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PLEASE NOTE OUR DISCLAIMER. THIS INFORMATION IS NOT INTENDED TO SUBSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL ADVICE AND IS INFORMATIONAL ONLY.

Q: My “smart” meter is making me sick. What can I do?

First, if you are in immediate distress, act to help yourself in the short term by trying different things to change your exposure to the meter. Sleep in a different room if it is further from the meter; leave your home or stay with a friend for a while (if they don’t have a “smart” meter); or change where you habitually spend time in the house. Remove other sources of EMF from your living environment (microwave ovens, cordless and cell phones, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, baby monitors, wifi routers, etc.) You could also try turning off your electricity at the breaker (put ice packs in your fridge to keep it cold). Monitor your health to see if these changes help you feel better.

Try camping or backpacking in an area away from electricity, cell towers, and smart meters. Many people discover that they feel normal again when they remove themselves from EMF’s for a couple of days. Take off your shoes and socks and walk around in dirt or on the grass barefoot- this helps to “ground” you.

Make your problem known: file a complaint with your public utilities commission, your utility, contact local, state or federal government officials, and call local media. Share your health complaint on EMFSafetyNetwork.org (“Smart Meter Health Complaints”). CPUC complaints here. Complaints should also be sent to the California Department of Public Health, Response@cdph.ca.gov, CDPH P.O. Box 997377, Sacramento, CA 95899-7377.

Seek medical help with your symptoms while you work to get your problem resolved. You may go to an informed environmental physician or other health provider (preferably one who understands electrical sensitivities) or your informed family doctor, to discuss the matter. It may help to download a study describing the health effects of RF radiation and print this page. Your physician may document the condition, make a diagnosis, and if he/she feels it is related, may write you a letter that can be presented to your state’s public utilities commission and local utility, to request opting out of the “smart” meter program, removing it, or making any other appropriate arrangements. Document whatever you do.

See the question about getting a meter off your house. See also section on shielding.

Q: Why is my “smart” meter affecting my health?

As we discussed above in questions about the power of the pulses and how often they happen, it might be possible that it is the very bizarre and erratic nature of the emissions that are making people ill. We are not medical experts or scientists, and so don’t make claims about the reasons for your distress.

But the complaints and stories received by this website and elsewhere make it clear that, for whatever reason, these meters make some people sick, and often in similar ways.

Q: What is electro-sensitivity? What can I do to help myself if I am electro-sensitive?

Some people have or develop symptoms of physical distress in the presence of electro-magnetic or radio-frequency fields (or both). There are many symptoms associated with this type of sensitivity, and the main key in determining whether EMF fields are the cause of the problem is seeing what happens when you lessen or avoid exposure.

This very informative page on EMFSafetyNetwork.org may answer your questions. There are many links to other sites as well as suggestion for healing on that website.

Here is another informational page, What is Electro-sensitivity? on a site call Wireless Precaution.

Q: Who can I complain to about the health effects I’ve experienced from “smart” meters?

We encourage anyone adversely affected to complain directly to their public utilities commission, their utility, and local government representatives. Local media can be enlisted. California Public Utilities Commission complaints here. Follow up in writing and on the phone to be sure that the CPUC is taking action on your complaint. Complaints should also be sent to the California Department of Public Health, Response@cdph.ca.gov, –or CDPH P.O. Box 997377, Sacramento, CA 95899-7377.

Visit ElectricalPollution.com’s excellent article “Transmitting Smart Meters Pose a Serious Threat to Public Health”, with information on actions to take and how to report these problems to authorities in the USA.

Q: Is electro-sensitivity covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

We have tried to obtain information about this, without much luck. The best we’ve heard is that such a designation is on a case-by-case basis.

In New Mexico, electro-sensitive and activist Arthur Firstenberg came up against the wireless powers that be, and found that ADA is trumped by the power of the wireless industry to install antennas where they wish. On July 5, 2011, a federal district court judge in New Mexico ruled that the Telecommunications Act preempts the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), even if such an interpretation would “condemn a class of citizens to death because of their disability.” (Firstenberg v. City of Santa Fe, Case # 1:11-cv-00008-JAP-WDS)

Please connect with other sensitive people via EMFSafetynetwork.org—because only by working together and supporting each other can we change this discrimination and harm.

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