Symptoms from Exposure to Smart Meter RF/Microwave Radiation

Source Article by Ronald M. Powell, PhD:
Symptoms Resulting from Exposure to Radiofrequency/Microwave Radiation from Smart Meters
http://marylandsmartmeterawareness.org/recources/symptoms-resulting-from-exposure-to-radiofrequencymicrowave-radiation-from-smart-meters/

In February 2013, the expert testimony2 of Richard H. Conrad, PhD3, and many other experts worldwide, was submitted to the Maine Public Utilities Commission when the Commission was considering the future of Smart Meters in that state. Dr. Conrad reported the results of a survey of 210 individuals who had experienced symptoms resulting from exposure to Smart Meters.

 
 

What the survey does and does not tell us

The survey does not address the frequency of occurrence of symptoms in the general population when exposed to Smart Meters. So the survey does not tell us how likely it is that a person in the general population will experience symptoms after exposure to Smart Meters. But the survey does tell us what types of symptoms are being experienced by those who do become symptomatic after exposure to Smart Meters.

 
 

Individuals who reported previous symptoms that worsened to severe

Appendix 2 of Dr. Conrad’s report shows the number of persons, out of the 210, who reported

…previous symptoms that worsened to severe intensity (from either mild or moderate intensity) following smart meter exposure.4

A copy of Appendix 2 is below.

 
 

Individuals who reported new symptoms

Appendix 3 of Dr. Conrad’s report shows the number of individuals, out of the 210, who reported symptoms that were new, that is,

…symptoms suffered for the first time in their lives, symptoms they had never experienced before smart meters5

and that were either severe or moderate in intensity after exposure to Smart Meters. A copy of Appendix 3 is also below.

 
 

Causality

Because the symptoms in both Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 can have causes other than exposure to Smart Meters, the survey included an extensive list of questions designed to determine whether Smart Meters were the cause. Only individuals whose answers were persuasive of a causal connection were included in the survey results.

 
 

Symptoms versus biological effects more broadly

Symptoms, as that term is used here, are biological effects that can be sensed. But an absence of symptoms does not mean an absence of biological effects. Many of the biological effects associated with radiofrequency/microwave radiation either cannot be sensed at all, such as a loss of male fertility, or cannot be sensed until an advanced state of disease has been reached, such as cancer. A broad range of biological effects, both those that can be sensed and those that cannot be sensed, have been researched extensively by the international biomedical research community. The findings are described in detail in two comprehensive reviews of the
resulting published research literature.6,7

 
 
 

Appendix 2

Health: Severe and Worsened Symptoms After Smart Meter
 
 
 

Appendix 3

 
 

Health Sypmtoms After Smart Meter Installation
 
 
 

1 Ronald M. Powell holds a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University and has worked for the Executive Office of the President, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

2 Pre-Filed Testimony of Richard H. Conrad, Ph.D., Appendix 2 for worsened symptoms and Appendix 3 for new symptoms (http://www.mainecoalitiontostopsmartmeters.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Exhibit-9-Conrad-Web.pdf). This 198 page document describes the survey design and results in detail.

3 Richard H. Conrad holds a PhD. in Biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University and did postdoctoral research at the Institute of Molecular Biophysics of Florida State University and in the Department of Biochemistry of Cornell University.

4 See the reference in footnote 2, Exhibit D, page 3.

5 See the reference in footnote 2, Exhibit D, page 3.

6 BioInitiative Working Group, Cindy Sage and David O. Carpenter, Editors, BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for Biologically based Public Exposure Standards for Electromagnetic Radiation, December 31, 2012 (http://www.bioinitiative.org). This review of the biological effects of electromagnetic fields is 1479 pages long and considered the findings of about 1800 publications.

7 Paul Dart, MD, Kathleen Cordes, MD, Andrew Elliott, ND, James Knackstedt, MD, Joseph Morgan, MD, Pamela Wible, MD, and Stephen Baker (technical advisor), Biological and Health Effects of Microwave Radio Frequency Transmissions, A Review of the Research Literature, A Report to the Staff And Directors of the Eugene Water And Electric Board, June 4, 2013
(http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=6017465430). This review is 74 pages long and references the findings of 279 publications. Also included on this web site are six files containing viewgraphs of a presentation given to the Eugene Water and Electric Board on this subject.