This Iowa Town Opposes Smart Meters

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2017, Mayor Ed Malloy of Fairfield, Iowa, began working with Alliant Energy to allow Iowans to opt out of having wireless smart meters, and almost half the households in Fairfield have opted out. Now town leaders are trying to convince the Iowa Utilities Board that there is a special danger when you are close to the smart meter, and that Alliant's customers should receive a safety warning.

Iowa attorney Jay Marcus, who has been representing an Alliant customer in hearings over the smart meter issues, says that when the Federal Communications Commission approved the smart meters used by Alliant, it was on the condition that the antenna "be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20 centimeters [7.8 inches] from all persons." And at last month's hearing before the Utilities Board, Alliant's meter manufacturer testified that "it would not comply with what the FCC wants" if someone is not at least 20 centimeters from the smart meters.  Alliant, however, refuses to give its customers a warning notice.   

This issue will soon come to a head since Marcus's legal brief filed September 23, 2019, argues that the Utilities Board should order Alliant to give its customers a common safety warning, and Mayor Malloy and Iowa House Representative Jeff Shipley of  Fairfield both agree. Shipley has been following the legal proceedings for months. He says, "smart meters give off RF radiation just like Wi-Fi routers and  baby monitors, but the makers of  these other wireless devices commonly give their customers instruction manuals that warn them to stay 20 centimeters away."

Representative Shipley says that cell phone radiation may be the principal source of the RF exposure we experience, but he argues that all wireless devices carry risks or the manufacturers would not give cautionary warnings.  Many scientists are concerned that RF exposure is a significant health hazard, and Marcus says, "It's well known that the intensity of the radiation increases dramatically the closer you are to the source."

Alliant argues that its meters emit RF radiation very infrequently, and people don't come in close proximity to the meters very often. But Marcus says the evidence in the case showed that some meters transmitted several hundred times a week, and a few meters even transmitted several thousand times a week. And while Alliant doesn't think people will come close to the meters very often, the Marcus brief says it will happen often enough. He asks how many people need to be endangered before a company gives a warning notice about its product.

For more information (or a copy of the legal brief): Emily Kelly, [email protected] or 641-919-5566.

SOURCE Jay Marcus