Energy and Climate Change CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Christina Steils and Giles Keyte (SMR11)
I am writing to you to ask to consider carefully if a nationwide roll-out of smart meters really is the correct decision.
There is a lot of independent research out there proving negative impact of RF radiation on the human body. I am aware that there is a lot of research coming up with inconclusive results or proving the opposite. But until it is proven for sure, that there is no harm for human beings we should err on the side of caution.
The WHO just recently changed the the rating for mobile phone radiation from “not carcinogenic” to “possibly carcinogenic”.
(Find the paper by the EU commission where they asked for exactly this and add that link here!!)
There is a growing number of people who do not use wireless or are reducing the number of wireless gadgets in their households, due to the impact it takes out on their lives and the lives of generations to come.
The more devices one has the more RF is emitted; the more RF there is around us the more problems a body has on dealing with it. A smart meter is yet another device added to this. In addition this device I can’t switch off. I can switch my mobile off, my wifi. I can cable other gadgets instead of using wireless, but a smart meter would be running 24/7 inside my own home. This infringes on my rights as a human being as well as a tenant or home owner.
On a different note I do believe that there are serious privacy issues concerning the use of smart meters in addition to the health issues I have outlined. But if we had to go ahead with smart meters, why can’t we go ahead with a cabled option. Every household in the UK has a telephone line in our house holds and the government are pushing fibre optic cables all around the country to increase broadband speeds. (Another element, that shows that wireless often isn’t even up to the task it’s supposed to provide).
I am attaching several pdfs and links to international websites and articles about this topic. Further I added a short explanation about electro-sensitivity (ES). Please have a closer look at this information.
Until we are really sure, that there is no health issue connected with non-ionising radiation we should be very careful with our decisions. Will you be able to look at your family’s faces in years to come and say we had something to do with this health issue? And we took the easy option?
I hope that you will give this issue and future requests for more wireless developments a serious and open-minded thought.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
February 2013
Electro-Sensitivity (ES)
Once you become electro-sensitive many people suffer from a variety of symptoms in close vicinity to electromagnetic fields, Wi-fi, mobiles, DECT phones, baby monitors, certain light sources etc: Headaches, Speech problems, dizziness, chest palpations, tinnitus, pressure in the ears. sweating at night, skin irritations, pins and needles in the hands in the mornings, short-term memory loss, nauseas, joint aches and pressures at the back of the head as well as in the sinus or forehead area.
Even if you are not ES yet, it is beneficial to turn off your Wifi over night, as well as to ban electrical items, your cordless phones and mobiles from your bedroom. You will sleep much better and are less likely to have an interrupted sleep pattern.
Another simple test is to stop carrying your mobile on your body (chest or trouser pockets). in many cases people experience the so-called “phantom text messages”. This describes a situation where every now and then you think you had a text message, when keeping the phone in your pockets, but when you checked there was no message. This is caused by the phone logging onto a mast searching for the network. The emitted RF affects our nerve endings. Some people even suffer from heart palpitations. If that is case, just try for a while to carry your mobile in a bag or switch it off, while you have it in your pocket.
Other symptoms include:
Headaches.
Chest pains, heart arrhythmia.
Dizzy spells.
Finding it hard to focus or concentrate sometimes.
Dry eyes.
Eye pains.
Skin irritations/painful sun burn effect that will last for hours after exposure.
These effects are discussed by users on the Apple forum too:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/18594445?ac_cid=tw123456#18594445
This is a link to a new documentary:
This is a selection of websites showing the different effects and some links to international research:
http://www.magdahavas.com
http://www.wiredchild.org
http://www.es-uk.info/docs/front-01-ill-health-wifi.pdf
es-uk.info
magdahavas.com
mobilewise.com
powerwatch.org.uk
weepinitiative.org
If you want to find out more:
electromagneticman.co.uk/
magdahavas.com (Canadian website)
mobilewise.com
electromagnetichealth.org/audio-archives-and-more/
electrosensitivity.org
powerwatch.org.uk
weepinitiative.org (Canadian website)
feb.se/FEB/feb_techman.html (Swedish website)
fullsignalmovie.com/index.html
safeantenna.org/
radiationresearch.org/
mastsanity.org/home.html
stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com/
mast-victims.org/
mastaction.co.uk
And a selection of articles in several newspapers:
www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9619514/Mobile-phones-can-cause-brain-tumours-court-rules..html
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/mobile-phone-radiation-wrecks-your-sleep-771262.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1318992/Mobile-phone-health-risk-Phone-giants-accused-burying-warnings-handsets-small-print.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7725169/Landmark-study-set-to-show-potential-dangers-of-heavy-mobile-phone-use.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article7127799.ece
http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radiation?currentPage=1
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6805895.e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqZz-wSqOtY