A case Against ComEd's smart meters
ComEd plans to install approximately 4 million smart meters in all homes and businesses across northern Illinois by the end of 2018. Residents are forced to accept these electric meters that threaten health, violate privacy, increase hacking potential and affect property values.
smart meters blanket the community with radiation: 1) collecting data within the home, 2) serving as a relay station for other smart meters, and 3) handing off data to routers which wirelessly transmit to ComEd.
Smart meters require extremely high intensity pulses of RF/microwave radiation 24/7 for mesh network operability. Consider 4 million smart meters issuing pulses of RF radiation each day, forever.
Health Threat: Healthy residents are becoming ill after a smart meter is installed. . The reason: there is something particularly harmful about the high intensity pulses.
RF radiation emitted from smart meters is a Class 2B carcinogen (International Agency for Research on Cancer). Children, because they are growing, will suffer greater harm.
Personal Privacy: Smart meters collect detailed data which reveals personal activities and behaviors. Hackers and thieves can learn when the house is occupied and who has the expensive electronics. This private data is transmitted wirelessly and stored indefinitely.
House Fires: Smart meters overheat, arc, spark and ignite. Hundreds have exploded due to a power surge. Tens of thousands have been replaced because of fire risks. Any smart meter can become a fire hazard.
Homeland Security: Every wireless smart meter is a portal for hackers to access the smart grid. ComEd is installing 4 million access points. Smart meter networks that are connected to the Internet expose the country to cyberattack.
Unlike Illinois, most states give residents a choice. Contact your state representatives to demand a ComEd permanent low cost opt-out.
Nancy J. Thorner
Lake Bluff