Page 12 - the NOISE July 2014

Bob Rhodes is an active 71-year old liv- ing in the planned community foothills of northwest Phoenix. After serving in the Navy (non-combat) for 3 years in the late 60s and working for Boeing as a financial analyst for 25, he had earned a decent retirement & health package and has been enjoying leisure life since 1998. He’s been healthy all his life, no chronic conditions or major op- erations, and his family history points to in- herited vigor, with his mother living to be 95, his father to 82, both staying out of hospitals until their final years.
But in 2010, Mr. Rhodes’ health began de- teriorating inexplicably. He first struggled with bouts of insomnia, which he had never before had in his life, and he’d awake with a start in the early morning, his heart palpitat- ing, his body in a cold sweat, and his mind un- able to calm itself back to sleep. Within the following year, he developed epileptic-like seizures where his body would shake for one to two minutes, he would lose conscious- ness, and he would “come to” estranged from his immediate surroundings.
Recalls Mr. Rhodes: “I continued with the insomnia and seizures for the next two years. The doctors I saw during that time could not tell me a thing about why this was happen- ing. The story of those two years and my interactions with the medical profession is a long and involved story ... In a nutshell, I was having a seizure approximately every 4 weeks, at 3 in the morning while I was asleep in my bed. Like I said this went on for 2 years. All tests I took showed nothing wrong with me. I asked why these seizures only oc- curred at 3AM while I was in bed. No answer.”
His health care professionals, while not being able to provide an explanation for the sudden onset of his condition, prescribed anti-seizure medication, which allayed his symptoms slightly, lessening the severity but not their frequency.
Then one day in February of last year, his wife received an email from a friend, which headlined: “Are Smart Meters Making You Sick?”
“My first thought was: ‘What the hell is a Smart Meter?” So Mr. Rhodes began tirelessly investigating, pouring over hundreds of in- ternet pages, and discovering his symptoms were akin to others across the nation who had linked their illnesses to the presence of a recently-installed wireless electric meter by power companies wishing to “streamline” meter-reading operations.
Mr. Rhodes quickly identified his electric meter as being one of a handful sold to util- ity companies — from the German technol- ogy giant Elster — and a call to his electricity provider — Arizona Public Service, which services a majority of the state’s households
— confirmed the meter had been installed in 2010, only months before his ailments began.
Observes Mr. Rhodes: “When APS puts things in front of the Arizona Corporation Commission [the state’s utility regulatory agency], they say these smart meters will help people control their electricity charg- es, they’ll know what they’re using, when they’re using, how they can save money, and I realized that meter was installed three years ago, and I never once in my monthly billing received anything that said, ‘We installed a smart meter in your house and you’re going to be able to save money!’ I’ve never seen anything like that, they never indicated they changed out meters. The first time they put it on I was not aware of it. I don’t think any- one is aware of it.”
But the timing of his seizures fit the docu- mented relay of information emitted from an individual smart meter — via high frequency radio waves — to wireless neighborhood
“mother hubs” that collect household data and send it back to APS: early every morning,
a short signal sends information about the day’s electricity usage, then every 4 weeks, a longer signal sends monthly information just before a posted billing cycle. What re- sounds in Mr. Rhodes’ case was the fact that his smart meter was installed on the outside wall of his bedroom, just three feet away from the pillow he used at night.
“After two years of this hell, I was at the lowest I’ve ever been. I was depressed, I was sick every day. A list of things I had. And I thought, ‘I can’t take it any more,’” notes Mr. Rhodes, contending his symptoms subsided immediately after he phoned APS and or- dered the Elster Smart Meter removed from his house. The smart meter was taken out in early March 2013, his last documented sei- zure was March 17.
Since that time, Mr. Rhodes diligently va- cated the space he sleeps of wireless appli- ances — modem, telephone, and computer devices all have been taken out of his bed- room and he reports his insomnia and sei- zures have vanished.
Still curious and undeterred, he made an appointment through his doctor with a neu- rologist at the Boswell Medical Center, with whom he confided his past two years of ill- ness and his suspicions of the smart meter link. After hearing his witness, quizzing his wife, and evaluating his prognosis, the neu- rologist conceded: “’I believe the smart me- ter was a factor in your seizures.’”
Continues Mr. Rhodes, “The RF waves from the smart meter were a factor in the seizures. He said the hyper-sensitivity I developed during the years I spent with that thing there cannot be cured. So he wants me to stay as far away from the RF wave equipment as possible, he wants me to take an anti-seizure drug which will readjust my brain chemicals to normal consistent levels and hopefully work to keep brain functions from reaching a seizure level. He says RF waves were a fac-
tor, not the factor, but a factor. As far as I’m concerned, they were the factor.”
For its part, APS still does not “officially recognize” health problems associated with smart meter installation, yet has posted a
“counter point” video on its “smart meter cus- tomer benefits” webpage asserting the radio frequency waves emitted from smart meters are of “similar magnitude” to household wire- less appliances. So far, the utility company, which posted profits of $382 million last year, has laid off close to 500 meter readers state- wide while continuing a smart meters instal- lation initiative that has swapped an estimat- ed 70% of household meters in its territory. In Sedona, where controversy surrounding smart meters has erupted into special city council meetings and official city policy, an estimated 22% of APS’ customers have “opt- ed out” of smart meter installation by calling the company’s hotline at 800-253-9405.
The Arizona Corporation Commission — which held open meetings on the topic in September 2011, March 2012, and May 2013,
and maintains an online docket at edocket. acc.gov (doc# 11-0328) — filed testimony from hundreds of Arizonans who’ve sus- tained negative effects from smart meters, has tabled APS’ requests for an “opt out” fee of $75 initially and $360 annually, and has directed the Arizona Department of Health Services to conduct a thorough study. The parameters and results of the DHS study is yet to be released.
Queries Mr. Rhodes: “I wonder how many people are having insomnia and don’t know why. And the answer could be that smart meter.”
| Charles Seiverd is collecting smart meter testimonials & welcomes personal leads. charles@thenoise.us
Mr. Rhodes with his digital “unsmart” electric meter.
STORY & PHOTO BY CHARLES SEIVERD
BOB RHODES AND HIS SMART METER:
FORMER BOEING ANALYST LINKS THE NEW ELECTRIC UTILITY METERING TECHNOLOGY
TO HIS 2-YEAR BOUT WITH SEIZURES & INSOMNIA
12 • JUNE 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us