Radiation from Electric Meters

A friend mentioned this as a blog topic- Radiation from Electric Meters- so I finally got around to doing a little research on the topic. And wow, the radiation he was talking about is real and measurable. It comes from wireless digital electric meters, called smart meters. These meters have been installed all over St. Marys and save the electric company (GA Power) the expense of paying an old fashioned meter reader for the job of going around town reading the old spinning dial type (analog) meters and if you have ever been on the receiving end of a misread old fashioned meter, you might be able to appreciate the better accuracy the smart meter is purported to provide.. Instead of getting the data on your electric usage from a reading on the spinning dial meter, information on electrical use is transmitted via antennas using wireless technology much the way cell phones do. The difference here is that the smart meter gives off 160 times as much non-ionizing radiation as a cell phone and this radiation transcends your home’s walls (obviously) and can affect you or anyone else in your home. Smart meters could transmit data through landline connections but most power companies don’t connect them in that way. The World Health Organization has listed RF as a possible carcinogen, and if that is not enough to cause one to wonder about the safety of these devices, there are lots of complaints by people with sensitivity to non-ionizing radiation that report multiple problems as a result of having these smart meters attached to their homes. Some of the symptoms include: heart palpitations, insomnia, high blood pressure, dizziness, memory loss, tinnitus, or lack of energy and concentration. I can relate to several of these symptoms. Did I mention that the reason I am so late posting this blog is because I couldn't get to sleep last night?

After looking through a lot of posted comments about this topic, I discovered that I couldn't find anyone that had been successful in preventing their power company from installing smart meters. Apparently the FCC says the technology is safe and the RF emitted is below the threshold considered dangerous to one’s health. One person in California posted that it cost an additional $75 a month for an analog meter and when it was re-installed the power company didn’t remove the smart meter either. For me (one who complains when my electric bill is over $75) this would not be an option I’d be willing to go for even if GA Power had it as an option. The other options include shielding, two types, reflecting and absorbing, which apparently work best in a combination, neither of which I have the skills to complete as a DIY project.

I do however have a nice tent, but as I recall, I didn’t have my best night’s sleep in there the last time I spent the night camping in it either!