DRA Questions Accuracy of Industry-Led CCST Health Report

Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA) again weighed in on the increasingly contentious debate about the health impacts of wireless ‘smart’ meters.   The DRA- which advocates for low rates, safety and environmental protection- has demanded in the strongest possible terms that public hearings on the issue of ‘smart’ meters, radiofrequency (RF) and health be held immediately.

Their excellent response to the flawed CCST health report echoes comments from a number of medical doctors, researchers, and academics who have strongly criticized the conclusions of the report as unscientific.  Specifically, the report simply excludes evidence that indicates that wireless radiation may be causing serious biological harm. Why should we expect anything more from a health study carried out by an organization that did not include a single medical professional and whose goal it is to “maintain California’s technological leadership and a vigorous economy.”

If we’re honest, wasn’t this exercise a bit like asking the tobacco industry to write up a report on the health impacts of smoking?

The DRA comments:

“The report states that ‘there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence pointing to a non-thermal cause and effect between human exposure to RF emissions and negative health impacts.’ While the report cites three studies that claim adverse impacts, it does not explain why these studies are not relevant to the current debate. The same can be said about the Bioinitiative Report, a research survey often cited by parties concerned about RF emissions, which is merely listed in Appendix E as an ‘unsolicited document.’ DRA recommends that the CCST Report be expanded to provide a scientific critique of the Bioinitiative report, and other reports that assert a link between RF emissions and negative health impacts. CCST should explain why, in its opinion, these sources do not constitute evidence that indicates a need to establish limits for non-thermal impacts, if only as a precautionary measure, even if conclusive findings are not yet available.”

Here at Stop Smart Meters! we have noticed a similar phenomenon amongst those who refuse to consider the strong and growing evidence that our increasingly wireless world is taking a serious toll on our health.   We’ve seen the eyes glaze over, and a certain monotonous denialism take hold, where certain scientific findings are excluded from reality because it is simply too difficult or uncomfortable to fit into a particular worldview.  Who knows- maybe they can’t type it into their iPhone fast enough.  The inconvenient truth, so to speak.

In a similar (and remarkable) leap of denialism, the New York Times’ Felicity Baringer compares those who question the health impacts of the smart meter to climate change skeptics.  Insisting that peer-review is the litmus test of what to believe about the world, she nevertheless goes on to ignore the large and growing stack of peer-reviewed studies pointing to health damage from wireless radiation.   Psychologically, it’s probably more comfortable to live in a world where a small hysterical fringe group is whining about electrosmog, than a world where government agencies work closely with industry and the media to obscure legitimate health concerns expressed by regular people, particularly about something as ubiquitous as wireless technology.

Thank god that social norms change periodically.    While in February 2011, the norm is for practically everyone to use cell phones and single occupant motor vehicles, an epidemic of brain tumors and the inundation of our cities by rising sea levels might well make people question the conventional wisdom that blind application of new technology is progress.

The DRA goes on to address several inconsistencies and gaps in the CCST report:

• Are FCC guidelines designed to protect all persons exposed by smart meters, including children, the elderly, and those with health issues or medical implants?

• Does reduced mobility of the person receiving the RF exposure increases the level of exposure?

We applaud the DRA for their cogent analysis and appropriate concern about the reckless rollout of a technology that could lead to lasting damage to humans and other life.  These questions need to be answered and they are not going away.  If anything, the demand for science based precaution is growing louder every day.  Resistance to radiating spy meters is spreading around the world.

Don’t buy the lies from the glassy-eyed, greenwashed “clean-tech” paycheck denialists.

This entry was posted in CPUC, Democracy, Environmental Concerns, Health studies, Safety. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to DRA Questions Accuracy of Industry-Led CCST Health Report

  1. BanSmartMeters.com says:

    Wow, good for the DRA! Too bad we in Texas don’t have any commission looking out for citizens’ best interests.

    Well-written, easy-to-read article–thanks!

    By the way, what is happening to the people who tell the meter installers not to install on their house and the installers don’t. Do those residents get threatened by PG&E? Are meters eventually being installed anyway?

  2. Curious says:

    Can anyone show me a study that says definitively that smart meters cause health problems? I haven’t seen any sources cited for these claims. Any that I have heard about didn’t seem to be from a neutral source. I have a hard time believing these claims without seeing real, unbiased evidence. Let me know.

    Thank you.

  3. RobertWilliams says:

    FOR AN INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION, HERE ARE SHORT EXCELLENT VIDEOS REGARDING HEALTH ISSUES OF WIRELESS SMART METERS.

    For detailed peer reviewed reports, someone else may choose to post that or you can obtain those from researching the scientists in the #3 videos and read their reports and those of colleagues.
    1. INSURANCE COMPANIES WON’T INSURE THE HEALTH PROBLEMS FROM WIRELESS Smart Meters

    And Insurance companies don’t sacrifice insurance premiums ($$$) for no reason.

    TV NEWS VIDEO – Insurance Companies Won’t Insure Wireless Device Health Risks (3 minutes, 13 seconds)
    http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382

    2. WIRELESS SMART METERS TRANSMIT RADIATION APPROXIMATELY 25,000 TIMES PER DAY, 24/7, not 45 seconds per day as claimed by PG$E.

    VIDEO – Radiation Measured From Smart Meter Mounted On A Home (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRejDxBE6OE

    3. CELL DAMAGE, DNA BREAKS and BREACHES IN THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER observed in laboratory tests from low levels of pulsed RF signal radiation as emitted by Wireless smart meters – reported by Top Wireless radiation scientists in the world at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Nov 18, 2010:
    VIDEO – http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/cc-video/

    4. FINALLY, THE KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE IN STOCKHOLM THAT GIVES THE NOBEL PRIZES PUT OUT A GLOBAL WARNING AGAINST WIRELESS SMART METER DEPLOYMENT and some other Wireless devices.
    2-page Press Release:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/48148346/Karolinska-Institute-Press-Release

    Comparing cell phones and Wireless smart meters is comparing apples and oranges. Simple signal strength comparisons of one device to another done by amateurs or PG&E Corporate talking heads are guiding many people into dangerous environments.

    Wireless smart meters are unique in that they transmit 24/7 without shut off switch and without relief. Humans can recover from significant adversity and stress, but 24/7 pulsed transmissions from Wireless smart meters mounted to homes may interfere with the sleep time for human recovery and the pulsed signal radiation from the Wireless meters may interfere with the natural bio-electronic communications originating in the brain.

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