Facts Aren't Always Pleasant

Tuesday March 20, 2012 - Bennington Banner

Other information on ‘smart meters'

In response to "No votes won't stop roll-out of smart meters," March 8.

I am disturbed at the fact that the power company is disregarding the votes of Bennington County residents at four town meetings where we opposed wireless smart meters. CVPS says they will go ahead and install them anyway against the town meeting votes.

Steve Costello said, "They are no more dangerous then a baby monitor."

This statement is not true. In fact, baby monitors emit only about one 13th as much radiation as smart meters (three microwatts/square centimter compared to 50) and operate at a higher frequency which is less dangerous (2.4 gigahertz compared to 900 Mega hertz). Baby monitors and portable phones are DECT (digital enhanced communication technology) devices and have been proven dangerous in many scientific studies around the world.

The Dutch Electro-sensitivity foundation has found that DECT phones increase brain tumor risk and cause other problems, including headache, fatigue, heart palpitations, concentration and sleep problems.

Lenart Hardell, an Orebro Sweden cancer researcher "consistently found an association with DECT phones and brain tumors."

In the interest of our health and our children's, please Google Dr. Magda Havas, Dr. Jeff Marrongelle "Do DECT phones affect the heart." There is a short video about this American study from Colorado.

The majority of subjects had very elevated heart rates when exposed to the DECT phone. This study is proving that these devices essentially put us in fight or flight response mode.
Mr. Costello said "people are spreading misinformation and scaring people." I am spreading scientifically proven information, the information is scary but it allows us to protect ourselves and our children. This knowledge lessens the fear like knowing how to drive lessens our fear of car accidents.

BEN MITHOEFER