, burning, fatigue, nausea, and difficulty concentrating. Due to my WiFi sensitivity, I've disabled WiFi and hard-wired my electronics. I keep technology to a minimum. Recently, I had to enable the WiFi to install a new router/modem combo. It was only on for about a half hour but my head felt like it was in a vice. When I finally disabled the WiFi again, the relief was almost instantaneous. My fingers burn if I'm using the computer while it's charging. I installed a landline so that I can use the phone without headaches, but because landlines now operate on VoIP, I have to limit that time as well. I would not let the electric company install a "smart" meter because of the health risks. I think everything "smart" is really dumb because of the EMF and RF exposure. It is getting harder and harder to find a safe place. I recently heard about a woman with such severe EMF that she committed suicide because she couldn't find a safe haven. It is very sad. Now these data centers are going up everywhere, too. I wish the government would do something to prevent this “smart” technology from taking over and destroying our lives and making us sick because whether people have symptoms or not, it is killing all of us!

I’m interested in learning about how having an electrical box near you bed can affect your health. Since moving into our new home, I’ve had health issues and wonder if this could be related. When I look at trying to move my meter or replace it with an analog meter, I’m met with extreme expenses and push back from my electric company. Please help

I am an individual who hears electricity humming in the walls. When the power goes out, my body immediately relaxes ( despite the inconvenience of no electricity) I sleep better & more deeply with the power off ( even if it’s too warm or too cold) When I am in a public space with lots of WiFi I can feel vertigo, nausea or just exhaustion—- even though I felt fine elsewhere. In particular places with big swathes of fluorescent lighting are issues. ( I don’t shop at some big box stores anymore, due to this) those give me headaches. In general my body has a very inflammatory response to all these EMFs…many of these symptoms go away when I am out in nature, far from WiFi signals & dirty electricity. We have avoided a Smart Meter for now, but our neighbors have them. I can only imagine how much healthier all of us will be when we clean these up. Thank you, Karen Thompson

I am submitting this comment in response to HHS’s Request for Information on Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Radiofrequency (RF) Radiation, and Wireless Radiation Exposure. I am responding from the perspective of a person, who is sensitive to wireless radiation and electromagnetic radiation (emr). Already sensitive to emr. our utility in British Columbia threatened to turn off our hydro power, if we would not accept a Smart Meter. I said we could not, because both my husband and I had health issues, affected by emr. Our power was turned off. My husband had just put harvested farm produce in a walk-in cooler, so he asked for the power to be turned back on. The utility said only if we accepted a Smart Meter and paid a $750 re-installation fee. We were coerced to have a Radio OFF Smart Meter. Within a week, my husband had a stroke, and a second stroke the following week. I experienced cognitive and memory dysfunction. I couldn't find an area in our house where I could sleep, tried sleeping outside, but it was too cold. It was a horrendous affair. Someone heard about us and recommended a combo of a Sine Tamer and Smart Meter Guards, which, when we finally obtained them, made life bearable, though still challenging. For a month after the emr was somewhat mitigated, I had night sweats. I slept in the living room for four years, because the SM was on the wall outside the bedrooms. BC Hydro later did a software upgrade on the SM without informing us. However, we found the employee installing it. That night, when all was quiet, there was a loud hum in the house. This persisted for the 3 weeks it took to have it uninstalled. Again, i couldn't sleep, and tried sleeping outside, in the car, and in a shed, but that was too uncomfortable, I slept fitfully for the 3 weeks. I continue to avoid public places, find it difficult to do shopping, and have a very limited social life. I couldn't even attend church. I manage to do shopping by wearing a silver threaded hat that makes excursions bearable, but it takes a lot out of me. Where I live now, I stay in the lowest emr corner of a suite, so even that is limiting. It's difficult to find a healthy home where I can live naturally. I believe that some of us, who are ehs, have toxins in our bodies from mercury (amalgams), aluminum, lead, cadmium, barium, arsenic and other toxins, in our food, air and water. Add these stressors to other stresses and to experiences of trauma and abuse, and the body reaches a tipping point where it can no longer tolerate the toxic load. It is not our fault, and we should have a choice of low emr environments to live and work in. If our society really had the health of its citizens foremost in mind, it would provide coverage for counselling support to lessen the burden of stresses. In turn, this would make for a healthier society. I do not have any wireless technology in my living space. Instead, I have a landline telephone, in-the-wall computer, in-the-wall modem, and no cell or cordless phones. I sleep with my head away from the wall and the bed about 2 feet from the wall. Of course, avoiding stress,and having emotional support and a healthy lifestyle are important. I support HHS taking an active role in examining the potential health and environmental effects of wireless radiation. Questions about human health should be addressed by federal agencies with appropriate expertise in medicine, trauma, biology, epidemiology, and public health, and the experiences of individuals and families who report being affected should be considered alongside the scientific evidence. I urge HHS to carefully evaluate these experiences and the scientific evidence, identify gaps in current research, give particular attention to children and other potentially vulnerable populations, and establish appropriate federal research priorities regarding wireless radiation and public health. Thank you for providing individuals and families with an opportunity to be heard.

I personally experience painful tingling in my hands so that I sometimes have to stop using my computer. The kids and I wear silver underwear everyday. Our family lives near a cell phone tower in Germany and my children (now early teens) have experienced many symptoms in the last years - trouble sleeping (especially since Smart Meters were introduced in all buildings here!!!), persistent headaches in one child, and neck problems. Eye strain in our younger child is common. To mitigate some of these constant issues - and yes, I am trying to move us to a new house! - I have invested in EMF protecting bedsheets, a router that automatically turns off when devices are off, screen-flicker blocking glasses... we do what we can to turn off all devices at night, but neighbours do NOT. Our symptoms have improved somewhat - especially the bedsheets help with sleep. It's been financially costly to support our bodies to cope with this much radiation stress, and I do not use a smartphone due to my sensitivity.

Question number two: I am a healthcare professional responding as an individual based on my own clinical observations. Question number three: a) All noted forms of exposure except wearables, unless that would include a pacemaker, and occupational equipment. B) The nature of exposure is through common household, business, and individual devices with frequency as per normal daily life. I do question if initial exposure could have been in my workplace of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the hospital I worked due to onset of adverse symptoms specific to that location and time beginning in 1990, that resolved when those restrictions were removed. Future adverse effects were noted with the growth of prevalence in normal society over the decades. Adverse effects multiplied with increased use of cell phones, including non smart flip versions, proximity to cell towers and use of cellular devise with decrease of symptoms noted with ending call and increasing proximity of both from person, personal devices used in home, places of business and worship. All of theses being experienced from late 1990 to present in increasing degrees. There is one other possible exposure that would date back to the 1970’s and continue to present. Even as a young child I noticed an odd sensation when at a particular home that was adjacent to very large power lines. C). Adverse effects noted are hot and cold temperature variations, an off balance feeling of being pushed, feeling of anger or uneasiness for no reason, hearing high pitched noises in one or both ears, feeling of floor or myself vibrating, not feeling like myself, increased blood pressure during these experiences, tingling of hands and arms, especially when holding a cell phone or iPad with increase noted in association of updates to software where as time to tingling decreased from needing approximately thirty minutes or more exposure to approximately immediate or proximity to a cell tower, electric shocks ranging from minor such as is noted when flipping a light switch to taking my breath away and causing me to scream out, brain fog, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, presyncope to degree of fear with driving my children, increased heart rate and respiratory rate, feeling of needing to flee an area but with no noticeable threat, general chaos feeling inside my body, soreness, inability to move arm or neck, menstrual difficulties, and a particular sensation when near electrical devises that are making a humming sound such as an induction stove top, a surge protector, speaker, electrical panel, and on certain locations of a departing airplane. I cannot say this is an exhaustive list. D). As above and noticeable changes have emerged as exposures have grown with attention to wireless devices, increase of use such as in areas that have more or more powerful devices, during nuclear stress testing, after smart meter installation, this spring after fiber installation on my road, and within five minutes of mammogram. E). Medical evaluation was sought specifically for some of the above symptoms beginning approximately 2007. It was continually dismissed until 2017. At my demand of assessment and treatment, heart block was identified progressing to complete heart block within weeks and resulted in placement of pacemaker. This began an ongoing event of more symptoms with greater severity of some, new ones, with alleviation or improvement of some, including two more surgeries resulting in a complete new pacemaker system being placed at eleven months post initial one. More medical evaluation was sought in approximately 2021 in correlation with an episode of whole body vibration, uneasy increasing to anxiousness, tingling of hand while holding phone, and anger noted with use of flip cell phone as never experienced before. My MD questioned specifically if I knew how close to a cell tower I was as these symptoms increased and culminated. I was able to identify that I was parked within feet of a cell tower and that symptoms subsided once I threw the phone away from my body and drove away as to increasing proximity to tower. Since, I have continued to seek medical care for these symptoms with a renewed emphasis since about 2024 where I noticed an increase in virtually all but particularly the onset of drenching night sweats, sleep disturbance, extreme menstrual abnormalities, and fatigue while staying in an air B n B where there was a loud humming noise every morning at the power meter that was coincidentally on the outside of the wall where I slept. Again, this is probably not exhaustive. F) As noted in E above. G) I have no supporting documentation without securing my medical record.

Thank you for being concerned about wireless technology. I wish more investigations had happened before we were inundated with this. I turn off all electronics including my router at night, but now am having to deal with a smart meter which i have no desire for,but will have to pay every month for a meter reader if I don’t accept!! My concerns aren’t just wireless radiation, but the large screens in cars, which take attention away from driving ( people driving erratically is now the norm) everywhere I go people looking down using their phones, and the discomfort people feel if their phone isn’t on their person. Thanks for listening.

This is my second comment but an important one. Very Important: Please look into laws that would make every smart device that emits a wireless signal to have a button to turn it off, for people who want to opt out. It is increasingly hard to find appliances anymore that do not put out a signal. This should be the case for cars as well. Also, no one should have to pay much extra to opt out of smart meters (from power company), and perhaps it should even be outlawed, being that they put out substantial pulses of energy. The digital ones also put out 'dirty electricity'; people should be able to request analog meters (not just non-emitting). Please don't leave out 'dirty electricity' from your studies, which can come from that, as well as LED light bulbs (cannot even find halogen bulbs in stores anymore), fiberoptic cable, or adapter boxes on things plugged into walls like chargers. There should be standards to reduce 'dirty electricity'. Thank you.

Get rid of smart meters on residential homes, they emit emfs, and radio frequencies, and the utility companies charge and opt out fee, that is paid monthly comma also led lights, are bad for our health along with their street lights