Editor:
Re: Better to be safe than sorry, April 26.
I read about the plight of letter-writer Mary Garner, who is living in an apartment that is adjacent to the BC Hydro meter room.
My comments are based on our modern society that uses many electronic devices in the home. In the kitchen, most residences have microwave ovens. These devices are shielded from harmful microwaves by way of an electronic blocking mesh hidden in the door window.
As citizens of a modern society, we are bombarded daily from all sorts of transmitting devices, anywhere from Wi-Fi to cellphone communications, and even the sun produces harmful radio waves and X-rays with the occasional CME (coronal mass ejection) directed towards the earth.
If Mary is concerned with being subjected to electromagnetic radiation, she should consider shielding her apartment by installing a copper wire mesh on the walls and floor adjacent to the meter room. Copper wire meshes are used frequently by the government and other organizations to stop intruding radio waves so that the “other side” cannot listen in on the conversations.
Copper wire mesh is one solution in blocking unwanted radio signals from infiltrating your living space.
What I object to with these smart meters by BC Hydro is the way it was presented to the public – like it or not, we have no say in the matter.
In California, citizens have a choice to either have the meters or pay for an extra surcharge per month for the reading of these meters. (Editor’s note: Californians are charged $75 up front, and $10 a month, to opt out).
Also, what is the rush with BC Hydro in implementing these meters instead of spreading out the installations over five years? It would make sense to spread out the smart-meter program and substitute the savings towards Hydro line beautification projects.
In most neighbourhoods, we have beautiful boulevards spoiled by ugly Hydro lines. A pole beautification project would be money well-invested in our “quality of life.”
B. Hemingway, Surrey