Editor:

While smart meters are rapidly being installed around the country with no proper government regulations, independent doctors and scientists are telling us loud and clear that the radiation levels from the meters are totally unacceptable. This is a tremendous health disaster, made worse by the denials and lies of a powerful industry and the failure by government regulatory agencies to set standards needed to protect our health.

I am very sad to say that, according to the United States government, utility companies have the right to poison us in our own homes (article, Dental Truth, April 2011). San Miguel Power is a co-op and is, according to Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), an unregulated monopoly. Around 70 people attended the San Miguel Power Board Meeting on Sept. 20 in Ridgway. Their purpose was to educate themselves about the Smart Meters to be installed in the upcoming months by San Miguel Power Association. SMPA gave a presentation about the Smart Meters to be installed on each and every home. The meter is made by ACLARA and is the ACLARA-TWACS system. It is a two-way communication system; the SMPA master computer requests data from our home Smart Meter via the electric lines and our Smart Meter responds and sends data back to the SMPA master computer. Thus the TWACS system is referred to as a PLC (Power Line Communication) system.

The citizens at the meeting requested a one year moratorium on the installation of the Smart Meters. It was expressed that we needed to further educate ourselves about the health, privacy, environmental and financial implications associated with the installation of the TWACS Smart Meters. The TWACS meter replaces a need for meter readers and is able to transmit data and upgrade to more enhanced data collecting chips in the future.

The TWACS meter emits radio frequencies (RF) when responding to a request for data once every 15 minutes, once an hour or once a day. These (RF) emissions are categorized as a 2B carcinogen by the World Health Organization. This is RADIATION folks!! This radiation travels on unshielded electric lines, never intended for these frequencies, and radiates these frequencies across the wires and into our unfiltered interior house wires. A neighbor’s radiation emissions can enter your home through your meter even if you have opted out and kept your present analog meter. Radiation does not know fences!! The only protection for each of us and our children is to opt out as a community.

Electrosmog is not an improved alternative to lowering our carbon footprint. Doctors and scientists are well aware that there are biological effects from RF, especially in the unborn and in children. Doctor Rhea (Director Dallas Environmental Health Center), Dr. Deagle and Dr. Milham all warn us about the electro sensitization of the general public, with the prediction of future increases in childhood leukemia and brain cancers in the general public. Gerd Oberfeld, MD, has projected that 50 percent of the world’s population will be electrosensitive to RF radiation. Oberfeld was instrumental in establishing the policy that has established Salzburg as the city with the lowest electromagnetic radiation levels in Europe.

There are no agencies or RF radiation standards in place that are protecting us. The FCC health standards are only for “thermal” radiation exposures. The non thermal radiation exposures from the TWACs Smart Meters have no standards. All FCC standards are thermally based and do not apply to the TWACS chronic nonthermal radiation exposure situations. There are no environmental impact studies on the effect of this increased radiation on wildlife and vegetation. There are no safety studies. There is no direct information from the manufacturer that states the RF emission levels and the range, etc. All of the information and assurances from SMPA are generated from within the utility business. There are no independent studies that attest to the safety of this Smart Meter.

The Committee on the Environment in the Council of Europe unanimously passed a position paper on “The Potential Dangers of Electromagnetic Fields and Their Effect on the Environment.” AARP has come out against all Smart Meters in all 50 states due to higher rates for the retired, low income and the elderly, who are home during peak hours (time-of-use) rate hikes.

The most prevalent concern is the lack of privacy in our homes. What information can they collect with future upgrades? Can this personal information be sold or hacked into? Where do we draw the line with civil liberties? Presently, they are fighting against the installation of this same TWACS system in Arizona in the courts. And I quote from a court document: “the PLC type systems have been promoted as a positive alternative to wireless smart meters. The reality is that they are a worse choice for the public health, especially people with electrical sensitivity.”

SMPA has assessed a $25 fee for opting out. A better choice is what other communities have in place for meter reading: postcard mail-in readings. In this time of recession, monthly bills may hit crisis level for many and they may get a smart meter installed only because it was their best financial choice. Please educate yourself on this topic (www.eiwellspring.org) (www.rmeha.org). There is an abundance of information on the Internet. Call someone, talk about it, write a letter. Help me with my vision for Telluride, Ouray and Ridgway to remain Smart Meter free. In the future, our pristine mountain towns can advertise smart meter free homes. It is hard to stop a train in motion, however, coming together as a community we can remember the safe promises of the tobacco industry and the DDT issue. Let’s get on the right side of history with Smart Meters and protect our children and grandchildren. Let’s proceed according to the precautionary principle. Let SMPA know you want a moratorium.

– Jean McDonnell, Ridgway